Can I Use My Existing Phone On The NBN ?

The NBN, or National Broadband Network, is designed to revolutionise internet connections across Australia. Funded by the Federal Government, NBN will replace old-fashioned or out-of-date internet infrastructure, bringing Australian homes and businesses up to speed with highly efficient, high-performance broadband.

This is great news, of course. Increasing internet speed across the country is certainly going to have a positive impact on the economy and on general quality of life, but this idea of “replacement” is still a source of anxiety for some. Are businesses and residents going to face major disruption during the NBN rollout? Or can you continue to use your existing phone on the NBN?

Do I Need to Use a New Phone with the NBN?

Generally speaking, you do not necessarily need a new phone to connect to the NBN. This means you can use your existing phone handset even after the NBN rollout. 

The NBN is delivered to your home or your place of work via an external connection — on a Fibre to the Building (FTTB), Fibre to the Node (FTTN), Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) or Fixed Wireless basis. You then simply plug your existing phone into the connection port. You may need an adapter or a socket in order to accomplish this.

Do I Need a New Landline for the NBN?

In most cases, you will need a new landline in order to utilise the NBN. As part of the NBN rollout, much of the existing connectivity network will be replaced with a fixed fibre line. 

As mentioned above, this may be delivered as one of the following connections:

• FTTP – A fibre connection is run right into the premises.
• FTTB – A fibre connection is run to a building such as an office block, and internet connectivity is distributed throughout the building from this centralised connection.
• FTTN – This is similar to FTTB in that the external connection is delivered to a centralised point and then distributed over the local area. The difference between FTTB and FTTN is that an FTTN connection may not necessarily be limited to a single building.

You may keep your existing internal connections, such as the landline’s wall socket. Plug your phone into the modem and plug the modem into the existing wall socket in the case of FTTB or FTTN connections. 

If you have an FTTP connection, simply plug the phone into the NBN connection box or directly into the modem in some cases.

When Can I Use My Existing Phone Line on the NBN?

You won’t always need a new home phone or landline. If you are receiving NBN connectivity via a Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) connection or via a Fixed Wireless connection, your existing infrastructure will not need to be replaced.

• With the HFC option, you may be able to use an existing cable connection running to your property as a mode of delivery for the broadband internet. The HFC line will be connected to the nearest available fibre node in your property’s area, but there will be no replacement needed for the cable running directly to your property.
• A Fixed Wireless option does not require any physical connection to the property as the NBN connectivity is delivered wirelessly via radio waves. You will be able to keep using any existing landline connection you have at your property.

Get the Landline Plan that Works for You

However the NBN will connect to your property, you will still need a reliable, reasonably priced landline connection if you plan to continue using your phone. Reach out to the Business Telecom team today to learn more about our landline connection packages.