THOUSANDS of residents in some of Whittlesea’s fastest growing suburbs face an indefinite wait for broadband internet.
Although residents in parts of South Morang were switched on to broadband last week, there is still no date to link Doreen or Mernda to the National Broadband Network.
Doreen resident and Neighbourhood Watch representative Peter Phillips said some residents suffered badly because of the old technology in the area.
‘‘The technology is so old it is at capacity and some areas can’t even get ADSL2,’’ Mr Phillips said. ‘‘It is not worth trying at high-volume times like a Friday night because the connection just drops out.’’
Holly Hearne, a spokeswoman for NBNCo, the national broadband network provider, said there was no certain timeframe for work to start in Doreen and Mernda, but work had started in neighbouring Mill Park.
“Work has already commenced in Mill Park and more construction will come online within the year,’’ she said.
‘‘This is great news for local homes and businesses who will be some of the first in northern suburbs of Melbourne to get access to high-speed broadband.
“Unfortunately, Mernda and Doreen are not included in the three-year rollout. However, NBNCo intends to update the three-year plan on an annual basis, and next March will add rollout information up until June 2016.’’
Telstra spokeswoman Jane de Gault said the company offered Bigpond mobile broadband to Doreen and Mernda customers.
She said Telstra had upgraded parts of its network in Doreen and Mernda to ADSL capability, which ‘‘addressed some of the ADSL availability shortfall in these suburbs’’.
‘‘Telstra currently has the necessary infrastructure in place to provide Mill Park residents with a choice of both ADSL and cable internet,’’ Ms de Gault said.
Meanwhile, internet service providers and telephone companies are in a race to sign up customers to South Morang’s new broadband network to access fast downloads of movies and other data.
