MyNetFone

MyNetFone has added hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) to its multi-technology NBN offering, opening up our competitive NBN plans to even more customers. HFC was developed by cable or ‘Pay TV’ networks to allow a high-speed, two-way broadband connection. HFC was designed to deliver video, voice and data services through a combination of fibre and coaxial cable.

In a HFC connection, NBN fibre is rolled out to a common node in the neighbourhood. From the node, coaxial cable will complete the connection to the premises. The cable itself is made of insulated copper to prevent external interference.

HFC technology will be used mostly around Australia's capital cities. If you or your neighbours have a pay TV subscription, it’s likely you live in the HFC footprint. An estimated 4 million premises will be connected with the technology. 

Find out what technology is available at your premises
Search your address on the NBN coverage map

Residential Support:

• Friday 14/04/17: CLOSED
• Saturday 15/04/17: 9am - 5pm
• Sunday 16/04/17: 9am - 5pm
• Monday 17/04/17: 9am - 5pm

Business Support:

CLOSED Friday-Monday

Residential Accounts:

• Friday 14/04/17: CLOSED
• Saturday 15/04/17: 9am - 5pm
• Sunday 16/04/17: 9am - 5pm
• Monday 17/04/17: 8am - 10pm

Residential and Business Sales:

CLOSED Friday-Monday

Business emergency support will be available for urgent matters. See here for details.

Regular operating hours will resume Tuesday, 18 April. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Happy Easter from the MyNetFone team

Enjoy the long weekend!

A toddler with an iPad isn't an uncommon sight in this digital age. And it’s certainly a sign of technological progress to see someone who's still in nappies operating a touch-screen computer.

So it’s probably no surprise that Australian kids are now spending more time using the internet than watching television.

A recent study from Roy Morgan Research revealed that Aussie kids between the ages of 6 and 13 spend an average of almost 12 hours a week online. This number has increased steadily over the last 8 years, doubling from 6 hours a week in 2008.

Not only has internet use increased significantly, it’s actually taken away from hours spent watching television. In 2008 youngsters spent 14.5 hours a week watching TV which dropped to 10.5 hours in 2016.

“The internet is taking time away from TV in large part because it’s what many kids now treat as television. Watching online videos is the most common internet activity, something two-thirds of kids do in an average four weeks. Almost one in four kids say YouTube is their number one favourite website,” said Roy Morgan Research CEO, Michele Levine. 

While time spent online dominates time spent watching television in total, it’s a different case when you only look at in-home entertainment. Almost 30 percent of kid’s internet usage is spent outside of the home, either at school or elsewhere. Kids are spending around 8 hours a week online at home, slightly less than the 10.5 hours of TV.

How Aussie Kids Spend Their Time

Source: Roy Morgan Research

Have you got an appetite for data?

Check out our competitive broadband plans

The National Broadband Network is on target to connecting 8 million premises by 2020, according to NBN Co's 2017-2020 corporate plan. This follows a big year in 2016, with the rollout hitting some significant milestones.

2016 Milestones

It's expected the NBN will reach the halfway point (4 million) of the rollout in mid-2017. There are currently 3.87 million connected premises, with 1.69 million of those actively using the service.

Overall Progress

Did you know?

Eventually everyone will have to be connected to the NBN.

The legacy copper network that provides DSL broadband and PSTN phone services will be disconnected roughly 18-months after NBN availability. With the significant progress made in 2016, it’s important to be aware of when service will be made available to your premises - you don't want to be caught offline when the legacy network is terminated!

Why not check if your premises is ready on the NBN coverage map. Just type in your address or drop a pin on the map to find out when NBN will be available in your area and what type of connection you can expect. Check the NBN coverage map.

If you’d like to know more about the NBN
give us a call on 1300 731 048

Whether it’s embarrassing grandchildren on Facebook, or trying to rewind a DVD - the older members of our community have a bad reputation when it comes to technology. However, it turns out these stereotypes might be a thing of the past.

According to a study conducted by NBN Co, tech-savvy grandparents have transitioned comfortably into the digital age with 93% using the internet daily.

According to the NBN’s GranTechies report, Aussie grandparents are using broadband primarily for staying in touch with family and friends, through Skype, email and social media channels. It’s also boosted the confidence of seniors, with 59% saying they were just as internet-savvy as their younger counterparts.

Nan Bosler, President of the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association, teaches seniors from 55 to 80+ how to use computers. And she says the older generation are not the tech dinosaurs we once labelled them.

