NBN cable begins to roll in Coffs

NBN Co will this week start to lay fibre optic cable to bring high-speed internet access to 7900 local homes and businesses over the next three years.

Duty Senator for Cowper, Matt Thistlethwaite said the broadband connection will be rolled out throughout Boambee, Boambee East, Coffs Har- bour, Sawtell and Toormina between now and June 2015.

"The NBN rollout is ramping up and is about to go into high gear," Mr Thistlethwaite said.

"In the next three years, 7900 homes and businesses locally will be on the way to having access to fast, reliable broadband through the NBN's fibre network.

The NBN will connect 93% of homes and businesses around Australia to high-speed fibre broadband, capable of speeds of up to one gigabit per second, 7% will have access to high-speed fixed-wireless or next-generation satellite technologies providing peak speeds of 12 megabits per second.

"The NBN is about more than just faster broadband," Senator Thistlethwaite said.

"This is about supporting businesses in Cowper and around Australia to connect to new markets and find new, better ways of working to make their businesses more productive and more profitable.

"It's about families in Cowper getting online to access health and aged-care services; it's about people who need government services being able to access those online and it's about our kids getting access to world-class education services, for example by being able to take a class at another school via the NBN."