NBN fibre rollout to begin in Geraldton

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Senator Louise Pratt, Senator for Western Australia, today welcomed NBN Co’s announcement that the NBN fibre rollout will begin in Geraldton.

“This is exciting news.  The digital future for the Geraldton region is really starting to come together with the completion of the Perth to Geraldton Fibre Optic Link, the announcement of a fixed-wireless first release site in the Geraldton-Greenough region and now the fibre roll out to homes in Geraldton”, Senator Louise Pratt said.

Senator Pratt said NBN Co, the company established to construct and operate the NBN, had signed an agreement with national construction company Syntheo – a Lend Lease/Service Stream joint venture for works to commence in Geraldton in October this year.

“This technology will bring many great opportunities to communities, businesses and households in Geraldton and the region. Households are already getting the benefit of improved data connection speeds – but the next step of high speed broadband will open a whole new world of potential.

“The NBN will provide opportunities for collaborative learning between institutions in Australia and overseas – this will be great for students studying though the Geraldton Universities Centre who are already accessing courses from many different education institutions.  It will also be terrific for the learning experiences of children in local schools.

“It will improve local healthcare services by enabling video consultations, remote and real time diagnosis of tests and scans, and the high-speed secure transfer of medical imaging and patient records.

“Local businesses will be able to market themselves to the world and a much greater variety of news on entertainment will be available. The opportunities are endless.

“The announcement of construction in Geraldtondemonstrates that momentum is building as the NBN is rolled out to every home, school, hospital and business in Australia.

“It is estimated that the average time from the start of works to the activation of first services will be approximately 12 months.” Senator Pratt said.

Further information on the NBN is available at www.nbn.gov.au and www.nbnco.com.au

Media Contact: Senator Pratt’s office 08 9225 4411.

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