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Hopes high for better internet along Cobar corridor

Western Plains App

Emma Datson

03 December 2022, 2:37 AM

Hopes high for better internet along Cobar corridorDeputy Premier Paul Toole chose Cobar as the place to announce a pre-Christmas gift from the Gig State

Homes and businesses along a corridor from Trangie to Cobar can expect faster, more reliable internet as part of the Gig State, a NSW Government program with a $100 million purse.


The Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Paul Toole made the announcement in Cobar on 19 November, that the NSW Government has made a $2.6 million investment to upgrade the internet speed for residents and business in and around Cobar, Narromine, Nyngan, Trangie, and Warren.


 "More than 800 homes and businesses currently using satellite internet will be upgraded to a faster NBN fixed wireless connection, as part of the NSW Government’s Gig State project," Mr Toole said.


Emma Barrett, a small business owner from Narromine, who runs a design and branding agency in Dubbo, is excited about the proposed fixed wireless internet access and faster internet speeds.

 

 "So currently where we live in Narromine...the only available internet source is satellite and anyone obviously using satellite knows the unpredictability and slow speeds with uploading and downloading large files," Ms Barrett said.


"As a digital business owner it can be incredibly frustrating with those low internet speeds."


Emma Barrett, Narromine Business Owner [Supplied]

 

Ms Barrett had to take out a lease on a building in a Dubbo to co-found a shared workspace and house her design and branding agency in order to access to high speed NBN.

 

She said this was done "just so we can run our business efficiently and also have better connection and professionalism within my business with clients. There's nothing worse than... a Zoom call dropping out midway or not being able to meet print...or digital deadlines".

 

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Nyngan businesses should also benefit [Supplied]

 

"The upgrades in the Cobar Corridor is going to be such great news. I currently also work at home one a day a week and at the moment I'm only limited to email work because of the low speeds. This means I can probably spend a little bit more time with my young family at home and using...the highest speeds for the internet," Emma Barrett said.

 

Her children too will benefit from faster internet speeds.

 

"The upgrades will allow us some personal enjoyment like streaming movies...my kids like to access some of the educational videos that we can't really access [at the moment]" she said.

 

Ms Barrett believes that business owners in the Western Plains region will have better options to run online enterprises.

 

"I think people forget...west of the blue Mountains that there are still significant issues with internet speed and phone coverage. So this is going to help close the digital gap that we experience west of the Blue Mountains," she said.

 

Next stop Nevertire [Supplied]


“Upgrading the service along the Cobar corridor has been a commitment since the Gig State project commenced and the ability to add Warren to this project will ensure even more people benefit from better connections with family, friends, colleagues and clients", said Mr Toole, Deputy Premier.

 

Mr Gary Woodman, General Manager of the Warren Shire Council, welcomes the inclusion of Warren into the Gig State project.

 

"This project is just the beginning improving reliability, quality and speed and upgrading regional communities such as Warren, on a satellite internet service is the core focus of the Gig State."

 

"The improved internet will mean residents, families and businesses can work and study from home, complete business transactions, and undertake everyday tasks that are not possible for some many of our regional communities", said Mr Woodman.

 

Warren township is also included in the Cobar corridor [Image: A Weston]

 

Minister for Western NSW Dugald Saunders said digital connectivity for rural and remote communities is a focus of the NSW Government.

 

“As a government we want people to be able to live, work and play in our regional communities, and in a modern society that involves the ability to access high-speed internet connections,” Mr Saunders said.

 

NBN Co Chief Development Officer for Regional and Remote, Gavin Williams said NBN was excited to work with the NSW Government to deliver faster broadband services to Cobar, Narromine, Nyngan, Trangie, and Warren using the NBN fixed wireless network.

 

NBN Co Chief Development Officer for Regional and Remote Gavin Williams [Supplied]

 

“Our work with state and local governments enables us to enhance the digital capability of communities and businesses across Australia,” Mr Williams said.

 

“We will now go into detailed planning and look forward to sharing more details with the community in the coming months.”

 

Silo outside of Trangie [Supplied]


The Cobar Corridor fixed wireless network will be rolled out incrementally starting mid-2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025.


The Gig State is part of the $400 million Regional Digital Connectivity program aiming to deliver a metro-level mobile and internet service to regional communities and businesses, with improved price, quality of service and speed.

 

Only time will tell.