“Seniors also use the internet like everybody else… for shopping, researching family history, taking online courses and buying airline tickets. I even have lots of students who are addicted to YouTube!”

While the internet is helping elderly Australians keep in contact with family and friends, Nan had a warning for the younger generation.

“It’s fabulous for keeping up with the grandkids. Although some of them need to remember to mind their P’s and Q’s once Grandma is on social media!”

While they might not be as quick on their feet, older Australians are certainly taking advantage of the latest in superfast broadband.

Don’t let Nan leave you behind
Upgrade to one of our competitive NBN plans today

For a lot of us, the end of the year is the time to put those holiday plans into action. Whether you’re travelling for a few weeks abroad or just a weekend coastal getaway – here are a few tech tips to keep in mind this summer:

1) Backup Your Devices

Losing a device obviously comes with a financial loss, but what about your lost data? Important messages, photographs and app histories can all be lost with your phone. It’s a good idea to back up all necessary information on your laptop, hard drive or on a cloud storage facility.

*Another handy tip is to back up your itinerary and important travel documents on an easy to access cloud storage platform. That way you can access them quickly from anywhere in an emergency. Apps like Evernote let you save PDF files, contact numbers and any other important information and can be accessed from any smart device.

2) Insurance

Travelling internationally requires stop-overs, tight deadlines and unfamiliar surroundings. When you’re rushing around from place to place, it can be easy to misplace some of your important gadgets. Shop around and find the travel insurance best suited to you and have the peace of mind that if anything is lost or stolen, you won’t be out of pocket.

3) Extra Battery

Between long-haul flights, airports, trains and incompatible power adaptors, you might not always have the luxury of charging your phone on a whim. Bring a back-up charger so you’re never caught in the red (just remember to charge it before you leave).

4) Route Calls

If you have a MyNetFone VoIP service, you can route your incoming calls to your mobile, or directly to the landline at your destination using the follow-me service. This will allow you to take any important phone calls while you’re gone. When calls are routed from your home number, friends and family contacting you will only pay the cost of a local call.

5) Carry-on Gadgets

Losing your luggage sounds like a plot device for a Hollywood comedy, but it’s not as uncommon as you’d think. If you're flying to your destination, keep in mind lost or damaged baggage isn’t covered by most airlines. So the passenger has to wear the cost if anything happens. Don’t take the risk, make sure you pack any valuables in your carry-on luggage so you can make sure they arrive to your destination safely.

Enjoy your travels worry free by following these simple travel tech tips.

Find out more about the latest in tech news at the MyNetFone blog.

Are you overdue for a holiday? It's always nice to get away, but who’s there to stop your world falling apart without you? 

If you're out of the house, the Follow-Me function enables you to re-direct incoming calls to multiple numbers simultaneously or in succession. In other words - if your home phone is not answering, the call can be diverted to your mobile, office or designated landline.

If you still want to keep tabs on your home life but don't feel like taking a call, you can have voicemails sent directly to your email as an audio file so you never miss a beat.

Manage these and other call features on the MyNetFone online portal.

Don't have a voice plan with MyNetFone yet?

Check out our VoIP plans and sign up here.

The Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security, Dan Tehan, has today launched the 2016 Stay Smart Online Week at the National Library of Australia.

According to Tehan, cybercrime is costing the Australian economy $1billion every year. He expects this cost to increase with reports indicating that 90 per cent of Australians will be online by 2017.

“There have been more than 74,000 cybercrimes reported since November 2014, with online scams and fraud accounting for 42 per cent," Tehan said.

“These statistics demonstrate the importance of every Australian taking responsibility for their own cyber security.”

The theme of this year’s Stay Smart Online week, is “Cyber Safety from the Lounge Room to the Board Room” aimed at promoting safe online security practices at work and at home.

To further assist Australians in protecting themselves, two user guides have been made available on the website along with some “Top Tips” on how to stay safe at home and at work.

The Top Tips offer advice on:

• Securing your mobile device
• Securing your desktop or laptop computer
• Protecting your online accounts
• Safely connecting and sharing
• Protecting your child
• Buying/Selling online

Find out about the latest in tech news at the MyNetFone blog

On-demand video streaming services have changed the way we watch television. Gone are the days of waiting a whole week for the next episode of your favourite program - you can now binge-watch entire seasons in one sitting.

