Thursday, 16 July 2020

Businesses in or moving to the Latrobe Valley now have access to symmetrical gigabit broadband thanks to the Andrews Government’s investment in a newly completed world-class local broadband network.

Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes today announced completion of the enhanced broadband pilot project, made possible thanks to a $1.1 million investment from the government’s $45 million Connecting Regional Communities Program.

The project, which has been delivered through Victorian-based provider Spirit Telecom (Spirit), will improve business-grade broadband options in Latrobe City’s key employment precincts, and enable access to internet speeds up to 10 times faster than currently available – the same or better speeds than many commercial grade internet services in metropolitan regions around the world.

Spirit has built seven fixed wireless towers in and around Morwell, to provide coverage to the Gippsland Hi-Tech Precinct and Innovation Centre, the Gippsland Logistics Precinct, Morwell CBD, the emerging Food and Manufacturing Precinct, and the Aerospace Precinct at Latrobe Regional Airport in Traralgon.

With business relying more and more on digital connectivity, the project will help encourage more companies to move to the Valley and support local businesses to better connect with their customers. The new service is also available to households that need superfast upload speeds to stay connected to jobs, family and friends.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes

“Gigabit broadband will bring more jobs and opportunities to the Valley, and I encourage local businesses to take advantage of the world-class speeds available on this new network.

“It’s all part of the government’s commitment to supporting economic growth, to creating new jobs and attracting the industries of the future to this region.”

Quote attributable to Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford

“It’s never been more important to have high-quality, reliable digital infrastructure and services, and that’s why we’re getting on with making the Latrobe Valley better connected.”

Quote attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“Delivering higher quality, faster and better-connected internet is essential to everyone across the Latrobe Valley – this is great news for local businesses and residents alike.

Quote attributable to Spirit Telecom Managing Director Sol Lukatsky

“We’ve built our company on the belief that all Australians deserve access to faster, more reliable Internet. We hope, in delivering this vital piece of infrastructure on time and on budget, we have helped Morwell to reach its potential.”