Council welcomes State’s plans to connect Regional communities

Published on 18 December 2017

Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow has welcomed the State Government’s plans to utilise optical fibre networks from State-owned corporations for everyday households, delivering cheaper and faster internet access.

“This is a brilliant idea and Rockhampton is willing and ready to be an early partner in this plan that could see our community connect to faster and more affordable internet,” Mayor Strelow said.

“A little birdy flagged with me some time ago that this was a possibility, so we are extremely keen to see this plan come to fruition and to address the shortfall we are experiencing with NBN.”

As a driving force behind the Smart agenda  in the Rockhampton Region, Mayor Strelow said she hopes the State Government’s plans are just the beginning of more to come.

“What we need is more competition and more options for our residents and businesses, and utilising the spare capacity on the existing fibre networks is a great start.”

“Council has already driven a strong agenda about preparedness and delivery when it comes to smart technology, and in the midst of developing a smart city, high speed internet access is absolutely crucial.

“I’m also not surprised to see Steve Baxter knee deep in this, being from Regional Queensland, he understands the impact this service could have on regional communities like ours.”