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NBN Co to build satellite station in Tassie

NBN Co has announced that Geeveston, in southern Tasmania, will host the next National Broadband Network (NBN) satellite ground station.
Written by Suzanne Tindal, Contributor

NBN Co has announced that Geeveston, in southern Tasmania, will host the next National Broadband Network (NBN) satellite ground station.

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Planned satellite station.
(Credit: NBN Co)

The Geeveston ground station, expected to be operational in 2013, will be a single storey building with two 13.5-metre diameter satellite dishes, and will help service between 15,000 and 20,000 Australian homes and businesses with broadband speeds of up to 12 megabits per second.

"The NBN satellite service is designed to bridge the divide between the city and the bush, and ensure all Australians can receive fast broadband. The site at Castle Forbes Bay near Geeveston is ideally located, for this purpose," Matt Dawson, NBN Co's program director, satellites, said in a statement.

"It is also close to reliable power and other infrastructure, including the NBN's core fibre transit network — the main fibre transmission lines linking towns and our exchanges."

Federal Member for Franklin, Julie Collins, said that the construction of the ground station would create 30 jobs for the region. Building is set to begin early next year.

The satellite station is the third of its kind to be announced; Bourke and Merimbula in New South Wales have already been earmarked as NBN satellite base station locations. All together, there will be ten across Australia.

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