Tassie NBN expands to 10 towns
Seven new towns have been nominated as early recipients of Tasmania's National Broadband Network (NBN), bringing the total number for the island to 10.
Sorell, Deloraine, George Town, St Helens, Triabunna, Kingston Beach and South Hobart have been selected as the latest under-serviced towns to be early recipients of the 100 megabits per second NBN service.
The Tasmanian NBN Co, headed by Doug Campbell, had previously selected five key backhaul links across the state, connecting key population hubs to enable fibre to reach homes. The backhaul links are currently under construction (see map below). The remaining 10 per cent of Tasmania will receive wireless- or satellite-based services at slower speeds of up to 12 megabits per second.
View FTTH additional backhaul in a larger map
(Credit: DigitalTasmania.org)
A joint statement by Minister of Communications, Stephen Conroy, and Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett, this afternoon have claimed this as stage two of the roll-out. This stage will include the completion of backbone fibre links from the state's east coast to Kingston, and Westbury, according to the statement.
Smithton, Midway Point and Scottsdale — all pegged for early backhaul work in July — are expected to see services commence by mid 2010.
It's understood that the Tasmanian roll out was not being viewed within the NBN Company — as opposed to the Tasmanian NBN Co (jointly owned by the NBN Co and energy company, Aurora) — as a template for the mainland deployment. Much of Tasmania's NBN will be delivered across overhead cable, which some fear could become an eyesore.