Chip Shortage Hits NBN Rollout: 48 Day Delay Expected
NBN Co has warned retail service providers (RSPs) that it faces a 2021 shortage of the chipsets required by the network termination devices used on its HFC network, according to a Communications Day report.
The report quotes NBN Co as saying that the likely shortage involves supply of the HFC semiconductors required in telecommunications devices.
It is likely to face these shortages from January to June in the coming year – and this could see mean-time-to-connect increasing to as much as 48 days between January and May.
A spokesperson for NBN Co told CommsDay: “NBN Co has been working on continuity plans to manage the impact of reduced HFC modem supplies. In total, the shortages could impact as many as 50,000 orders across the market between January and May.
“While customers in HFC areas will still be able to order new services, we unfortunately expect increases in the time it may take to connect new customers throughout the first half of 2021. We’re working closely with our technology supplier to further reduce impacts.”