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nbn’s Tech Lab: improving network experience through machine learning

Here at nbn we are not only building Australia’s broadband network for today but also preparing for the network of the future.


That means we are building future proof systems that will enhance your experience on the nbn™ broadband access network for years to come.

One of the ways we are doing this is through our Tech Lab. This Tech Lab will leverage big data, machine learning and existing capability to improve end-user experience of the nbn™ access network and help resolve issues sooner.

The way we do this is by gathering information through a series of surveys that are completed by end users – with their express consent – about their experiences.

While for the majority the installation experience is positive, when faults do occur nbn’s Tech Lab will help the team determine whether a fault can be dealt with remotely and immediately or whether a field technician needs to visit an end-user home to resolve it.

That means our workforce will be able to connect more homes, rather than attend to problems that don’t exist, thereby allowing you to get on with your life.

To do this we are utilising existing capability to solve a complex problem and to help provide us with crucial insights about the way people are using the nbn™ access network.

Developing these insights will help enrich the customer experience of services over the network and make our systems and processes more agile by synthesising massive data sets.

Once the investigation and implementation of the Tech Lab research is complete we could, for example, easily identify trends that occur in a failed activation in order to pre-empt problems before arriving at a house.

Faults are an inevitable part of any technology network, but minimising the disruption is key to improving the experience. We expect to see significant improvements as a result of early detection and quick resolution.


John McInerney is Chief Systems Engineering Officer at nbn.


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