Spirit is an Australian ISP that has just signed its second million-dollar deal with the Victorian State Government. That deal is to provide super-fast Internet to the regional town of Morwell. Delivering super-fast internet to Australia also happens to be the scope for the National Broadband Network, meaning this signing puts it in direct competition.
At this point, it’s worthwhile remembering the Victorian state Government is Labor, while the current mixed-mode technologies approach to the NBN was the brainchild of the Coalition party.
This announcement now brings a total of $2.8M in State Government contracts Spirit has won to build super-fast networks in regional Victoria.
The deal will enable the rural community and businesses in Morwell (population around 13,000), to have the same access to Internet services as metropolitan, interstate and international counterparts; finally bridging the digital divide between metro and regional areas. If you’re a resident of Morwell, then this is great news, but it’s hard to see how this model scales to all regional towns that missed out on the fastest internet connectivity.
Spirit’s Sky-Speed Internet product range is a leading Fixed Wireless alternative which delivers super-fast Internet with speeds up to 1,000Mbps. The network will be built using Spirit’s own IP and engineering experience developed from building multiple Fixed Wireless deployments across Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
Spirit’s will use multiple 5G towers to transmit Spirit’s Internet, using beam-forming technology. The transmission will cover a 10km radius from each tower throughout Morwell. In future, the network may be capable of providing services to businesses outside Morwell in locations such as Traralgon and Moe.
In October last year, Spirit was awarded $1.7 million to provide super-fast Internet with speeds that far exceed the NBN to the regional city of Horsham. The fact the Victorian Government is having to spend millions fixing the NBN is a dramatic demonstration the project is not delivering the outcomes it initially set out to.
Spirit’s Managing Director, Geoff Neate said the deal with the State Government is a testament to Spirit’s strong offering in the market and its ability to deliver on what they’ve promised.
“We believe our offering is market leading and will put to bed the mindset that 5G technology is purely a mobile play. We will deploy a super-fast Internet ring around Morwell using the latest technology via a partnership with the State Government.
The project will reinforce Spirit as a leader of high-speed Internet in the Telco’ industry. It also fulfils the demands of businesses and consumers for a fast, reliable broadband service that delivers on what it promises. This is what we hang our hat on and are looking forward to strengthening the Morwell community’s access to super-fast Internet.”
Spirit’s Managing Director, Geoff Neate
I would be happy with a slow to medium speed broadband service, and yet, all I have is one that is consistently sporadic at best.