By ALANA MITCHELSON
ALMOST 20,000 Pakenham and Officer properties now have access to faster internet speeds through the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Using high-speed technology, the NBN will be available to 19,600 homes and businesses across Pakenham as well as some properties within Officer from Friday 20 May.
Telstra Gippsland area general manager Loretta Willaton said this was the largest NBN rollout to have benefited the Casey-Cardinia region.
She said the introduction of the NBN would set new benchmarks for the area’s broadband speeds and reliability.
“Residents will be able to get up to double the internet speed they are currently experiencing,” Ms Willaton said.
“It will really support simultaneous streaming from multiple devices.
“With a quarter of the local population school-aged, the reliable NBN network connection and speeds will give students a boost by ensuring they can access resources online and attend lectures remotely, without having to worry about buffering and download delays.
“While many locals are tech-savvy and operate confidently in the digital space, there are some who may be new to the online experience and don’t want to be left behind.”
Telstra senior sales assistant Narendra Unnikrishnan helped Pakenham resident Ken Owen sign up on Friday morning.
Mr Owen lives with his wife and daughter and said that the three of them would often access the internet on their tablets simultaneously.
“Our modem works very hard,” he said.
“We have three phones, three tablets and a computer.
“We often FaceTime our friends in Bali on our iPads and I check my emails every day.
“I think we’ll find the NBN quite useful.”
Ms Willaton said that residents could expect to have a modem sent to their address within one to two weeks of signing up.
The modems were usually self-installed by residents and technician work would be carried out off-site, she said.
Residents can enter their address in a search engine to find out whether they are eligible to connect as part of the current NBN rollout at www.telstra.com.au/broadband/nbn/nbn-rollout.
The NBN is expected to also reach Beaconsfield and Upper Beaconsfield within the next two months.
