Poor internet and phone infrastructure have always been an issue of concern to people living, working and travelling in regional, rural and remote areas.
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Hope to bridge the digital divide in our area is now pinned on the National Broadband Network (nbn) with light at the end of the tunnel now that the rollout is more than 85 per cent complete in the New England region. But will the roll-out be a panacea for poor internet and phone infrastructures?
“If you believe everything you hear in the news, you would think we were doing poorly,” said Ian Scott, nbn NSW Local Manager, at the info session held at the Inverell Library on Tuesday, then he set to convince the dozens who showed up that nbn is not necessarily the bad guy when things go wrong.
nbn is merely the on-ramp onto a motorway with multiple lanes that people share with one motorway intersecting with another motorway. The nbn producer is the M1 highway and the retail provider is the M2, and if the lanes are reduced, then there will be congestion causing problems.
“We provide the pipe, your provider offers the content and the quality of that,” said Mr Scott, adding that if all you only want “youtube videos with cats” and that is what you buy, then nbn cannot be blamed that cats are all you’re getting.
“30 per cent of the market still thinks you ring nbn for an nbn service,” Mr Scott said, but it is the retailer that residents will be dealing with. To find one, just visit the nbn site and type in your address. You will then be given a list of 150 providers to choose from, and also get to find out when the service will be available at your premises (roughly the end of June, start of July).
There is an 18-month period before the switch is made. Those present were told to ignore any service provider that tells them they need to switch straight away as they are likely a scammer – and those who don’t require a landline may not even need to make a switch at all.
The take-home message is to do your research, decide what you want and find a provider that meets your needs.
Other factors to take into account
He advised people to take a number of considerations into account when selecting a provider and making the switch to nbn.
Those who have a medical alarm, or care for someone who does, should register with nbn as it helps to identify households where support may be needed (call 1800 227 300).
Users should also contact the device provider to ask for advice before choosing a program. Access network involves new technologies which some existing devices may not be compatible with.
Many people are also not aware that for the first time in history they have a choice of speeds when switching to an nbn powered plan. This is why they should examine speed tiers available in their areas as well as the actual speeds they can expect to experience.
