Most people know the NBN is coming but not a lot more, and that, writes John Fennell, means the smart home sector has a lot of work to do.

It was interesting to see NBN Co – the agency rolling out the fibre broadband network to Australian homes and businesses – recently saying how little the public still knows about the NBN.

They’ve been hearing that for a long time apparently, and not just from the media or big organisations – or the home technology industry – but directly from consumers right around the country. It’s the reason the NBN Co is now planning to roll out a major advertising blitz designed to reach 12 million homes and businesses ‘in the most effective way possible’, according to their chief communications officer Kieren Cooney.

“This is a huge project which will impact people in terms of the way we live and work but also directly in that their copper line is going to disappear at some point, and we know there’s a high level of people who don’t know that, or those that do know don’t know what that means,” Kieren was reported in the media as saying.

While they’re yet to decide just how they expect to get the public up-to-speed, I know that many in the home technology sector – be it electricians, builders, cablers, integrators or whoever – will not only welcome the news, but be keen to have the NBN Co reach out to the industry to make sure they can take part. Or at least know what’s in the pipeline so they can build on the momentum.

We are, after all, talking to people in businesses and homes about broadband and technology every day. Most of us not only have a pretty good take on how the public see the NBN and their current internet use at home, but have already created all sorts of avenues to get information out to them on a regular basis.

What’s The Buzz?
In fact, we recently got Connection Research to ask 1,000 householders around Australia – a mix of families and singles, incomes, residences and internet technologies – just what they knew about the NBN or how it might affect their homes.

The results were both surprising and all too familiar, unfortunately.

Over two thirds of people said they don’t know when they’ll get the NBN and nearly the same number said they don’t know where to go for more information. It was a similar deal when we asked them how the NBN’s fibre broadband box will connect to their homes, how it will affect their telephone or internet and what they thought they should do, if anything, to the inside of their homes to get fast broadband around the house.

Most were also in the dark about who’d be responsible for doing all the connecting work, who’d provide their communication services in future, what it all might cost and what the best source of advice on it all was. Luckily for the NBN Co, at least around half our sample said they trusted their public information, but there was also a high level of trust in the advice of professionals like electricians and cablers (but very little for the media it seems).

The other big take-out was how much interest there is in putting broadband to work in multiple rooms around the house even if most people once again didn’t have much idea how that’s supposed to happen. For example, there’s a lot of interest in using broadband for media and video servers, smart TVs, security systems, energy management, automation and even e-health monitoring, but few knew how to really make them work at home or what was entailed in connecting them to the NBN.

What does it all mean? I think it boils down to some simple facts. The public like technology and want fast broadband at home, they’re also keen to know a lot more about it and are ready to listen to someone they trust, and they’re prepared to do more at home to get a good experience – but how much is still an open question.

The Cabler Man
Once I saw the survey results I was keen to ask people actually installing smart building technology just how they saw it all.

One of those was Nathan Gill, who runs his own company called Automation Innovation out of Newcastle, north of Sydney. Nathan’s excited about the opportunities offered by the NBN and says most people he meets are as well.

“While there’s some commercial fibre in place up here now I think there’s widespread pessimism about how long it might take to get out to homes and, while I know it’s a huge project, the idea that we might only go to the node with fibre seems like a backward step,” Nathan says.

“Most homes here are using ADSL for the web but I really feel people are confused about what fibre will mean or what they should do about it.

“I find people are excited about technology at home but we spend a lot of time educating people about the need for a wired infrastructure if they want all the bells and whistles. We still have a fair way to go.”

It’s a similar story in Sydney. Owner and managing director of Synergy Integrated Systems on the city’s northern beaches, Clayton Brown, says the NBN isn’t there yet and most people he meets are not sure when it’s coming, despite widespread excitement about the prospect.

“Everyone now has a lot of technology in their homes and there’s big interest in streaming movies and controlling gadgets, but how the NBN will affect that is still a big question mark for most people,” he says.

“A lot of people assume that they’ll just connect a wireless device of some sort and we really are putting in a big effort to get them to understand the value of a wiring backup if they want to get the best out of the NBN.

“Education really is key with all this, but that’s a big task.”

You’ve Got The NBN, But What Then?
That’s something the industry is now also trying to grapple with. A number of companies and organisations have recently come together to create a new website – registeredcablers.com.au – designed to not only help the public understand the NBN at home, but also let them easily find a cabler or other professional installer for some sensible advice.

As its free for registered cablers and installers to join, we’re hoping it’ll become a one stop shop for them and the public, but we expect it’ll need a lot of support to get the information out. We think supporting professional home technology installers in their own areas with marketing material and backup will be a big step along that road, but we also plan to get out and speak to as many as we can over the next 12 months to make sure they can really make the most of the NBN roll out.

We also hope it’ll help us to understand the issues installers are facing out there.

According to Clayton, the new site could just help make consumers more aware that home technology installers need to be registered and have the right skills.

“Most people don’t know you need to be registered to be doing home technology or data installs, and I think the NBN and this new site can help get that message out,” he says.