Businesses in Port Pirie will benefit from cheaper and faster broadband with NBN Co announcing the establishment of a Business Fibre Zone (BFZ) at Port Pirie today.
Federal Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey MP said the new Zone will allow 718 local businesses to access fibre with speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second, enabling a range of new opportunities that previously weren’t possible.
“In the last round, BFZ’s were announced for Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Port Augusta and I raised the that inequity with the minister and that Port Pirie deserved to receive the same consideration,” Mr Ramsey said. “I am very pleased that now the city will have the same access to this business grade service with speeds up to 1Gbps.
“Not all businesses need anymore speed or capacity than they already receive, but some who are increasingly using high levels of technology do, and the ability to grow their business relies on access to this super high level of connectivity.”
“The new service will allow our local businesses to operate on a more level playing field and compete both nationally and globally.”
“Access to high speed internet will allow local businesses to grow and thrive, break into new markets, and secure our long-term growth potential,” Mr Ramsey said.
“With no upfront build costs and discounts of up to 47 per cent on NBN Co’s current wholesale plans, I am keen to see local businesses take advantage of these zones.”
Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said the NBN was establishing an additional 44 BFZ’s across Australia helping thousands of businesses to participate in the digital economy on an equal footing, and bring the total number of Business Fibre Zones to 284.
“As we manage and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, investment in local business communications infrastructure will ensure that businesses can recover quickly, while taking advantage of domestic and international markets,” Minister Fletcher said.
“Improving access to high speed, reliable, and high-quality broadband is a key part of the Australian Government’s communications agenda, which is why we are investing directly in the electorate of Grey.”
Today’s announcement will support an additional 60,000 eligible businesses across Australia, taking the total number of businesses within a BFZ to 850,000, of which nearly 300,000 businesses are in regional Australia. NBN’s Enterprise Ethernet, NBN Co’s fastest symmetrical wholesale product offers these businesses plans of up to 1 Gigabit per second at the same price as CBD areas.
This extension to NBN Co’s Business Fibre Zone initiative builds on the $700 million package announced last year to transform the accessibility and affordability of business-grade fibre and allow small to medium businesses to embrace opportunities for growth.
The announcement comes at the same time as research by Frontier Economics shows NBN Co’s business fibre investments will contribute up to $7.2 billion annually to the economy by 2024.
The research also forecasts productivity benefits for businesses of up to 12 per cent, with regional areas particularly set to benefit and evidence of increased retail competition which is good for businesses.
For more information about the NBN Business Fibre Zones initiative, including the new pricing options, visit https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co/corporate-plan/business-fibre-initiative.
For more information on the research, visit https://www.communications.gov.au/documents/economic-impact-new-nbn-investments-business-report-frontier-economics.
Media Contact: Leonie Lloyd-Smith 02 62774967
August 9 2021
