Media Release

Senator the Hon Jan McLucas
Senator for Queensland

Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity

NBN rolling out to another 16,000 homes and businesses in northern Queensland

Minister for Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and Labor Senator for Queensland, Jan McLucas, today announced that another 16,600 homes and businesses in northern Queensland will be able to access the National Broadband Network (NBN) in about 12 months.

New NBN fibre construction maps for Cairns, Mackay, and Townsville have been released, covering 12 suburbs and about 16,600 premises. People living in these suburbs will be able to connect to NBN services in around 12 months.

The new maps cover:

• Cairns: 5,700 homes and businesses across Cairns City, Parramatta Park, Portsmith, and Bungalow.
• Mackay: 2,700 homes and businesses in Mackay and East Mackay
• Townsville: 8,200 homes and businesses across South Townsville, Railway Estate, West End, Townsville City, Kirwan, Heatley

“The NBN is delivering fast, reliable, and affordable broadband to the people of northern Queensland,” Senator Conroy said.

“The NBN is also providing fast broadband at the same wholesale price everywhere in Australia, meaning people in Cairns, Mackay, and Townsville will pay the same for NBN services as those living in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Senator McLucas said the Gillard Government is prioritising the NBN’s rollout to regional Australia, with more than 70 per cent of regional and rural Australia to receive fibre to the home.

“Fibre to the home can provide reliable broadband at speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. This is great news for the people of northern Queensland—the NBN will not only provide a massive boost to internet speeds, it is the future of education, business, tourism, and health,” Senator McLucas said.

“This is a truly exciting time for local residents and businesses who want to get online in northern Queensland. Like water and electricity, the Gillard Government sees fast broadband as an essential utility that should be made available to all Australians.”

“The NBN is on track to rollout to 429,000 homes and businesses in Queensland by the middle of 2015.”

For more information about the NBN rollout in Queensland visit: www.nbnco.com.au/rollout