In one of the most remote regions of Australia, residents in the Gulf of Carpentaria have long suffered the consequences of poor internet services.Rural residents have welcomed the government and NBN's investment of $750m to improve internet connectivity in the bushMore needs to be done to address blackspots and telecommunication literacy, community leaders say.
The upgrade promises to deliver faster internet speeds to bush communities, expand access to the NBN's fixed wireless service and provide unmetered data allowances to Sky Muster customers, who rely on two geostationary communications satellites operated by NBN. "For the very first time since Sky Muster was launched, people will be able to use their connection freely during the most part of the day," she said.
"Finally, Australians are stepping forward across the digital divide to access affordable, reliable and adequate connectivity." "This is really exciting. Any investment in telecommunications in regional Australia is really, really important. And this is going to make a big difference.Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde said the funding was an "excellent development" but more needed to be done to address rural internet black spots.