This article is more than 1 year old

Remote Queensland fibre hookup hopes dashed, for now

Meanwhile, nbnTM emnarks on AU$40m techie training cash-splash

Remote communities in Queensland believe they've been dudded out of a promise to give them a connection to the long-haul fibre connections being built as part of Australia's National Broadband Network.

Barcoo and Diamantina shires had wanted AU$7 million, part of the cost of extending the NBN's fibre footprint to their towns, and have told local outlet Queensland Country Life they believed they had been promised the funds by the prime minister Tony Abbott.

Instead of the funds being quarantined for the project, Diamantina mayor Geoff Morton told the newspaper the two towns will have to seek funding through the competitive program called Stronger Regions.

Morton and Barcoo's mayor Julie Groves claim the prime ministerial handshake-promise dated to May, and that the two shires have raised $4.75 million to chip into the project.

While connection to the fibre backhaul network would not deliver connections to homes, it would mean local broadband users would get better performance (particularly in latency terms) than will be available on the long-term satellite services when it launches.

The communities hoping to benefit from the network included Bedourie, Birdsville, Jundah, Stonehenge and Windorah, and the funding would have involved hauling 700 km of cable.

In other news, the company building the National Broadband Network, nbnTM, has announced a cash-splash to try and get enough trained techs to install its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network.

The company says it will devote AU$40 million to training an extra 4,500 workers for its delivery partners, to try and keep pace with the ramp-up expected in the FTTN part of the network.

The recruitment drive targets construction workers, school leavers, and those already in the telco industry, with late career techs getting the chance to train up as teachers.

The money will go to technical an further education (TAFE) colleges and "registered training offices" will be targeted to deliver the training. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like