MORE than 4000 Gunnedah homes will have access to faster internet after the National Broadband Network (NBN) was officially launched in the town yesterday.
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The rollout means locals will have greater choice in internet service providers and faster internet speeds across town.
NBN local manager for north and west NSW, Ian Scott, said residents would be informed if they were eligible to switch from their current service to the network.
“People will have already received a letter from us in the mail saying that residents can now switch to the NBN,” Mr Scott said.
“Over the next 18 months of the switch over period, people can also probably expect to see plenty of information from providers.”
Mr Scott said the NBN would provide Gunnedah with similar internet speeds to metropolitan areas.
“In the fixed line areas across the country, the speeds are uniformed and top out at 100mb per second and the lowest speed the government permits is 25mb per second,” he said.
“In fact the rollout has favoured regional areas, as we were mandated to build more regionally and we are up to about 80 per cent built in terms of regional infrastructure at the moment and about 50 per cent built in metropolitan areas.”
Gunnedah and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, Stacey Cooke, said the rollout would improve productivity for local businesses.
“The internet is so key in virtually every business at the moment,” Mrs Cooke said.
“So any improvement of speed is going to really boost productivity across the board and mean less time spent waiting on slow internet or dealing with internet dropouts.”
Mrs Cooke said the choice of providers through the NBN meant businesses could shop around for the best deal.
“I think that it is very important that everybody talk to their family and friends in regard to who they have signed up with… ask them about their satisfaction levels,” she said.
“There are hundreds of service providers out there now and not just your standard providers.
“So really ask the questions, try to get the best deal for yourself and ask those providers about their service availability because it should be about at least 80 per cent service availability.
“Shop around, don’t jump straight into a deal, there’s 18-months for you to find the best deal.”
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Parkes MP Mark Coulton said people should prepare to make the switch as it did not happen “automatically”.
“People living and working in the area should contact their preferred provider to discuss their internet usage, the speeds they can expect to experience, and to determine a package that suits their needs,” Mr Coulton said.
“Connecting to a plan means the whole house can enjoy access to the benefits of fast internet like on-demand entertainment options, access to online learning tools and the ability to work remotely.
“Gunnedah locals can contact their preferred phone and internet provider to place an order.
“There are more than 150 phone and internet providers that sell retail plans over the network.”