Australians on the South Coast are set to be among the next 900,000 premises to benefit from access to ultrafast internet speeds, after NBN Co announced the next tranche of its $4.5 billion network investment plan.
Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said that work on the 200,000 premises included in the first two tranches is underway and that NBN Co is on track to upgrade 2 million homes by 2023.
“To deploy these network upgrades, NBN Co will work with its construction and delivery partners to design and construct local fibre networks in Batemans Bay, Gerringong, St Georges Basin, Ulladulla and Worrigee passing at the street level in areas connected to the National Broadband Network’s Fibre to the Node (FTTN) technology,” Minister Fletcher said.
Senator for New South Wales Jim Molan said that as well as the benefits that faster internet can provide, this investment by NBN Co will provide a much needed boost to economic activity and employment on the South Coast.
“The commencement of these works by NBN Co will create jobs for the South Coast community and support local businesses by allowing them to take advantage of the benefits that ultrafast broadband can provide,” Senator Molan said.
“Households and businesses in Batemans Bay, Gerringong, St Georges Basin, Ulladulla and Worrigee will be able to access NBN Co’s fastest internet plans of up to 1 gigabit per second, which will allow for 4K streaming on multiple devices concurrently, enhance the online gaming experience and better support Australians working from home.”
The investment of $4.5 billion, announcing in September 2020, will allow NBN Co to rollout the fibre infrastructure without any cost to households of businesses on the South Coast until the customer orders an eligible service.
A number of factors were considered in selecting areas in this second stage of investment, including the predicted take-up of higher speed services, while also maintaining a proportionate state and regional mix of locations.
For more information on the NBN, go to www.nbnco.com.au