How important is the nbn for new home buyers?

Increasingly, fast broadband – via services over the nbn network – is one of the most important things new home buyers are looking for.¹

At the same time as many new home buyers are becoming more flexible with the traditional priorities of location and extra living space, they’re digging their heels in when it comes to broadband internet.

General Manager of Build Partnerships at nbn, Julian Nachmias, highlights how fast this shift in thinking has occurred: “80% of Aussie house hunters [now] cite a good broadband service as a major factor in their decision-making process when it comes to buying or building a new home. A few years ago, that figure was sitting at only 10%.”²

What’s caused broadband connectivity, once considered a luxury item, to suddenly become a necessity for so many Australians?

Read more: Why developers need to get their properties nbn-ready

Home/work

While it’s easy to associate the internet with entertainment, it’s also an important tool for anyone who works from home.

Fast internet is at the heart of communication, with voice and video calling over data frequently being favoured over landlines and mobile phones. Add to that an ever-increasing reliance on the cloud for file storage.

“People who now have the ability to work from home with high-speed broadband access are able to save on travel costs associated with cars or public transport,” says Nachmias.

That’s not the only potential cost saving, “Take smart energy; you can set up smart heaters and air-conditioners to sense when to turn on and off at certain times, which gives you the ability to reduce energy bills” says Nachmias.

These, and many more benefits are becoming available thanks to access to fast broadband, such as via services over the nbnnetwork, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

What is the IoT?

You may have heard of “the Internet of Things” without really understanding what it means.

Put simply, this refers to connecting electronic devices to the internet, as well as to each other.

As Nachmias points out, this is already happening, “Smart cameras, alarms and app notifications could allow you to check in with your home while you’re away, and are expected to become more and more popular and accessible for home owners. The costs of those kind of devices are coming down.”

For new home buyers, the logical outcome of all this may happily be more leisure time.

“In the future, even menial tasks like watering plants, vacuuming, mowing the lawn could all be automated,” says Nachmias. “It’s almost like the AI world where we will be able to just sit back and watch everything being done for us.”

Sounds like a utopian future, but how many devices are you going to need?

Read more: Technology to look for in new homes

The rise and rise of smart devices

Nachmias says the average number of smart devices in Australian homes is rising all the time.

“Look at the average home today; you’ve got on average 10 connected devices accessing the internet. That number has increased rapidly in the last few years”.³

Perhaps this is because, “People are watching lots of on-demand TV, using smart energy, smart security, smart hubs. By 2020 we’re expecting the number of devices to triple to 29.”⁴

New home buyers need to think about how many devices they have now, how many they will need in years to come, as well as how much data will be required when every smart TV and computer in the home is downloading all at once.

Given that access to fast broadband, via services over the nbnnetwork, is such a high priority, and that only looks set to increase, what should new home buyers do?

“Anyone looking to renovate or build a new home should consider getting nbn ready,” says Nachmias. “This starts by asking your developer if they have applied to have the nbn network delivered and then working with your builder and cabler to ensure your homes is set up for your tech needs.”

¹ Source: nbn Ready Homes report, 2016
² Source: nbn Ready Homes report, 2016
³ Source: Internet Uninterrupted: Australian Households of the Connected Future, Telsyte, 2016
⁴ Source: Internet Uninterrupted: Australian Households of the Connected Future, Telsyte, 2016