The Federal Coalition Government is delivering fast broadband sooner, cheaper and more affordably for consumers in the New England Electorate, with 5,320 homes and business in the Tamworth area now able to access the nbn network, Deputy Prime Minister and Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, said today.
Homes and businesses in parts of North Tamworth, East Tamworth, Oxley Vale and Moore Creek are now switched on through the nbn, joining more than 5,970 premises on the outskirts of the township which have been able to take advantage of services over nbn’s fixed wireless technology since it was first made available in 2012.
“Large parts of the Tamworth district can now access fast and affordable internet services through the nbn, which is continuing to meet its overall rollout targets locally and across the nation,” Mr Joyce said.
“This is great news for local residents and local businesses who can take advantage of increased opportunities to work from home and improved access to beneficial online services such as educational tools, as well as greater access to entertainment options.
“For the first time, homes and businesses in Tamworth can choose how fast their peak internet connection is, not just their data limit. For households stuck on just 1 or 2 megabits per second on ADSL, they will now be able to get 10 or 20 times that speed, depending on the retail internet plan they select.
“An additional 2,800 premises in parts of Taminda, West Tamworth and Westdale will be able to access retail services over the nbn network by the end of the year, with the remaining 13,000 homes and businesses across Tamworth, Calala, Hillvue, Manilla and Kootingal expected to progressively connect to the nbn network early next year.”
As at 14 July 2017, there were 48,201 homes and businesses ready for service in New England and of these, 18,048 had an active nbn connection. A further 23,650 homes and businesses are currently under construction in New England.
The fixed wireless rollout is scheduled to be largely complete in 2018, meaning that more remote Australians will get the nbn before those in metro areas.
The Government is investing $29.5 billion of equity into the rollout of the NBN.
The nbn currently has 2.5 million subscribers nationally will connect eight million homes and businesses by 2020.
After 6 years under Labor, at the 2013 election only 260,000 premises in fixed line areas were passed by the nbn and just 51,000 were connected to the built network. Today the nbn is accessible to more than 5.7 million Australian premises.
(ENDS)