MORE THAN 136,000 premises across Geelong will have access to superfast broadband by March 2017 under an accelerated three-year rollout of the National Broadband Network.
All the newly announced connections will be fibre to the node, with the existing copper telephone network connecting to homes and businesses.
Federal Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson hailed the announcement as fantastic news.
“After my continued strong advocacy on behalf of residents, the rollout has been extended to cover much of Geelong’s CBD and suburbs,” Ms Henderson said.
“This is a great result (that) will see many more residents have access to superfast NBN broadband. This is in contrast to the former Labor Government, which completely left off Geelong’s southern suburbs from its three-year rollout.
“These locations announced today are in addition to the many other locations in the fixed wireless NBN rollout across the Corangamite and Greater Geelong regions.”
Ms Henderson said the announcement was a significant step forward for the NBN as it worked to speed up the rollout and make the build as cost-efficient as possible.
“The Coalition Government understands that internet access is important for our community and will transform education, health care and other critical online services.
“Rollout progress under Labor was slow and costly. The NBN only managed to connect 51,000 premises to its networks during the previous term of government.
“In contrast, the Coalition Government recognises that consumers want fast broadband as soon as possible.
“Services over the NBN will allow families to stream movies, surf the web, and complete schoolwork online. Businesses will also benefit from the higher bandwidth available.
“The plan demonstrates the Coalition’s commitment to rural and regional Australia in closing the digital divide.”
Ms Henderson said nationwide more than 1.3 million homes and businesses could order an NBN service while around 600,000 premises already had an active connection.
Key Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula towns will be rolled out by February, with Bannockburn and Winchelsea to follow in March.
Suburbs from Leopold to Lara will have a rollout by September, with the 3216 postcode to be completed by March 2017.
