IT’S going to be ‘‘really difficult’’ for the government to explain why the North-West is receiving inferior technology to Launceston and Hobart, the state’s peak IT body says. Federal Labor communications spokesman Jason Clare has been in the state talking down the rollout of the National Broadband Network. Updated information on the project’s construction has areas such as Beaconsfield, Burnie, Devonport and Ulverstone earmarked to receive mixed technologies, rather than fibre to the premises. Mr Clare said the government was ‘‘now giving Tasmanians a second-rate network that relies on last century’s copper’’. ‘‘Malcolm Turnbull’s NBN is creating two classes of Tasmanians – those who get the real NBN and those who don’t,’’ Mr Clare said. But Braddon Liberal MHR Brett Whiteley said Mr Clare’s visit was ‘‘like an arsonist returning to the fire’’. ‘‘With the rollout of the NBN well under way, Tasmania and the North-West Coast will have the opportunity to access super-fast internet of up to 100 megabits a second,’’ Mr Whiteley said. ‘‘If it had been left to the previous government, Tasmanians would never have had access to the NBN.’’ TasICT executive officer Dean Winter said there would be a lot of disappointment in North-West communities that were now looking at a ‘‘fibre to node downgrade’’. ‘‘I think it’s going to be really difficult for the government to explain why the North-West is receiving an inferior technology to Launceston and Hobart,’’ Mr Winter said. ‘‘While there’s little doubt fibre to the node technology is more than adequate for most North-West customers, there could be a long-term disadvantage because of the downgrade.’’ Mr Winter said it was hard to gauge how the project was tracking across the state. ‘‘Anecdotally, it appears as though the rollout construction is progressing much faster under the current arrangements than it was 12 months ago,’’ Mr Winter said. ‘‘The timelines for connection is the biggest worry. Suburbs like Riverside and Trevallyn have taken two years between construction and proposed activation.’’ An NBN Co spokeswoman said more than 73,000 Tasmanian homes and businesses could now connect to the service.
IT’S going to be ‘‘really difficult’’ for the government to explain why the North-West is receiving inferior technology to Launceston and Hobart, the state’s peak IT body says.
Federal Labor communications spokesman Jason Clare has been in the state talking down the rollout of the National Broadband Network.
Updated information on the project’s construction has areas such as Beaconsfield, Burnie, Devonport and Ulverstone earmarked to receive mixed technologies, rather than fibre to the premises.
Mr Clare said the government was ‘‘now giving Tasmanians a second-rate network that relies on last century’s copper’’.
‘‘Malcolm Turnbull’s NBN is creating two classes of Tasmanians – those who get the real NBN and those who don’t,’’ Mr Clare said.
But Braddon Liberal MHR Brett Whiteley said Mr Clare’s visit was ‘‘like an arsonist returning to the fire’’. ‘‘With the rollout of the NBN well under way, Tasmania and the North-West Coast will have the opportunity to access super-fast internet of up to 100 megabits a second,’’ Mr Whiteley said.
‘‘If it had been left to the previous government, Tasmanians would never have had access to the NBN.’’
TasICT executive officer Dean Winter said there would be a lot of disappointment in North-West communities that were now looking at a ‘‘fibre to node downgrade’’.
‘‘I think it’s going to be really difficult for the government to explain why the North-West is receiving an inferior technology to Launceston and Hobart,’’ Mr Winter said.
‘‘While there’s little doubt fibre to the node technology is more than adequate for most North-West customers, there could be a long-term disadvantage because of the downgrade.’’ Mr Winter said it was hard to gauge how the project was tracking across the state.
‘‘Anecdotally, it appears as though the rollout construction is progressing much faster under the current arrangements than it was 12 months ago,’’ Mr Winter said.
‘‘The timelines for connection is the biggest worry. Suburbs like Riverside and Trevallyn have taken two years between construction and proposed activation.’’
An NBN Co spokeswoman said more than 73,000 Tasmanian homes and businesses could now connect to the service.
