Whether it's through a big internet company, or a small one, many Novocastrians are still having problems with the NBN network and internet speed.
Newcastle was one of the first places on the mainland to be connected to the network with the majority of suburbs hooked up.
Internet speed is the primary concern when it comes to the NBN network, and now the federal government is funding the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to install, in lamens terms, little black boxes to record internet speeds of homes from different providers throughout the day.
"Even though 20 people may have the NBN, it's not actually the same thing. Each internet provider can have a better highway onto the internet connected to the NBN and so we want to find out, and the ACCC want to expose transparently, by publishing each month which internet providers are faster than the others," said technology commentator Trevor Long.
Newcastle are in the middle of internet speed problems caused by delays in getting the NBN connected, confirming whether or not you're actually connected and everyone trying to jump online all at once.
Trevor Long says Newcastle are being hit hard with problems but we should "come through them in the next six moths pretty quickly, then we'll simply be asking the question why is my internet fast or slow and which internet provider is responsible," which is where the ACCC data will be crucial.
"The technology mix doesn't matter to the average Joe, they just want better internet and that is what the NBN will deliver. We've just got to get past all the politics and get it installed. So there'll be a couple more years of this back and forth debating until we've all got it, but after that I guess we'll all be asking how we get it faster," said Trevor Long.
