By Claire Reilly
SYDNEY, NSW: Following last Friday’s launch of the NBN in the NSW coastal region of Kiama Downs and Minamurra, Senator Stephen Conroy has today announced that construction will begin on nine more second release sites this month.
The minister responsible for the rollout of the NBN said that construction would take place in Queensland in Springfield Lakes, Toowoomba and the Brisbane metropolitan area of Aspley, as well as Riverstone in Western Sydney, Coffs Harbour on the NSW central coast and Gungahlin in the ACT.
Extensions to the existing works in Armidale, Kiama and Townsville are also set to occur in the next two months.
“This is exciting news and is further evidence the NBN is well and truly a reality that is rolling out quickly across Australia,” said Senator Conroy.
“These nine sites represent more than 50,000 premises that will be connected with fibre optic cable that will deliver high speed broadband to every home, business and institution that wants it.”
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The CEO of NBN Co Mike Quigley said the rollout would continue with the extension of the first and second release sites, as well as the addition of new sites.
“The signing of the Definitive Agreement with Telstra – though yet to be approved by shareholders – together with the finalisation of the construction contract with Silcar, has allowed us to finalise the proposed schedule for the next round of construction in mainland Australia,” said Quigley.
“The use of Telstra’s infrastructure, where it is available, should reduce the amount of disruption for the community and provide a smoother and more efficient rollout. It was for this reason that we waited to start this next phase of construction.”
“Our intention is to release a 12-month schedule, including new rollout sites, in the near future," he said.