Readers invited to complete NBN rollout survey

Members of Coastal Connexxions from left Mr Jon Dawson, Ms Louise Lewis, Mr David Abrahams and Mr Tim WillcoxMembers of Coastal Connexxions NBN audit team from left Mr Jon Dawson, Ms Louise Lewis, Mr David Abrahams and Mr Tim Willcox

A detailed audit of the NBN rollout on the NSW Central Coast has gained the backing and support of the local IT/digital industry group, Coastal Connexxions.

The audit was called for by former local Regional Development Australia Chair, Mr David Abrahams, during the federal election campaign. Mr Abraham’s call for an audit received strong public support but has fallen on deaf ears by the government and NBN Co. “Some political critics bagged the idea as a waste of money,” Mr Abrahams said. “I beg to differ,” he said. “The whole region knows of problems with the NBN rollout. “The idea of the audit is to identify problems and replicate successes. “I approached my local digital industry group for support and they have given support in spades.”

Co-convenors of Coastal Connexxions, Mr Tim Willcox and Mr Edgar Adams, said they believed an audit was a sound and sensible idea. “There have been some good successes with the NBN rollout locally, though there are also major issues for many,” Mr Willcox said. “We are now using the incredible expertise of our IT group to create our own self-funded audit,” he said. The Central Coast NBN audit will have both a simple online survey and an in depth case study section. The results will then be mapped to the known NBN infrastructure map for accurate identification of successes and of problem areas. The survey gives people ample opportunity to tell their stories in a disciplined and standardised fashion. “We expect the report to be very informative,” Mr Abrahams said.

“The information could undoubtedly save signifi cant amounts of money if applied by the NBNCo. “We are now calling on community, education and business groups to assist in distributing the online survey that can be found at organise.net.au/NBNauditCC. “The audit will run for 30 days and the report will be collated and published after the numbers and stories are crunched and edited. “The report will be made public and handed over to local MPs, Ministers, the NBN Co and Telcos.” Coastal Connexions is calling on everyone with an NBN story, good, bad or otherwise, to complete the survey. “We encourage other community groups to spread the word.

Media release, Sep 20, 2016 Dave Abrahams, Organise IT