Your Next Development Doesn’t Need to Cost $400 Per Apartment in NBN Fees
Daniel Filmer, CEO & Managing Director, Move Up Internet
When you’re developing a new residential project in Australia, NBN infrastructure costs can catch you off guard. I’ve spent years in the connectivity space, and I’ve seen too many developers realise too late that “free” NBN comes with a substantial price tag.
The Real Cost of NBN Infrastructure
Under the Australian Government’s Telecommunications Infrastructure in New Developments (TIND) policy, developers are responsible for organising and meeting the costs of fibre-ready facilities such as conduits, pits and pipes, as well as contributing to the cost of phone and internet infrastructure. The costs vary significantly depending on site complexity, but they’re always substantial.
For Multi Dwelling Units (MDUs), NBN Co can charge up to $400 per premises as a developer contribution, plus potential backhaul contributions if NBN backhaul is required to connect the new development is not already available. For a 100-unit apartment building, that’s $40,000 in developer contributions alone, before considering the cost of installing conduits, pathways, and compliance work.
While large-scale Queensland developments like Aura on the Sunshine Coast have required millions in infrastructure investment as part of their development stages, even smaller multi-dwelling projects face six-figure sums per stage.
But the costs don’t stop there.
The Hidden Ongoing Costs
Once the building infrastructure is in place, there’s still the end-user contribution. NBN Co may charge a one-time end-user contribution of up to $300 per premises in a new development, which is typically passed on to residents when they first connect. For renters in new apartments, this unexpected $300 charge often comes as an unpleasant surprise when they try to get internet connected.
Then there’s the cost of installation within each unit. While NBN Co has introduced area switch agreements for upgrading existing apartment buildings to fibre at $275 per apartment, new developments face different challenges. Developers must ensure their buildings comply with NBN’s engineering and design standards for MDUs, including specific requirements for conduits, pathways, communications rooms, and spatial provisions. Non-compliance results in delays and additional costs borne by the building owner.
What is a SIP Provider Arrangement?
A Standard Infrastructure Provider (SIP) arrangement is essentially a contract between a developer and an approved infrastructure provider, most commonly NBN Co, to design, build, and install telecommunications infrastructure for a new development.
Under this model:
- The developer pays upfront for all infrastructure costs
- NBN Co takes ownership once construction is complete
- Residents eventually connect through retail service providers
- The developer has limited control over service quality or speed once handed over
It’s a system that places financial burden on developers while giving them little ongoing benefit or competitive advantage. Once you’ve paid to install the infrastructure and handed it to NBN Co, your involvement ends, but your residents’ experience with slower shared network speeds in high-density buildings is just beginning.
The Alternative Provider Landscape
Not all connectivity solutions follow the SIP model. Across Australia, alternative providers have emerged offering different approaches to multi-dwelling unit connectivity.
Some providers operate their own private fibre networks in specific regions. These providers use a combination of technologies, including fibre backhaul and fixed wireless mmWave, to connect apartment buildings to their networks. The largest alternative fixed-broadband networks outside of NBN now reach hundreds of thousands of homes across major metropolitan areas. These alternative networks typically offer speeds comparable to or exceeding NBN’s standard offerings.
The key difference? Many of these providers fund their own infrastructure installation, removing the upfront cost burden from developers. Instead of requiring developers to pay hundreds of thousands before residents arrive, these networks are installed at no cost to the building, with the provider recovering investment through direct customer subscriptions.
For developers, this model offers several advantages:
- Zero upfront infrastructure investment
- Faster deployment without navigating NBN’s approval and compliance processes
- A competitive amenity that can differentiate your property
- Better performance outcomes for residents in high-density environments
However, availability varies significantly by location and building type. Most alternative providers focus on major metropolitan areas, with coverage concentrated in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
The Performance Question
One concern developers often raise about alternatives to NBN is whether they can deliver adequate speeds and reliability. The short answer is that technology has moved well beyond NBN’s original design specifications.
Private network providers typically deliver speeds between 100Mbps and 2000Mbps, often with symmetrical upload and download speeds, a significant advantage over NBN’s standard asymmetrical plans, where upload speeds are considerably slower than downloads.
More importantly, these networks are often built with dedicated bandwidth per building rather than the shared infrastructure model NBN uses across multiple developments. This means fewer congestion issues during peak times and more consistent performance.
Building for Tomorrow’s Needs
The NBN model made sense when it was designed over a decade ago. But technology has moved on, and so have resident expectations. Today’s renters and buyers expect gigabit speeds as standard. Tomorrow’s residents will expect multi-gigabit capacity for 8K streaming, VR workspaces, smart building systems, and technologies we haven’t fully adopted yet.
Standard NBN infrastructure in MDUs typically maxes out at 1Gbps in ideal conditions, and often delivers considerably less in practice due to shared network resources and older in-building cabling. For developers planning buildings that will stand for 50+ years, investing in or selecting infrastructure designed for 1Gbps seems short-sighted.
Some alternative providers are now deploying networks with 10Gbps backbone capacity, ten times faster than NBN’s standard maximum. This isn’t about marketing bigger numbers; it’s about genuine future-proofing. As bandwidth demands grow exponentially, and they will, buildings with higher-capacity infrastructure will maintain their competitive edge while NBN-only buildings may require expensive upgrades.
Making the Right Choice
If you’re planning a multi-dwelling project, it’s worth exploring all your options before committing to a Standard Infrastructure Provider arrangement with NBN Co. Ask potential providers:
- What are the total upfront costs to the developer?
- What ongoing costs will residents face?
- What speeds can the infrastructure actually deliver in a high-density building?
- What’s the upgrade path as bandwidth demands increase?
- How quickly can the network be deployed?
- What level of support and service quality can residents expect?
For projects in Southeast Queensland, we’ve been working with developers across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast who want to offer residents more than just “adequate” internet. At Move Up Internet, we fund and own our network infrastructure, meaning zero upfront cost for developers, and we’re building networks with 10Gbps backbone capacity to handle whatever tomorrow brings.
If you’re planning a multi-dwelling development and want to explore alternatives to the traditional NBN path, I’d be happy to discuss how different approaches might work for your project. The decisions you make now about connectivity infrastructure will impact your residents for decades to come.