Residents of Geelong’s northern suburbs and the Surf Coast will soon have access to faster internet.
NBN Co has announced its sixth tranche of suburbs and towns across the region that will become eligible to upgrade to NBN’s Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), which included Bell Park, Hamlyn Heights, Lara, Norlane, Drysdale, Torquay and Jan Juc.
The suburbs are currently served by NBN Co’s Fibre to the Node (FTTN) service and were chosen based on expected increase in demand for quicker internet speeds.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the announcement meant another 14,000 properties across the region would have access to faster internet speeds.
“This next stage will see another 200,000 premises eligible, [including] more than 14,000 in the Corio and Corangamite electorates, which will drive significant benefits to the community,” he said.
“NBN Co will now work with its construction and delivery partners to get premises in the region ready to upgrade to ultrafast speeds when they choose to do so.
“This represents a key part of NBN Co’s $3.5 billion investment that will see 75 per cent of Australia’s fixed line network able to access ultrafast broadband by 2023.”
Geelong-based senator Sarah Henderson said the upgrade would bring benefits to residents and businesses.
“This will create jobs in the community, ensure local businesses can access the speeds they need to thrive, and improve connectivity for families in the entire region,” she said.
“Households and businesses across our region will be able to access NBN Co’s fastest internet plans of up to one gigabit per second, on demand by 2023.”
