Wollongong, Gosford and the cities of Melbourne and Darwin will be some of the next regions to be connected to the National Broadband Network, according to its latest 12-month rollout plan released this morning.
The announcement of the schedule comes as Telstra shareholders are set to vote on the company’s controversial plan to split both its retail and wholesale networks – a requirement for the NBN to go ahead.
The new schedule, released this morning by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, will cover 28 new locations and nearly 500,000 homes over the next year, and will also be updated over the next year to include new locations.
The new locations include:
New South Wales
- Blacktown
- Dapto
- Gosford
- Lidcombe
- Penrith
- Richmond
- Sawtell
- Wollongong
Queensland
- Nudgee
Northern Territory
- Darwin
South Australia
- Aldinga Beach
- Port Augusta
- Port Elliot
- Stirling
- Yankalilla
Tasmania
- Launceston
- Somerset
Victoria
- Ballarat Central
- Melbourne City
- Melbourne
- Tullamarine
Western Australia
- Applecross
- Meadow Springs
- Pinjarra
- South Perth
Along with these new connections, the NBN Co. has said locations that have already been connected will continue to be upgraded with more homes linked into the network.
The announcement was made this morning near Wollongong, as Gillard announced it would be the largest regional centre to see the network so far.
"This is good news for the long-term economic future here," she said. "It's also good news because people will be employed in the construction and around 500 jobs will be created at the peak of the construction of the NBN in the Illawarra."
Detailed maps for the various new connections will be released over the next year. Melbourne is slated to see a detailed roll-out plan by July 12, while some cities including Penrith and Darwin are expected to see plans as early as next month.
NBN Co. chief executive Mike Quigley confirmed the new roll out schedule.
"We'll be publishing regular updates about where precisely the NBN is being rolled out, and when it will reach each area,” he said.
“Public education activity, to launch next year, will also explain what the roll-out will mean for every Australian, how to connect to the network and why it is important that the nation upgrades its telecommunications infrastructure.”
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