As the rollout continues across the region, some renters have expressed concern about whether they will be able to connect to the NBN.

NBN Co spokesman Darren Rudd said people renting apartments, townhouses or houses would have to wait until the rollout had begun in their neighbourhood before taking action.

The NBN Co website includes a rollout map so people can determine when the rollout reaches them.

Once that happens, Mr Rudd said a renter could notify their landlord or managing real estate agent that they want to access the NBN. Connection to the NBN is important as it is not just for internet access - landline telephones also run on the network.

Those who aren't connected will ultimately lose the ability to make calls on their landline.

Instead of contacting the landlord or estate agent, Mr Rudd said renters could also register their interest directly with NBN Co.

"We have a whole team that engages with the body corporate, the landlords, the builders, and it gets scheduled," Mr Rudd said.

"We get agreements from the body corporate or the strata management that we're going to come through the building."

The installation process is then the same for houses and townhouses - a utility box is installed outside the premises and a connection box inside.

In these instances, the fibre will run to the node and the copper network will handle delivery to the house. However, the situation is slightly different for apartments and other "multi-unit dwellings", where fibre is delivered right to the building.

"What we do in that scenario we call fibre to the basement," Mr Rudd said. "So it comes from the node into the basement of the apartment block or the office block or shopping mall. Then we rely on the internal wiring."

ghumphries@fairfaxmedia.com.au