National Broadband Network representatives visited Ararat on Wednesday to speak with potential customers with the most common questions being how fast the new internet service will be and how to get connected.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Contractors will start installing the fixed-line version of the network in Ararat from February, using the existing copper phone lines to connect houses with ‘nodes’ every few hundred meters.
The new services are designed to be more than four times faster than the best connections currently available in Ararat.
NBN set up a utility vehicle in the IGA supermarket car park with large-screen monitors to search through addresses in and around Ararat to see what kind of NBN technology was available.
Head of nbn local Victoria Ebony Aitken said About 25 people visited the community information session to speak with representatives about the rollout.
“Construction activities are expected to commence in the coming months to connect about 3400 homes and businesses in parts of Ararat to the nbn broadband access network,” she said.
“Crews will be on the ground, checking pits and pipes, laying the fibre backbone to the network and installing node cabinets throughout the area, with people expected to be able to order an nbn-powered plan from a phone or internet provider commencing in September.
“They will join more than 400 homes and businesses on the outskirts of Ararat that have been able to take advantage of services over nbn’s fixed wireless technology since 2015.”
A Bryant Road resident visited the nbn ‘Sky Muster’ ute to inquire whether the NBN would improve on his current connection.
“I’ve been told by Telstra that I am in the middle of a blackspot. I think it has got worse over the past six months,” he said.
“It used to sometimes take 15-13 minutes before the internet got going after you connected and now it can take up to two hours.
“I’ve tried moving to the kitchen but then it’s only 50/50, and I want to be able to use my laptop in the loungeroom.”
The resident was currently using the mobile network to access the internet via a USB dongle and was told by nbn representatives that he would be able to connect to the fixed wireless service, which operated via a separate network.
Ms Aitken said the most commonly questions were about when they would be able to order an nbn-powered plan and who they needed to contact.
“It is important for the community to understand that nbn is a wholesaler and they need to contact a phone or internet provider to order an nbn powered plan when the nbn broadband access network is switched on in their area,” she said.
“As the rollout of the nbn network commences in Ararat, the nbn local team will continue working with local stakeholders and community groups to ensure any local problems are identified early and addressed.”
Nbn will join with Ararat Rural City Council in contacting residents in the streets where metal cabinet nodes will be installed to enable the new fixed-line services.