Businesses across Lake Haven and Wyong will benefit from a new roll out of ultra-fast broadband, with the launch of 85 new Business Fibre Zones nationwide.
NBN Co’s launch of the Lake Haven-Wyong zone is part of a $700M Federal Government package to transform the accessibility and affordability of business grade fibre.
Regional Communications Minister, Mark Coulton, said this would that mean regional businesses could benefit from wholesale business pricing, bringing regional pricing into line with metropolitan zones, and a saving of up to 67 percent for regional businesses.
About 700,000 businesses within NBN Co’s 240 Business Fibre Zones across the country, including 85 zones in regional centres, will have access to metro zone wholesale prices, driving annual cost savings of between $1,200 and $6,000 for those based outside capital city centres, Minister Coulton said.
Small and medium sized businesses in Lake Haven to Wyong, and also at Ourimbah, will be able to request a fibre upgrade through their broadband retailer, at no upfront cost.
The upgrade offers speeds from 10Mbps up to 1Gbps.
Senator for NSW, Jim Molan, said the Business Fibre Initiative would support business critical applications including cloud storage and online collaboration, helping local businesses stay competitive in the digital age.
Communications Minister, Paul Fletcher, said that during the global COVID-19 crisis, the NBN had proven itself to be a vital national asset, supporting businesses as they adapted to digital operating models.
“The Morrison Government understands the importance of continued investment into business and digital connectivity and that’s why we are making affordable ultra-fast broadband available to more businesses,” he said.
Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, said the investment would boost business digital capabilities and create thousands of jobs.
“This initiative will create more jobs as we combat the impact of COVID-19 on our economy across our country, and the construction of Business Fibre Zones will deliver up to 6,000 new jobs by 2021-22, including more engineers, project managers and construction crew,” he said.
NBN Co will allocate $50M to help expand Business Fibre Zones by co-investing with local councils and state governments.
Sue Murray