Southport still waiting on NBN, looking good for businesses already hooked up on Coast

SOME business owners are still waiting on the NBN a year after it was promised, but it has reached some small business owners. Has it been worth the wait?

SMALL business owners across the Gold Coast are still desperately waiting for NBN more than a year after it was promised.

Dell Laundromat owner Debbie Anderson said she was told her Southport shop would be able to connect to NBN almost two years ago, but still nothing.

“It’s a bit of a shock, Southport is one of the busiest areas on the Gold Coast,” she said.

Daniel Anders of One stop IT at Mermaid Waters. Picture Mike Batterham

“Everything is connected to the internet, paywave and the security cameras, but at the moment they’re going through older systems.”

Ms Anderson said in a trip out west, in the “middle of nowhere”, she had seen contractors laying down cables for the network.

“I'm shocked it's taken so long to get to our business district... It’s good for (those living out west), but a business centre should be first.”

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Owner of Burleigh’s PC Fix It, Tim McKew, told the Bulletin some businesses had been forced to use a more expensive ‘microwave service’ because NBN hadn’t been available.

A microwave service beams communications such as images, data and video between two locations.

National Broadband Network - still rolling out across the Coast

For businesses who do have NBN though, it has helped to make businesses run smoother — despite a number of teething issues.

One Stop IT owner Daniel Anders, who works everyday on computers from his Mermaid Waters business, said he had received NBN more than a year ago.

Daniel Anders says despite some teething issues, NBN has been useful for his business. Picture Mike Batterham

He said while it had been a “big mission” to have it up and running once it had been requested of his provider, it was certainly better than the ADSL he had previously been using.

“I get 100Mbps downloading and 45Mbps on uploading,” he said.

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“My speed is 10 times faster now.”

Mr Anders said his clients computers would often need to be updated when running Windows 10, and because these updates were automatic, they would slow down his internet considerably on ADSL.

“NBN has certainly made running my business easier.”

OPINION: Technology advisor and fellow at the University of Technology Sydney Rob Livingstone

Information Technology expert Rob Livingstone. Picture: supplied

“The internet should be regarded as an integral part of the national critical infrastructure.

“The demand for access to high speed internet — as promised by the NBN — is now on par with access to other commodity services, such as water and electricity.

“In our modern digital era, without access to reliable high speed internet services, both businesses and individuals are being adversely impacted.

“This is due, in part, to the fact that most service are reliant on the internet to operate to a greater or lesser extent.

“All organisations and industries, whether they be universities, corporations, small business, healthcare or governments are preferentially delivering and accessing services online to operate.

“The NBN was intended to underpin Australia’s growth this century. Whether it lives up the promises will remain to be seen.”