Meeting the people behind the nbn™ network: Sean
Australia spans over 7.6 million square kilometres, much of which is of some of the most inhospitable land on the planet, and nbn is leaving no stone unturned to ensure Aussies have access to the nbn™ network.
In fact, a recent Ovum Report into rural and remote broadband infrastructure around the world confirmed Australia is going further and farther than any other nation surveyed to provide access to fast internet for people living in regional and rural areas. It should come as no surprise that 6,000 dedicated nbn employees and another 17,000 people working for our Delivery Partners are working on the nbn™ network’s rollout.
Their roles are multifaceted. Our professionals are required to not only install new services, but up-keep the existing nbn™ network to ensure end users are able to access the fast connectivity nbn has set as its goal.
We’re bringing into the spotlight the hardworking Australians ushering in a new era of connectivity for everyone. Perhaps you caught our catch-up with field technician Jacob? Well now it is time to meet Sean.
Meet Sean, Field Engineer at nbn
Sean is a Field Engineer hard at work every day rolling out and maintaining the nbn™ network.
“A typical day would be looking at multiple sites,” Sean points out. “It’s such a vast and varied type of job we may be doing… from testing a node to installing fibre splitters to replacing a card or extending the network.”
“There’s basic routine maintenance to ensure the integrity of the network. Then fault finding in the event of a network outage, which can entail the testing of many mediums within the nbn™ network. I also do pre-network enablement to test the new installations and ensure they are fine to ‘go live.’”
While Sean enjoys the diversity in experiences his role provides, it’s not without difficulties. “Our biggest challenges are maintaining public expectations. Being at the coal face, and usually directly in view of the general public, there are many times we need to respond to the public’s questions or concerns.”
Sean is excited by these challenges, however. In fact, working on the rollout of the nbn™ network has given him an opportunity to experience technology he may not have encountered in other roles.
“Working at nbn gives me access to some of the best technology in the world right now and delivering it requires a knowledge base of multiple technologies. We send data down many paths and over varied mediums to ensure we can get service over our vast landscape. The constant updating of technology also requires us to be continually learning new technologies. This type of challenge is welcomed and ensures that my position will never be stagnant.”
For Sean, he also feels it’s important to know he is working for something bigger than himself, which will serve all Australians well into the future.
Check out the
video to see Sean in action
* We’re designing the nbn™ network to provide these speeds to our wholesale customers, telephone and internet service providers. Your experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network, depends on the technology over which services are delivered to your premises and some factors outside our control like your equipment quality, software, broadband plans, signal reception and how your service provider designs its network.