NBN final rollouts on Christmas week 2016 in 153K premises

Australia's 152,800 premises will become NBN-ready over the Christmas week. Its final roll out will cover 117 suburbs. NSW and Queensland are among the states to have an additional NBN connection.

According to finder.com.au, a total of 31 percent will be added in NSW before the year ends. In South Australia, a total of 23 percent (35,800 premises) will be connected. The new customers came from Wallaroo and North Beach composed of 4,800 homes and businesses. The new connections take effect on Dec. 23 to Dec. 31.

On New Year's Eve, 4,500 premises in Queensland, Mermaid Waters and Clear Island Waters will be connected to NBN.

“The wait is over for over 150,000 households and businesses this Christmas as they are expected to gain faster internet in the final days of 2016. For some, the NBN is still years away and they might feel like they’ve been delivered a digital lump of coal,” Alex Kidman, tech and telco editor of finder.com.au, said.

Everything to know about NBN Broadband

Currently, there are 3.5 million homes and lots that are NBN-ready. Homes and businesses that stick to an older copper and cable-based phone and Internet services must switch once to an NBN-based broadband service. They have 18 months to migrate once it is available. After the grace period given, the fixed-line phone and Internet access will be cut off.

Customers can choose from retailers such as Telstra, Optus and TPG. NBN functions as a wholesale broadband provider and it does not compete against retailers.

Foxtel subscribers can still use the home Pay TV services via Telstra cable. However, online video streaming Foxtel Play and Foxtel Go require the new broadband service.

Kidman advised home and business owners to check the status of the service in their area to avoid overlapping of old service contracts and new service that offers NBN.