New estates need new technology: Brisbane IT group

Managing director of AfterDark Technology, Peter Davies, said following the recent experience of a Brisbane property division, it's clear that "developers and service providers are not communicating clearly and planning for future technological advancements".

"With over 1,000 people migrating to South East Queensland each week, there is a greater demand to build more estates and buyers want to have the latest technology available. Developers need to work with service providers or IT companies, such as ourselves, who can plan for the right cabling and infrastructure to be in place," he said.

However, Telstra spokesman Rob Bruem said the telco is already "actively working with real estate developers well ahead of time".

According to AfterDark, residents and businesses of Forest Lake were limited to using dial-up Internet connections as it said "old technology and cabling" was installed when the estate was initially developed.

The company said despite consultation between the real estate company, Delfin, and Telstra, the inadequate technology was still put in place as it said "future telecommunication needs were underestimated".

Yet, Bruem said, this is a "nonsensical statement" as broadband services only became available four years ago and mass take-up "really only started this year". He adds that the plans for this estate's telecommunications infrastructure were probably made in the early 1990s, long before broadband came on the scene.

AfterDark said RIM pair gain technology was installed in the estate by Telstra, adding that this technology was "one of the harder cabling infrastructures to upgrade".

The company claims it took four years of campaigning by local residents and businesses for Telstra to commit to installing ADSL in Forest Lake. That technology will be in place by the end of the year.

Technical director of AfterDark, Stephen Gibson, said the upgrade will allow the company to broaden its service offerings.

"Once the upgrade has been completed we can offer solutions for customers but until then, our hands are tied. Usually we can recommend different connections to customers to suit their situation but without the right cabling and infrastructure in place, all we can do is sympathise," he said.

Gibson adds that the lack of a fast Internet connection may have been a hindrance to local businesses.

"It's not practical for businesses to be operating on a dial-up connection in this era of computer technology, it's too slow and causes drop-outs which halts business processes and is not economical," he said.

However, Bruem said that businesses would have had access to a fast Internet connection via the integrated services digital network (ISDN) infrastructure.

"ISDN has been used by businesses for years and is available nationally," he said. "Not a lot of what this company is saying makes sense".