Somerset NBN connection activated

Somerset has become the latest Tasmanian town to have their National Broadband Network (NBN) service activated, delivering internet connection speeds of up to 100 megabits per second to residents and businesses in the area.

An additional 1700 North West Tasmanian properties now have access to a fibre-to-the-premises NBN connection.

The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to helping Tasmania build our competitive advantages to create jobs and grow the economy.

That’s why we have strongly advocated for the NBN to be rolled out as soon as possible across Tasmania, with as many Tasmanians as possible getting access to fibre-to-the-premises technology. The activation of the NBN in Somerset is a fantastic example of this occuring.

We know that communities around Tasmania were let down badly by the Rudd and Gillard Labor Government’s failure to deliver what was originally promised to Tasmanians. I have had a number of discussions with Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull about the need for a fast rollout in Tasmania.

Advice from NBN Co is that Tasmania is well ahead of other states both in terms of the percentage of properties connected and the proportion of fibre-to-the-premises connections.

Today’s announcement that Somerset residents and businesses can now connect to the NBN is great news, and the Liberal Government will continue to advocate for a fast and efficient rollout across Tasmania with fibre-to-the-premises available to as many areas as possible.

Of course the first priority is ensuring that Tasmanians get NBN access as soon as possible. That’s why the Hodgman Liberal Government soon after coming to government offered practical assistance to the rollout such as the optimised aerial deployment through TasNetworks as an NBN subcontractor.

It’s also why I spoke to Minister Turnbull and NBN Co about the issue of regional school connectivity and whether they may be able to temporarily connect to adjacent NBN Co wireless networks until the full FTTP service was activated.

NBN Co subsequently changed its rules around this issue and about 20 Tasmanian government schools are now able to access the fixed wireless network, substantially improving their internet access even before the full rollout is completed.
Michael Ferguson, Minister for Information Technology and Innovation