RESIDENTS of the Colac Otway Shire will have access to the National Broadband Network from mid-2014, the federal government has announced.
Homes and business in the Colac district will be connected to the network via fixed wireless technology, giving them access to wholesale speeds of up to 150 times faster than dial up and eight times faster than ADSL.
Minister for Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said 22,000 Victorian homes and businesses across 14 local government areas will receive a fixed wireless service, with the rollout due to be fully completed in 2015.
"For too long, people living in regional and rural Australia have had to put up with slow, unreliable internet connections - if they could get a connection at all.
"But thanks to the government's investment in the National Broadband Network, all Australians, no matter where they live, will have access to fast, affordable, and reliable broadband.
"Through the NBN, the government is also delivering uniform national wholesale pricing. This means people living in and around Colac will pay the same prices for NBN services as people in Melbourne," Senator Conroy Said
Member for Corangamite Darren Cheeseman said the announcement was great news for residents in the Colac-Otway Shire.
"The NBN will not only provide a massive boost to internet speeds, it will be a huge boost to these communities," he said.
"The NBN is the future of education, business, entertainment, health and a huge range of other services and the residents in Colac-Otway that get access to the NBN will be riding on the crest of that wave," Mr Cheeseman said.
NBN Co's fixed-wireless and satellite services are being delivered to the parts of Australia that are outside the 93% of homes and businesses that will receive fibre to the premises. NBN Co plans to install fibre in towns of 1000 premises or more and to some towns with as few as 500 premises that are located on an NBN fibre transit link.