A FYANSFORD IT business stands to lose valuable international customers because it’s unable to obtain a broadband connection.
Greg Dale, of Easy As PC, has up to 100 Chinese clients keen to have a retail website presence in Australia to sell their products.
But he has to do all the work using a six GB Wi-Fi dongle that lasts less than two weeks before he has to recharge it at a cost of $49.
“Time frame is a big issue when it comes to internet access and if I can’t get the connectivity I need I may end up losing clients,” Mr Dale said.
He and wife Cathie Smith also home-school their son, Tyler, which they said was becoming increasingly difficult because of the internet limitations.
“So much of the home school curriculum is YouTube-based and we just can’t do it because it’s so expensive,” Mr Dale said.
“We’re chewing through eight GB in just days and have to recharge. We rang everyone trying to get internet access and everywhere we got a blunt no.
“They all blamed a lack of ports and offered to put us on a waiting list. There are no plans to upgrade and unless someone drops off we have no hope.
“We’re meant to be pushing for new businesses in Geelong but with connectivity the way it is, how are businesses going to set up?
“You can’t do it without internet access. It’s a joke.”
Mr Dale said the previous tenants of the house had internet access.
“We were in Highton before here and we couldn’t get it there either and had to use Wi-Fi.
“It’s become a necessity of life because so many services expect you to be able to connect but the government has no interest in helping out.”
The Independent has recently reported a series of local issues related to inadequate internet connections in Geelong, including impacts on investment opportunities.
Geelong councillor Rod Macdonald launched a Broadband for Geelong campaign, seeking feedback through council’s website on connection issues around the region.
— JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
