nbn™, the organisation building and operating Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN), has updated the online “check your address” service that offers information on when the network will reach your street.

Some time between 5:00PM and 6:00PM today (Tuesday, December 20th) the service will be infused with new data that explains when services will be available at your home or business. The previous service only explained when construction had commenced in each suburb.

The majority of Australian premises will be covered by the update. The Register understands that addresses which still yield a “hang on, NBN coming real soon now” notice are in the footprint of the former Telstra hybrid fibre-coax network, for which a rebuild plan is yet to be finalised. That plan is due during 2017. Some premises may also be on the fixed wireless footprint, but the overwhelming majority of the absent addresses are urban locations where Telstra's cables sway merrily overhead.

We further understand that the new online service was introduced in order to to lift the load on the organisation's call centres and other assistance services, as “when will I get NBN” is FAQ number one question asked of nbn™.

The upshot of the change is that by some time in 2017, nbn™'s planning for the NBN will be complete. Then all the organisation has to do is connect about 10,000 premises a day for a couple of years. Which will doubtless be achieved because Australia's government cannot afford to go the likely mid-2019 election with a AU$49bn flop to defend. ®