NBN Local media advisor Kasey Ellison said the corporation – responsible for designing, building and operating the country’s broadband network – aimed to connect premises to a network service within weeks of receiving an order from the premises’s phone or internet provider.

Once the network is switched on in a given area, people have 18 months to switch to it before existing landline phone and internet services are replaced.

Residents and businesses do this by placing an order through their preferred phone and internet provider.

Ms Ellison said the connection timeframe depended on the amount of work required and the demand for other installations in the area.

“There was strong demand in Horsham when the network was first switched on in September, which means that some connections might have taken slightly longer at that time,” she said.

“We have found the most popular time to switch over to an NBN-powered plan is in the first six months after a premise can officially connect.

“We get another surge of activations towards the end of the 18-month migration window.”

Ms Ellison said the current take-up rate for NBN services across Australia at the end of the migration windows was more than 74 per cent.

“This is on target with our corporate plan, which assumes a take-up rate of 73 to 75 per cent in 2021,” she said.

“This is because not every home will require an NBN plan: some might be holiday homes, some consumers will choose mobile-only, and there will be other fibre network providers in some areas.”

The corporation announced last week it would host information sessions in Horsham, Warracknabeal and Ararat this week, where people can trial the network’s SkyMuster service, and learn what to consider before signing up to a network plan.

Crews are constructing the network in Warracknabeal, Nhill, Stawell and St Arnaud, with residents able to order services by the middle of the year. 

Construction is due to start in Edenhope and Ararat within the next few months, with services available from September.