TECHNOLOGY RAPID-fire growth of a new breed of regional internet providers is expected to take the fight to the telco giants as more than half a million Australians see their broadband speeds double as the NBN ups its fixed wireless technology. 
The NBN is set to reveal today that it is supercharging its fixed wireless services through a tech upgrade, which is tipped to increase demand as speeds meet those already -expected in east coast capitals.
Speeds of 25 megabits per second introduced three years ago will increase to 50 megabits a second.
It already reaches 300,000 Australians but by 2020, this will benefit about 160,000 Victorians and about 600,000 people nationwide.
NBN fixed wireless executive general manager Gavin Williams said it would increase the competition among internet companies to service those regions.
"Regional Australians have long suffered from broadband way below standards their city cousins take for granted," Mr Williams said. "This is giving many retail service providers their first opportunity to -compete in regional areas." Ex-Telstra chief David Thodey said earlier this year the emergence of the "third- tier" smaller providers would prove a huge challenge to the nation's entrenched telco -giants because they offered good services at low prices.
The upgrade comes by using NBN ground station radio signals to transmit data to equipment inside and outside the home.It comes amid reports Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is considering privatising parts of the project in a bid to shore up finances in a Telstra-style stock offering.