NBN to supercharge connection speeds at key coastal locations including Dunsborough, Margaret River

Coastal hotspots at Margaret River, Busselton and Dunsborough can anticipate super-fast broadband connections by the end of next year. Rollout of new fibre-to-the-home capability was confirmed last week as part of the National Broadband Network’s latest mission to overcome weakness in the information technology sector across popular locations in regional Australia. The inclusion of Capes locations was partly in recognition of the increased mobility of people during and since the pandemic, and booming visitation to coastal towns. NBN chief operating officer Kathrine Dyer said the new service would be opt-in for households to support the growth of smart industries and recognising the more intensive, data-heavy nature of today’s internet use. “More than one million homes and businesses across Australia … will soon be able to access the fastest residential speeds available on the NBN network,” she said. “We are unlocking social and economic benefits across Australia by pushing fibre deeper into communities. “Fibre is inherently more capable of delivering faster upload and download speeds, is generally more reliable than copper connections, and reduces our ongoing maintenance and operating costs.” Former Margaret River-based IT consultant Peter Griffyn said the upgrade was long overdue and needed to support smart businesses and innovation. “I expect the benefits of fibre-to-the-premises to Margaret River homes and businesses will be better consistency and reliability in delivery of internet speeds – i.e. less congestion during peak usage times,” he said. “The Margaret River light industrial area will likely benefit the most because historically the existing copper connections degrade during and after rainfall. “The reliability of fibre-to-the-premise will likely encourage more home-based internet-related businesses and remote working too.” Other local creatives said apart from inadequate broadband speeds, peak visitor period was notorious for dodgy connections between Dunsborough and Augusta in the summer. Residents have continued to note significant drop-outs in coverage during the summer, lamenting satellite-based services offered to people outside the Capes’ main townships was expensive and not always reliable.