Superfast broadband is now being delivered to the townships of Parkes and Peak Hill as the National Broadband Network (NBN) makes services available to more than 4,600 homes and businesses in Parkes and almost 490 in Peak Hill.
The Nationals’ Member for Riverina and Minister for Small Business Michael McCormack said residents in both Parkes and Peak Hill can now take full advantage of the opportunities available in Australia’s new high-speed broadband era and begin ordering their NBN service from a retail service provider.
“The Coalition Government’s NBN will boost productivity and provide a platform for innovation to ensure the economic and social benefits of the internet are available to everyone regardless of whether they live in the city or the regional areas of the country,” Mr McCormack said.
“The development of digital technologies has reduced business costs, changed how our children learn and study and made sure we can connect and engage socially in more ways than we ever imagined.
Homes and business in Parkes and Peak Hill will be connected to the NBN using fibre to the node (FTTN) technology. FTTN offers average wholesale broadband speeds of around 70 megabits per second (Mbps), with many premises able to access speeds of up to 100 Mbps and the NBN will ensure that at least 90 per cent of the fixed-line footprint will have access to wholesale download speeds of 50 Mbps.
Mr McCormack said the rollout in the Riverina and Central West was gathering pace thanks to the NBN’s simplified network construction and the company’s strong relationship with local contractors.
“Our changes to Labor’s original rollout have prevented monthly internet bills increasing by up to $43 per month and saved around $30 billion in project funding.
Under the Coalition, there are more than 3.2 million homes and businesses able to order an NBN service, and more than 1.3 million paying customers have connected. This compares to just 51,000 connections in the six years of the previous Labor Government.
It typically takes a couple of weeks to connect to the NBN after placing an order and new in-home equipment will be required that is compatible with the faster NBN service.
To connect to the NBN contact your preferred phone or internet provider and for more information on the NBN visitwww.nbnco.com.au or call 1800 687 626.