Have you ever been shopping for a rental online, see a banger, want to know how fast its NBN is and have been left absolutely stumped? Well, there’s now a browser extension for that.
“NBN Availability Checker”, developed by Chrome Web Store user Luke Prior, is a browser extension that automatically loads the NBN availability for properties listed on realestate.com.au and Domain.
The browser extension is quite extensive in what it can do and is able to show you what the property’s included technology type is, what the maximum line speed is and what co-existence status is available.
The tool has support for several websites, including the two mentioned earlier but also Rent.com.au, Realestate View and Homely. It even has support for multiple network types, including OptiComm, LBNCo and OPENetworks, which you’re more likely to see in apartment buildings and gated communities.
“The tool can display estimated speeds directly from NBN for FTTN locations and also support co-existance and new development charge status where available,” Prior said on Reddit.
“I’m directly using the NBN address search to get the LocID for an address and then using that LocID with MyRepublic to get technology and speed info.
“If that doesn’t find anything then I try the address in Uniti Wireless to see if it is covered by a non-NBN private fibre network e.g. OptiComm.”
How it works for NBN connections is like this: provided you have the browser extension installed, the NBN Availability Checker trawls the NBN version check API. After trawling this API, it reports back to the user with a widget on the website. The widget is yellow in the below images.
I gave the tool a spin and I thought it was really cool. Personally, the last four times I’ve had to move, I’ve been frantically dropping every property address into the NBN address checker to make sure it even has the NBN (lots of properties in Sydney don’t even have the NBN connected). With that in mind, I absolutely see the value in a tool like this.
If the tool is unsure of if the property in question is able to access the internet, it will tell you, with the widget box changing from yellow to red. If the property is serviced by Fibre to the Premises (aka the fastest NBN type possible) the box will go green.
Posted to the subreddit r/AusFinance by the developer, this NBN browser extension seems to be well-loved, with users replying praise and a tonne of questions. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s a bloody good idea.
If you want to download the browser extension, you can install it on Chrome, Firefox or Edge. Shoutout to Cam Wilson for posting this on Twitter.