Earlier this month, the company running this country’s fibre optic network – NBN Co – announced that greater Launceston had been declared “ready for service”.

It was a major announcement, with Launceston joining only two other cities around the country – Armidale and Coffs Harbour - to reach this historic milestone.

The NBN rollout has received a fair share of bad press over the past few years – much of it due to misinformation.

The brainchild of federal Labor, the project was never really sold to the public as it should have been. No-one really talked up the true potential of the project to the general public.

Instead, critics slammed the cost and time it would take to roll out – which was ingenuous and ill-informed. The NBN rollout remains the single-largest infrastructure project in this country’s history – it was never going to happen overnight taking into account the sheer size of Australia.

Last week, NBN Co announced it would be earning about $5 billion a year within the next four years, although it isn’t expected to turn a profit until 2022.

For Launceston, the roll-out of primarily fibre-to-the-premise fibre optic internet is a wonderful asset we should use to the region’s advantage.

High-speed internet isn’t just about how fast you can download a song on iTunes, or how quickly you can stream a movie on Netflix. It’s about improving health outcomes through tele-health, better access to education, helping businesses through increased paths to innovation and opening up more opportunities to customers.

Tech companies, start-ups and businesses in general can benefit greatly from the region’s high-speed connectivity.

That’s why projects such as Connected Launceston: Smart City, Smart Region, which The Examiner is supporting, are so important.

The end game of this community-led partnership is that the Launceston region be nationally recognised as a leader in economic and community development by innovatively embracing its position as the most digitally connected region in Australia.

It’s ambitious, but fully achievable and – ultimately – will bring about improved economic and social outcomes for all Northern Tasmanians.