NBN rolls out fleet of hybrid vehicles to elevate customer experience

NBN Co is embracing innovation and improving customer experience through the rollout of a fleet of hybrid vehicles with elevated work platforms to enable the installation, maintenance and rapid repair of aerial sections of the nbn® network.

The elevated work platforms, mounted on hybrid electric trucks, allow nbn technicians to work safely at height, which will help enable faster resolution of outages following a severe weather event, helping deliver improved customer experience.

Five elevated work platforms have been mounted on the back of medium-duty Hino 916 hybrid electric truck chassis by Nifty-Lift at their factory in Bayswater in the east of Melbourne.

The five hybrid elevated work platforms have been rolled out across the east coast and southern part of the continent, with two in Queensland, one in New South Wales, one in Victoria and one in South Australia. They are being used for ongoing maintenance of the Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) network and aerial mounted fibre network.

The new hybrid fleet will contribute to nbn’s emissions reduction efforts.1 Each self-charging truck delivers up to 20 per cent savings in fuel and emissions reductions as compared to a similar diesel truck. Kinetic energy from the moving vehicle is converted into useable power by the hybrid motor and is stored in the batteries until operating conditions allow it to automatically switch between the diesel engine and the electric motor.

nbn is working hard to make the nbn network more resilient to the effects of climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather, such as bushfires, cyclones and flooding, which can cause significant impacts in communities, particularly in regional and rural areas.

The company utilises Temporary Network Infrastructure (TNI) to quickly restore services to customers when a network site is badly damaged or destroyed.

This equipment has been strategically placed in areas across the country so it can be deployed in the case of an emergency event as soon as it is safe to do so, to keep vital lines of communication operational for communities and first responders.

nbn is committed to using electric or hybrid vehicles, where suitably available, by 2030.2 There are already 55 hybrid vehicles in use and the company plans to phase in more hybrid or electric vehicles as suitable models and supporting infrastructure become available. Electrification of nbn’s fleet, including hybrids, is one of the actions the company is taking to achieve science-based emissions reductions and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, or sooner.

NBN Co is on target to enable 10 million premises – or up to 90 per cent of the Fixed Line network – to access the nbn® Home Ultrafast wholesale speed tier, which is capable of delivering peak wholesale download speeds of 500 Mbps to close to 1 Gbps, by the end of 2025.

In addition to delivering faster nbn network speeds, greater energy efficiency and requiring less maintenance, the company’s rollout of new fibre deeper into the network also makes the network more reliable and resilient.

This is part of the company’s commitment to reducing annual energy use by 25GWh per annum by December 2025.

NBN Co Executive General Manager, Procurement and Property, Emily Hall said, “Building a more climate resilient and energy-efficient network is a key priority for our company.

“These new vehicles are an important addition to our fleet as they align to both of those key objectives.

“Not only will these new hybrid vehicles help us reduce emissions, importantly they will allow us to respond to outages more quickly and improve the resilience of our network, delivering a better customer experience.”