On Monday, business leaders met Paul Fletcher, parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Communications, to talk through current needs of the region, the challenges they faced with the NBN, the opportunities it could bring, and where the region was heading.

"Challenges that were brought up are retaining our graduates, trying to get some multinational organisations to relocate to the region so we have a bigger employment base in this sector, and a [faster] rollout of the NBN ... getting more of that here so it can benefit business," RDA Illawarra chief executive Natalie Burroughs said.

"Kiama has one of the highest [sign-up] rates in the country of the NBN, and we're hoping that the rest of the Illawarra will take it up as well, because we think it's good for business, it's good for staff and it's good for employment."

Mr Fletcher said the NBN was a huge drawcard and had potential to see many organisations base their operations around the Illawarra.

"It's already happening. Wollongong Council pointed to the fact that NEC has established a facility here, and one of the reasons is because there's a good pool of skilled workers, and you've got the good infrastructure," Mr Fletcher said.

"I certainly think community leaders in the Illawarra are doing a great job in working to capitalise on the benefits of the NBN for this region."

So far, the Wollongong CBD, Corrimal, Dapto and Kiama have access, while discussions have begun with Shellharbour council.

Advantage Wollongong is already using the NBN to try to lure multinational organisations.

"Once you are connected, the world is your oyster," Ms Burroughs said.