PEOPLE living in the north-west face a technology divide following the long-awaited announcement of the National Broadband Network rollout.
Suburbs such as Albanvale, Burnside Heights, Delahey, Kealba, Keilor Downs, Kings Park, StAlbans and Taylors Hill have been included in the three-year rollout plan, connecting 27,800 homes by June 2015.
But suburbs such as Caroline Springs, Hillside, Keilor Lodge, Sunshine, Albion, Cairnlea and Deer Park and most of Taylors Lakes will have to wait at least 12 months before finding out whether they are part of the next phase.
Gorton MP Brendan O’Connor said the NBN rollout was about to go into high gear.
“The NBN is about more than just faster broadband. The benefits for the local community are immense,” he said.
“This is about supporting businesses in Gorton and around Australia to connect to new markets and find new, better ways of doing things to make their businesses more productive and more profitable.”
But the failure of broadband to reach Sunshine is a blow for Brimbank Council’s plans to attract businesses to create an activities centre.
Derrimut and Deer Park, home to major new data centre projects, have also been left off the list. The council’s general manager of city development, Stephen Sully, said the inclusion of some suburbs in the 2012-15 rollout plan was exciting for entrepreneurial business leaders in the area.
“Brimbank will advocate strongly for the remaining 19 suburbs in the municipality to be prioritised in the four-to-six-year rollout,” he said. “The inclusion of key sites, including the Derrimut technological hub, Keilor Park industrial hub and Sunshine town centre, are of high priority to Brimbank.”
Mr Sully said full broadband access should be available to all residents and businesses in Brimbank within a decade. “Businesses concerned about connectivity should work with NBN Co to identify opportunities to access broadband via the interim satellite service.”-Benjamin Millar
