8 July 2010

Gungahlin to get early NBN roll-out

| Gungahlin Al
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We are hearing that Senator Stephen Controy is making an announcement at 1.30 today of the first 20 sites to receive the National Broadband network rollout, and that Gungahlin is on that list.

Construction looks due to commence in the second quarter of 2011, so not immediately but it’ll come around fairly quickly.

If this tip is correct, then it’s a credit to Russ Gillon who has made it his special mission to raise the issue of Gungahlin’s (and the poor internet service through his website www.actbroadband.net, Kate Lundy for pursuing the issue over a number of years, GCC volunteers going back years before my time (particularly Kevin Cox), and all the residents who have chimed in with their online comments, letters and support.

Don’t forget our meeting on Wednesday 7.30pm Palmerston Community Centre, where Telstra Countrywide GM Chris Taylor will appear to respond to criticisms of Telstra’s part in this sorry situation to date. Details on our website. We’ll be pursuing an explanation as to why Telstra should not be giving a pro rata refund to people with 8Mbps services that Telstra has been shaping to cope with the congestion.

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SolarPowered1:08 pm 10 Jul 10

Thanks to Kate Lundy, Alan Kerlin and Russell Gillon (http://wwwactbroadband.net) for campaigning for this. Local voices can make a big difference.

‘the exact area to be covered [will be] determined after further discussion with local authorities to ensure local considerations are factored into the final decision.’

So basically I don’t think there’s anything you can do to get on the list. So far nobody knows what the ‘considerations’ are with respect to getting NBN’ed.

I’m going to bet it is the suburb of Gungahlin only (around the town center.)

Ngunnawal, Amaroo, Palmerston and Nicholls – NOT, we can rot with the Dunlop residents

Only 3000 houses to be done, what exactly does that mean exactly, does anyone have any more details on this..and how do I get onto this ‘3000’ houses list?

It looks like the best thing Bob McMullan ever did for his electorate was stand down and force an actual contest for his seat. The ALP powerbrokers must be a bit concerned if they have decided to spend anything on the seat of Fraser.

Gungahlin Al9:41 am 09 Jul 10

bd84 said :

Doesn’t Gungahlin have pretty much the same thing with TransACT already?

Simple answer: no. Detailed answer: Forde Bonner, and half of Franklin do. Rest don’t. Harrison was built with nothing. Then LDA started rolling out Franklin the same. Delphin Lend Lease signed up TransACT to cable Forde, and we arced up about the ACT Govt doing so poorly in their own developments (yes I know Forde is a JV with LDA), and the LDA saw the error of their ways and the second half of Franklin got cable. Other new suburbs are following suit.

But then there are all the older suburbs – Gungahlin is 20 years old remember.

Built after they stopped using power poles, they were bypassed during the dual cabling frenzy in the late 90s (thanks for that one John Howard!) because doing it underground cost too much. These areas are also at the mercy of Telstra’s infamous Crace Exchange and its outdated RIM infrastructure. Some areas can’t even get a 1.5Mbps ADSL service.

Captn: me too! Miracles can happen hey – if enough people arc up publicly. The difference here was that other people got on board and supported GCC’s long-running campaign. It wasn’t just GCC as a lone voice.

bd84 said :

Doesn’t Gungahlin have pretty much the same thing with TransACT already?

Beware the trolls, you’re about to get stomped 🙂

In short, NO. You’re generalising “Forde” to mean “Gungahlin”.

As an Amaroo resident, bloody happy to hear this.

Gungahlin Al said :

Oh and it turned out to be one of the first five sites chosen rather than 20.

Nah mate, first five were Townsville, Brunswick, South of Woolongong, West Armidale and Willunga – this is phase 2.

Gotta love how vague the maps are, barely zooms in all that much, but seems a broad enough cover of that corner of the ACT.

Stoked. Finally time to get off basic ADSL.

captainwhorebags9:20 am 09 Jul 10

Considering that Tony Abbott has said he’ll sh*tcan the NBN if the Coalition win the election, I’m surprised that Labor didn’t promise Eden-Monaro massive rollouts first.

Doesn’t Gungahlin have pretty much the same thing with TransACT already?

Waiting For Godot5:17 pm 08 Jul 10

Seems a bit pointless to be spending all that money on a high-speed broadband network when they’re only going to throttle it with the Internet filter.

Gungahlin Al4:40 pm 08 Jul 10

Oh and it turned out to be one of the first five sites chosen rather than 20.

Gungahlin Al4:40 pm 08 Jul 10

I mistyped his name in a hurry…

Covered by Markus Mannheim: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/superfast-internet-for-gungahlin/1880222.aspx More in the Times tomorrow.

NBN boss Mike Quigley told IT News that one of the key factors in choosing Gungahlin was the strong community-based campaign on poor internet speeds.

Interview I’ve just done with IT News should be up within the hour.

Late news though is that the first stage will be limited to some 3000 homes…sigh.

Guessing the areas like Amaroo that can’t even get decent ADSL will be high on that list, and there’ll still be many people with basic ADSL holding on for the day they can tell Telstra what to do with their landline.

But this is a great start, and hopefully once they start, they’ll keep on rolling.

Woody Mann-Caruso2:45 pm 08 Jul 10

Senator Stephen Controy

You misspelled ‘C*ntroy’.

Les Lozenger2:18 pm 08 Jul 10

Was it announced at 1.30pm? Can anyone verify this? Fingers crossed. This is great news. I am so sick of of VB wireless.

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