The NBN has now become fully fledged within the roll out stages and the impact upon our network strength and speed has already begun to be advertised. The main and most important impact is that Australia can now keep up the pace within emerging initiatives employed by other countries across the globe. The new age of digital economic competitiveness means that the NBN network roll out will likely strengthen the Australian economy – for both businesses and the individual consumers.
Since 2012, the NBN network has been rolled out in many areas across the country, now bringing high speed reliable broadband to nearly 190,000 people, businesses and educational institutions. The roll out is taking longer than was first expected, with the average time frame being 12 months from the launch of the network construction to the benefits being felt in our homes. However, the current plan for NBN coverage will be to ensure that, in total 93% of homes will have access to the highest speed fibre optic broadband available by the end of 2015. The remaining 7% will begin to use the next generation product, fixed wireless and satellite technology, at their disposal – meaning that if the roll out follows its projected path, the end of 2015 will see 100% of the country covered at least by the fixed wireless and satellite technology of the network.
How is the impact beginning to affect our communication?
Many of the initial test areas for the network were our education establishments. The need for regular, reliable broadband within the education system has never been more important than now. Many schools, colleges and universities now use online teaching methods, cloud storage and with the move towards eco friendly living, paperless offices, email, Youtube, online teaching resources and even eBooks are now popular choices amongst teachers and students alike. One school that has been using the iiNet nbn coverage for the past few terms is the Circular Head Christian School in Smithton, Tasmania, who due to their remote location have struggled for years to access reliable connection and download speeds.
Head of the school, Peter Bakes, has stated that the improvements in speed quality and reliability have allowed the school to connect with an ever growing online resource base. However, in a recent interview with ComputerWorld magazine, Bakes does suggest that they won’t feel the full impact until they can begin to network with others. He says,
“The NBN will show its true value once there are more schools to collaborate with, as at the moment we are limited by the lack of other schools on the network.”
The idea that the NBN network will make it easier for all of us to network on a level that was previously impossible is also making waves in the business sector. You only need to read the customer reviews on the NBN official site to understand the impact on businesses around the country. The success of the roll out for larger companies can be easily imagined, impacting everything from marketing through to communication, but it is smaller businesses that are really seeing the fruitfulness of the NBN rollout.
One business that has had exponential success since the roll out began is the Willunga Farmers Market which has begun to connect the public with organic food suppliers across the country. This not for profit organisation has begun to expand since the initialisation of high speed broadband to their area, using YouTube, Social media and a brand new website to attract more customers. They have equally expanded into food education for their customers, something that they couldn’t do before with little or no way to reach many clientele. They say themselves;
“We set up a YouTube channel, a Facebook page, a weekly email newsletter and we’re developing an app that will allow people to find out the information that they need, The NBN is the best thing since organic sourdough.”
The trends in communication, business development and heightened internet access will become clearer as the roll out continues, however for now, the evidence suggests that the NBN is working in the right way for thousands of us already.
