Regional Australians to share in $4.5 billion NBN investment

BILLIONS of dollars will be invested into regional Australia in an effort to provide on demand to super-fast broadband connectivity.

COUNTRY INTERNET UPGRADE: The Federal Government will invest billions of dollars into regional Australia in an effort to boost connectivity for those living in and doing business in rural areas. Picture: File

BILLIONS of dollars will be invested by the Federal Government into regional Australia in an effort to boost internet connectivity.

Federal Regional Communications Minister Mark Coulton said the announcement of $4.5 billion in additional investment by NBN Co will endeavour to boost the competitiveness of regional areas.

“This investment includes $3.5 billion that will be used to provide access on demand to super-fast broadband connectivity for people on NBN’s fixed line network,” he said.

“Almost 50 per cent of the Fibre to the Node (FTTN) premises that will benefit directly from this investment are in regional areas.”

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Mr Coulton said the $700 million investment in business fibre zones, will provide a significant improvement in the affordability and accessibility of enterprise-grade fibre services, with 85 of these zones to be located in regional areas.

“Businesses in these zones will have access to super-fast data speeds at CBD prices, and this will be particularly attractive for companies that are considering regional centres as a base for their business,” he said.

The package includes $300 million for NBN Co to work with all levels of government on local connectivity priorities, including on projects funded through the Federal Government’s Regional Connectivity Program and Mobile Black Spot Program.

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