Kangaroo Valley residents are so fed up with being “badly served” by the NBN, they’re paying to build their own network.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A Pozible crowdfunding campaign has started, where subscribers are asked to commit to pay $1000 to get connected to the new network.
“Like many rural communities Kangaroo Valley is very badly served by Australia’s NBN and telecommunications providers,” the page states.
“From shopkeepers who use eftpos for sales to farmers and householders who require information and want to listen to podcasts or online videos, the situation has been and is currently frustrating in the extreme.”
If the campaign gets 120 people willing to pay $1000 each then Kangaroo Valley resident and IT expert John Sinclair will set up a network of antennas in the area.
“It will be a post and there will be a solar panel attached to it with a box and an antenna on the top,” Mr Sinclair said.
READ MORE: Houses on the wrong side of NBN rollout
“The antennas are about the size of an A4 notebook. So rather than have one tower and one site [which Kangaroo Valley has at the moment] there will be something around the number 10. And they’ll all be linked by radio.
“It will be completely separate to the NBN. This will connect into a fibre connection direct to Sydney – it’s not shared with other NBN users.”
The idea has sparked the interest of other communities. Mr Sinclair said he had received calls from other towns who wanted to do something similar.
Mr Sinclair said the Kangaroo Valley Broadband Network will be built, even if the campaign doesn’t get enough subscribers.
“If we don’t get to 120 then the campaign falls over and we don’t get any money,” he said.
READ MORE: NBN contractors anger Woonona home owner
“If that’s the case I’ve still got the names of those who were willing to put up $1000, so I’ll contact them and design a network to service them rather than the whole valley.”
An NBN spokeswoman said the Kangaroo Valley area was serviced via fixed wireless technology or satellite.
“Take-up of services over the NBN access network in Kangaroo Valley is consistent with other regional towns similar in nature,” the spokeswoman said.
“To this effect the fixed wireless in the Kangaroo Valley area is being progressively upgraded over August-September 2018, with the result that increased capacity is forecast to become available from the middle of September 2018.”
She said individual residents or whole areas could pay to switch the method of NBN delivery under its Technology Choice Program.