‘‘I do some work from home and I need upload speeds to get my work out to clients and it’s nearly impossible on the system we have today,’’ she said.

‘‘Every time it rains my internet drops out and my phone line gets crackly, and the copper lines [like I have now] are what the government would be relying upon for their NBN fibre-to-the-node service.’’

Under the broadband policy announced by the Coalition during the election, optical broadband fibre would be connected to cabinets installed on streets and in some premises, with individual homes then connected to these ‘‘nodes’’ using copper wire.

Horsley vents anger over NBN shortfall

This option is cheaper, but much slower than the system that connects each premises to the network using optical fibre, as proposed by the former Labor government.

Yesterday, Illawarra residents joined fibre-to-the-premises proponents across the country in submitting a national petition – set up by 20-year-old student Nick Paine through change.org – to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, asking that he reconsider the Coalition’s policy.

On what was dubbed the national day of broadband action, Ms Varda and other Cunningham residents symbolically handed over the 270,000-signature digital petition at Labor MP Sharon Bird’s office.

Throsby and Gilmore residents also joined in, ‘‘handing in’’ petitions to Stephen Jones and Ann Sudmalis at their respective offices in Dapto and Nowra.

Vicky Chapman, who submitted the petition to Mr Jones’s office, said the Coalition’s policy would essentially divide her electorate into ‘‘NBN-haves and NBN-have nots’’.

‘‘Australia doesn’t deserve a product that is half as good at two-thirds the cost – saving a few pennies now for the sake of it is not a wise investment for the future,’’ she said.

‘‘Having a fibre-to-the-node system that goes out every time it rains is just not good enough, and sets us further behind those who have already had fibre-to-the-home installed.’’