WAGGA residents could have access to hyper-speed broadband within a year after a historic announcement by NBN Co yesterday.
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Stakeholders say the arrival of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in the city would revolutionise the way locals do business, learn, receive medical care and consume news and entertainment.
An NBN Co spokesman said design work would start in Wagga in the coming months, meaning fibre-to-the-node technology could be accessed in homes by this time next year.
Monthly contracts are expected to range from $30 to more than $100 and speeds will be up to 10 times faster than existing ADSL, meaning a feature-length, Blu-ray quality movie could be downloaded in minutes.
James Giddings from Wagga’s Amend Computers said the new technology would be a “gamechanger” for locals.
“It will be huge for business and it opens up the possibility of remote consultations with doctors, lawyers, accountants and others,” Mr Giddings said.
“It will go from businesses just surviving to businesses developing.
“The multimedia stuff for home users is critical too. Content that takes hours to download now will take minutes.”
He said TV streaming, online gaming and video calling would all be vastly improved.
Council and local business leaders have lobbied furiously for a concrete date for Wagga’s NBN roll-out, enduring a number of false dawns.
“It’s fantastic news and all businesses will benefit from having faster access,” council’s director of commercial and economic development Peter Adams said.
“This is future-proofing the economy and future-proofing communications.”
Outlying areas, including Griffith, Leeton, Narrandera, Henty and Holbrook, will be connected after Wagga but as part of the same roll-out.
“We intend to start in Wagga and then systematically build outwards,” an NBN Co spokesman said.
“We'll be starting sooner rather than later, within six months.
“It's feasible we could have it here by this time next year.”