Fibre optics powering South Australian businesses
Fibre connectivity delivering data at the speed of light to help regional businesses thrive
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New fibre optic connections are creating more efficient working practices for regional South Australian businesses.
Harnessing the speed of light to transmit data as opposed to the speed of electrons used by traditional copper wires, fibre is also more resilient against climate effects, continuing to perform even at times of extreme weather and irrespective of events affecting power grids.
“Fibre provides connectivity that has never been available in remote parts of South Australia before,” NBN chief network officer Dion Ljubanovic said. “By the end of 2025, approximately 346,000 homes and businesses in South Australia, including about 59,500 in regional areas, are expected to be able to switch from copper to NBN full fibre, which can offer speeds up to 1Gbps per second.”
Wudinna Bakery switched from ADSL to fibre in May this year. Run by husband and wife Liz and Brett Habermann, the bakery is the longest-running family-owned business on the Eyre Peninsula, with some customers coming from 2000km away to sample their famous vanilla slice.
“As a business, stable and reliable internet is a must,” Ms Habermann said. “With ADSL, we had to wait longer to process payments or do online invoicing and time is very precious. We did tolerate it because there was nothing else but as soon as we switched over to NBN fibre, the difference was incredible.
“We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere and are so fortunate to have this fibre to the premises. People still don’t understand the impact this can have for businesses. For us, we can process payments more quickly and customers don’t have to queue.”
Over the past five years, regional South Australians have recorded a 148 per cent increase in use of their NBN connections. By the end of 2025, the business aims to deliver better broadband to about 159,000 regional SA homes and businesses.
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