IP Lightning’s Daniel Anderson helps Carrick Gill-Vallance with his NBN connection. Photo: Lightning IP Facebook.
Albury residents have been among the first in Australia to get access to internet download speeds 10 times faster than the national average under a new National Broadband Network (NBN) plan.
Local IT business Lightning IP has provided customers access to the new NBN 500/50 plan since July, even though the NBN isn’t rolling it out until September.
The NBN 500/50 plan gives customers a download (receiving data) speed of 500 megabits per second (Mbps) and a maximum upload (sending data) speed of 50 Mbps.
“The most common plan on NBN at the moment are on a 50/20 plan, so it’s a 10 times speed uplift,” Lightning IP managing director Daniel Anderson said.
“A lot of the people who have fibre to premise connections have speeds of about 100 Mbps, so it’s a huge uplift for them too.”
Mr Anderson explained how much better this was for residents.
“From a home user perspective, rather than having to wait for hours for a PlayStation upgrade to finish, it’ll be done is less than an hour,” he said.
“For businesses, if you’re doing file syncing and keeping data in a cloud, it’s so much faster, so that helps boost productivity.”
To get the NBN 500/50 plan, you generally need a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connection, where a fibre optic line is run from the nearest available central hub directly to your home or business.
FTTP connections require installation of an NBN utility box outside of your premises and an NBN connection box inside your premises.
Mr Anderson provides advice for customers contemplating a fibre upgrade.
“A lot of customers will have older modems that may not support faster speeds,” he said.
“You can ask us for advice on whether you’ll need a new one.
“You should also be prepared for what happens on the day when you have an upgrade. There may be some digging and work done around your house.”
Lightning IP is also offering a new multi-gigabit service, which offers plans up to 2000 Mbps download / 500 Mbps upload from September.
These speeds, typically reserved for enterprise use, will soon be available to small and medium businesses across Australia.
“These new multi-gigabit plans will be a total gamechanger,” IP Lightning co-owner Gavin James said.
“We’re making enterprise-level speeds accessible to the everyday business – whether in Albury-Wodonga, Sydney, or anywhere else.”
Daniel Anderson opened Lightning IP with business partner Gavin James in 2017. They provide internet and mobile services for customers across Australia.
Lightning IP, located at 561 Olive Street in Albury, are open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. More information can be found on their website or by calling them on 1300 994 884.
