Thousands of homes in Whittlesea and Hume have been added to the National Broadband Network’s latest rollout map.
For the first time, properties in Bundoora, Lalor, Thomastown, Beveridge, Kalkallo, Whittlesea North, Yan Yean, Doreen, Mernda and Wollert have made the NBN’s connection schedule, which covers the period to September 2018.
Hume, Broadmeadows, Attwood, Coolaroo, Dallas, Meadow Heights, Westmeadows, Campbellfield, Greenvale and Oaklands Junction appear on the map for the first time.
Another 400 houses have been added from the Craigieburn area, 800 from Sunbury and Diggers Rest, 100 from Whittlesea and Eden Park, while 100 have been added to Kinglake.
In another first, the map shows areas that will be connected to the NBN via TV network cable. About 11,200 households in Attwood, Broadmeadows, Coolaroo, Dallas, Meadow Heights, Westmeadows and 14,800 in Thomastown and Lalor will be connected by these network cables, which combine optical fibre and coaxial cable.
NBN chief executive Bill Morrow said the company was well positioned to achieve its goal of connecting eight million premises across Australia by 2020.
“Today we have provided forecasts for the next three years of the build, including areas covered by HFC cable TV networks,” Mr Morrow said. “This is exciting news for the suburbs and towns added to construction.”
‘Unrealistic and unachievable’
Federal McEwen MP Rob Mitchell was not pleased with the new plans, however, labelling them unrealistic and unachievable.
“This is a great blow to suburbs like Doreen and Mernda, which may only see construction start some time in 2016, with many suburbs having to wait as long as 2017 for work to even begin,” Mr Mitchell said.
“For example, residents of Doreen, one of the fastest-growing areas of McEwen, is not scheduled for any works until 2017, despite very limited access to ADSL and a significant number of homes without phone lines.”
A full list of areas included in the schedule, the technologies they are scheduled to receive, and when construction is due to start, is available at: www.nbnco.com.au/3yearplan
