Fast broadband gives a boost to Victorian manufacturers

Tullamarine and Shepparton next to switch on to the NBN

More than 10,000 Victorian homes and businesses in parts of Tullamarine and Shepparton can now experience the benefits of fast and reliable broadband by connecting to services over the National Broadband Network (NBN).

This begins the countdown for local residents and businesses in these areas to make the switch before most existing landline phone and internet services are replaced by services over the NBN. They will follow parts of Brunswick and South Morang which were two of the first communities in Australia to complete the transition to the NBN after the existing network was retired in May 2014.*

Tullamarine flight and car-simulator manufacturer CKAS Mechatronics believes their new Telstra NBN services will allow them to increase productivity and better connect with international clients. The business today revealed a glimpse of the potential future for Australian manufacturing by trialling CSIRO’s Guardian Mentor ReMoTe virtual reality headset to remotely train workers using High Definition (HD) video conferencing capabilities from their local head office.

Trent Williams NBN Co spokesperson said:

“There are around 50,000 residents and businesses already reaping the benefits of fast and reliable broadband as we continue the network rollout across Victoria.

“The NBN has the potential to be a key driver of growth in Australia’s declining manufacturing industry. Access to fast and reliable broadband can provide new opportunities for innovative businesses to create niche products, expand into new markets and reduce operational costs¹.**

“It’s important for residents and businesses to know the move to the NBN is not automatic and may take some planning and coordination. We encourage them to contact their preferred phone company and internet service provider to connect their home or business phone and internet services over to the NBN.”

Chris Kasapis Managing Director of CKAS Mechatronics said:

“The NBN is a big deal for us. We work with customers in pretty much every country you can imagine which means we need the highest speeds and the most reliable data connections we can get.

“Since being connected to our Telstra NBN service, we have already been able to use new applications such as real-time desktop sharing allowing better collaboration, support and training for our employees.

“The additional bandwidth has also allowed us to increase our business productivity. For example, updating the software in our simulators can often be a long and laborious task but with fast broadband jobs that took four hours can be done in less than one.**

“In the future, we expect to see savings in time and money as we reduce the need to travel to international jobs because we can connect with overseas clients instantly over HD video conferencing services.”**

Today’s announcement continues the momentum of the NBN rollout in Victoria, with around 50,000 home and business owners already connected to the network in the state. Build preparation works and construction are also underway to bring the NBN to a further 130,000 homes and businesses across Victoria including Carlton, Darley, Creswick, Cranbourne and Werribee.

You can find out whether you are eligible to connect to the NBN as well as more information about the steps you need to take to make the switch by visiting nbnco.com.au/switch.

Media enquiries:

NBN Co Media Hotline
P: 02 9927 4200
E: media@nbnco.com.au

Dan Chamberlain
M: 0400 569 951
E: danchamberlain@nbnco.com.au

Media materials:

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Notes to editors:

• More than 120,000 homes and businesses can order services over the NBN across the following Victorian regions including;

• Build preparation and construction are currently underway to build the NBN for an additional 130,000 homes and businesses in parts of the following Victorian regions including;
  

• The move to the NBN is not automatic – homes and businesses will need to take the following steps:

1.     Contact your preferred internet service provider or phone company:

a.     If you have a medical alarm or alert (or a family member, carer or friend) you are encouraged to register your details with NBN Co’s Medical Alarm Register by calling 1800 227 300 or complete the online form at nbnco.com.au/medicalregister.

b.     If you have an EFTPOS terminal, fax or alarm system, call the provider of that service (for example your bank) to ask what internet or landline phone services over the NBN will support the device.

c.     If your building has an emergency lift phone and/or a fire indicator panel you are encouraged to register your details with NBN Co so these services can be identified by calling 1800 687 626.***

d.     Contact your preferred phone company or internet service provider and discuss your requirements.

2.     Choose a plan that suits your needs.

3.     Order your service over the NBN as soon as possible.

• NBN Co is currently undertaking a comprehensive communications campaign with residents in areas of Tullamarine, Shepparton, Bacchus Marsh, South Morang and Ballarat to inform them of the steps they need to take to connect to the NBN ahead of the switch-off. This includes local advertising, community information sessions, direct mail and door-to-door service calls within these areas.
• Areas within suburbs will have different switch off dates depending on when the NBN becomes available to their premises.
• The rollout maps on the NBN Co website are intended to be an accurate picture of the state of the rollout as it stands today. The maps are updated monthly with additional information about the rollout of the NBN.
   

*The NBN is replacing most landline networks for phone and internet services, including copper and the majority of HFC networks, within its fixed line footprint with a mix of technologies.  Services provided over existing fibre networks (including in-building, health and education networks) and some special and business services may not be affected. To find out if your services will be affected, please contact your current phone or internet provider.  For more information, visit www.nbnco.com.au/switchoff or call 1800 687 626.

**Your experience including the speeds actually achieved over the NBN depends on the technology over which services are delivered to your premises and some factors outside our control like your equipment quality, software, broadband plans and how your service provider designs its network.

*** Due to specific in-building cabling requirements NBN Co is working closely with industry to develop solutions to connect emergency lift phones and fire indicator panels to the NBN. NBN Co does not currently intend to disconnect existing lift phone and fire indicator panel services. A register has been set up to identify where these services are located so that NBN Co can ensure that they are not disconnected when many other existing services are disconnected in a particular area.

¹Deloitte, 2013 – Study outlined 51 per cent of Australian businesses expect the NBN to increase their ability to operate in new geographic markets, and 48 per cent believe it will help them target new customers. 50 per cent of businesses in the same study said they expect the NBN to “change the way they do business”.

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