About 27,000 premises are connected to the National Broadband Network's (NBN) wireless internet across the State, with work on building towers to connect a further 30,000 premises by the end of 2015 under way.
NBN Company community relations advisor Tony Gibbs said the figure of 30,000 would be increased as more rural areas were added to the NBN footprint.
"We're gathering a lot of momentum in rural NSW," he said.
Mr Gibbs said areas enjoying fixed wireless NBN included Tamworth, Dubbo, Armidale, parts of the mid-North Coast and around Scone.
Areas where towers were being built next included parts of the Central West heading back towards the Blue Mountains, the Riverina, and parts of the Northern Rivers and South Coast.
Mr Gibbs said as more people in rural NSW were able to access fixed wireless NBN, places for consumers using the NBN interim satellite service could open up, providing an internet connection for consumers in the areas too remote for either a fibre connection or fixed wireless.
NBN Co was on schedule to launch its Long Term Satellite to replace the interim service in late 2015, which was used by 4300 users.
NBN Co's satellite program director Matt Dawson said the completion of the ninth ground station in Western Australia in September was a milestone in delivering fast and reliable internet to consumers in remote Australia.
Ground stations for the satellite in NSW have been built in Bourke, Wolumla on the South Coast, and Broken Hill.
"When fully operational, each NBN satellite ground station will be capable of transmitting 10 gigabits per second - which is equivalent to downloading one high definition movie every second," he said.
"Once in service, NBN's Long Term Satellite will help people in remote and regional Australia access e-health, distance education and entertainment on demand, while businesses could potentially increase productivity, reduce costs and access new markets," Mr Dawson said.
For direct fibre connections to homes in rural and regional NSW, Mr Gibbs said parts of Dubbo, Armidale, Taree, Coffs Harbour and Kiama had been connected so far.
Mr Gibbs said NBN Co was challenged by the strong demand in rural areas for high speed broadband and was still working to integrate recommendations from the Fixed Wireless and Satellite Review.
This review said 1300 more fixed wireless towers and 25,000 more premises would have to be connected to fibre options than previously planned, to meet higher than expected demand for the NBN in rural Australia.
This was no surprise to NSW Farmers telecommunications spokesman Anthony Gibson.
"There's a huge demand in the bush," he said.
Big benefits, but security top of mind
THE spread of the National Broadband Network in rural NSW will help farmers and local businesses but will not be without its risks as well.
University of New England (UNE) Professor David Lamb has seen
first-hand the benefits and dangers of being connected to high-speed broadband at the UNE Smart Farm near Armidale.
“People treat the internet now as critical infrastructure,” Professor Lamb said.
“The market is growing day by day.”
The Smart Farm uses the high-speed internet of the NBN to help with sentinel vision systems and critical event alarms, which provide a safer, healthier and more secure work and living environment.
Technology to target water and fertiliser inputs, and to increase livestock production through improved animal management and increased pasture use is assisted by faster and more reliable internet connections.
High definition video conferencing available with the NBN could provide pathways to advanced educational and social networking platforms.
Professor Lamb said the “massive economic benefits” of being able to make heavy use of the internet also carried dangers.
“The more we connect things together on farms, the more we have to think about security,” he said.
Since UNE began video conferencing at Smart Farm, Professor Lamb said he had noticed a marked increase in cyber attacks, which highlighted the need for farmers to be educated about internet security.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Roderick Makim
Quelle/Source: The Land Newspaper, 07.10.2014
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