Broadband boost for businesses in Maranoa

August 10, 2021

2,387 Businesses in the Maranoa electorate will benefit from cheaper and faster broadband with NBN Co announcing the establishment of Business Fibre Zones at Dalby, Warwick and Goondiwindi today.

Federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud welcomed the announcement and said the new Zones will help to unlock new opportunities for business growth in regional communities.

“This is great news for Maranoa and I’m pleased to see NBN Co investing in our region’s potential with these new Zones in Dalby, Warwick and Goondiwindi.

“The Zones will allow local businesses to access fibre with speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second, enabling a range of new business opportunities that previously weren’t possible.

“This has the potential to revitalise and reshape our region, from the services locals are able to access, to industries like agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism which are all major local employers in their own right.

“Access to high speed internet will allow local businesses to grow and thrive, break into new markets, and secure our long-term growth potential.

“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.

“Improving access to high speed, reliable, and high quality broadband in regional areas is a key part of the Australian Government’s communications plan, which is why we are investing directly in Maranoa.

“This is about levelling the playing field for our regional businesses, who will now have the same connectivity as their city counterparts.”

The Zones in Dalby, Warwick and Goondiwindi are part of 44 new Zones announced today that will help thousands of businesses participate in the digital economy on an equal footing.

This announcement builds on an existing Business Fibre Zone in Roma, established in October last year.

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.

Fast Facts:

• 44 new Zones have been announced as part of NBN Co’s Business Fibre Zone initiative, supporting an additional 60,000 eligible businesses across Australia.
• This takes the total number of businesses within a Business Fibre Zone 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 announcement will bring the total number of Business Fibre Zones to 284.
• 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.
• 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.