Broken Hill backbone to bring better broadband 2 December 2011
Thousands of residents and businesses in regional communities have access to more competitive broadband services with completion of the construction of approximately 1,150-kilometres of new fibre optic cable link in the far west of NSW.
A backbone transmission link – known as ‘backhaul’ – has been established to Broken Hill. The new link also extends to Shepparton in Victoria and Gawler in South Australia.
The Broken Hill route accounts for about 20 per cent of the 6,000km in links being constructed nationally under the Australian Government’s Regional Backbone Blackspots Program (‘RBBP’).
This backhaul has been provided to service ‘blackspots’: those areas that currently lack competitive telecommunications infrastructure.
The construction of the broadband backbone link to Broken Hill was completed in late November 2011 and the new backhaul provider is currently in the process of connecting retail service providers to the backbone link.
Once backbone services on this route are being provided it is expected to provide competitive, high capacity wholesale links to connect remote and regional areas to the rest of the country.