While most streaming services offer a fixed monthly price for access to their content, if you aren't on an unlimited plan it's important to be aware of how much data you’re churning through. With an almost infinite number of television hours at your disposal, you can exhaust even a generous download quota long before the month is over.

Market frontrunners Netflix, Stan and Presto all use different amounts of data per-hour depending on what quality of video you choose. Here's how much data each one guzzles through in an hour:

According to the Netflix help centre, the rule of thumb for data consumption is:

• Low definition – 0.3 Gigabytes per hour
• Standard definition - 0.7 Gigabytes per hour
• High definition - 3 Gigabytes per hour
• Ultra-High definition – 7 Gigabytes per hour

The Presto support centre reported:

• Standard definition – 1.3 Gigabytes per hour
• High definition – 3 Gigabytes per hour

While Stan Help was slightly more frugal with:

• Low definition – 0.57 Gigabytes per hour
• Standard definition – 1.13 Gigabytes per hour
• High definition – 2.89 Gigabytes per hour

Assuming your video-streaming service is set to High-Definition, you can budget: 2.25GB for an episode of House of Cards, 6.75GB to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens or 36GB for the complete director's cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Netflix and Stan allow you to manually adjust the definition level of the video you're streaming and thereby reduce data consumption. Presto is a little less flexible and does not allow you to adjust the video quality. Instead it's determined by the device you're using and the strength of your home internet connection.

While video-streaming can consume a lot of data, it’s important to keep in mind it’s not the only activity your household uses the internet for. If you've got multiple connected devices in the one house, maybe it's time to upgrade to one of our unlimited NBN or DSL internet plans? With MyNetFone you can upgrade your broadband plan at any time with no additional fees.

Have you got an appetite for data?

Check out our unlimited NBN or DSL broadband plans or speak to one of our sales staff on 1300 731 048.

The NBN's multi-technology deployment strategy will see a variety of methods used to connect all Australians to the National Broadband Network. The deployment method for each residence is pre-determined by NBN Co and will vary depending on where you live.

While all NBN connections will make use of super-fast fibre optic cabling, some connections will also utilise existing copper infrastructure or 4G wireless technology to make the final leg of the journey.

Here are the four types of NBN connection currently supported by MyNetFone:

Fixed Wireless NBN

A fixed wireless connection will be used for premises where direct access to the NBN is too difficult or uneconomical. In these instances, fibre will be rolled out to 2,600 NBN towers which will transmit data the remainder of the journey wirelessly. Each premises using the technology will have an antennae fitted to the roof by an approved NBN installer to receive the incoming signal. The number of premises being serviced by any given tower is ‘fixed’, so there’s always a consistent data allocation for every fixed wireless connection. This ensures every user has much faster and more reliable broadband.

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) NBN

Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connections will see brand new fibre optic cables connecting your premises directly to the NBN. As the connection extends all the way to your premises, a device is required to be installed inside your home by an approved NBN installer. An authorised representative over the age of 18 will have to be home during installation. 

Fibre-to-the-Basement (FTTB) NBN

Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) connections are used for multi-dwelling premises like apartment blocks. NBN Fibre is deployed to a common point, usually inside a building’s communications room. The internal copper wiring inside the building is then used to complete the final leg of the connection to each individual dwelling. As FTTB utilises existing copper infrastructure already in the building, residents generally will not have to be present during installation.

Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) NBN 

Fibre-to-the-Node will be the most common type of NBN internet connection. Installation involves rolling out fibre optic cables to a common node in the area. The node will most likely take the form of a street cabinet installed by NBN Co. From the node, existing copper infrastructure will finish the connection to each individual premises. Residents generally will not have to be present during the installation of a FTTN connection.

Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) NBN

HFC technology will be used mostly around Australia's capital cities, with an estimated 4 million premises to be connected with the technology. In a HFC connection, NBN fibre is rolled out to a common node in the neighbourhood. From the node, coaxial cable will complete the connection to the business premises. Coaxial cable has commonly been used to connect pay TV services and is made of insulated copper to prevent any external interference.

You will receive notification in the mail a few weeks before NBN installation is about to commence. It’s important to be aware of when NBN coverage will reach your address, as the existing copper network will be disconnected 18 months after NBN availability.

If your place is ready for the National Broadband Network, check out our competitive NBN plans here or speak to one of our helpful staff on 1300 731 048.

Check if your premises is NBN-ready by searching your address on the NBN rollout map.