New Fibre Optic Broadband

Australia to benefit from the laying of new fibre optic backbone links
February 23rd, 2010 by Jo

The laying of new fibre optic backbone links along 6000 kilometers of land across Australia could see many families living in rural blackspot areas throughout the country able to access high-speed broadband internet services.

One of the main goals of the National Broadband Network is to provide high-speed broadband access to the majority of the Australian population and in order to do this it is beginning to build on the country’s existing broadband backbone network. This new fibre optic backbone project will see a number of underserved and unserved areas of the country gaining access to the high-speed broadband connection that most users in the metropolitan parts of the country already have.

The laying of the new fibre optic backbone is one of the projects that will be carried out for the Federal governments National Broadband Network and will receive around $250 million in funding.

Thousands of users that live along five separate routes that will run through the Australia’s Northern Territory and Queensland areas will gain access to super-fast broadband services as part of the development known as the Regional Backbone Blackspot Program.

Stephen Carter, the Communications minister said “Backbone infrastructure provides the communication links that connect our towns, cities and rural areas to each other and the world. One of the biggest obstacles for fast broadband in Mount Isa has been the lack of competitive fibre optic backbone services.”

The construction of this new fibre optic backbone is expected to take around 18 months and of the five new routes that will have fibre optic broadband cabling laid down Mount Isa is at the centre of the one of the longest stretches of cable that will run from Toowoomba and Darwin.

Source - Comms-Express