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Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said that's why the NSW Liberals & Nationals in Government have allocated $400 million over the next four years to significantly improve data services in the regions.
Mr Singh said the Connect Regional NSW program will revolutionise the way we live by building data hubs and investing in backhaul to improve internet connectivity.
"This unparalleled investment is a turning point in connectivity for the Coffs Coast and beyond," Mr Singh said.
"The $400 million Connect Regional NSW program will deliver faster internet speeds, better mobile phone coverage, and a potential future of 5G connectivity."
The Connect Regional NSW program will focus on three priority areas:
- Internet and data - Dubbo and Wagga Wagga will be the first locations to investigate the design of data hubs and fibre-optic cables to make internet connectivity faster and more reliable.
- Farm and water - Infrastructure to enhance competitiveness and productivity for our farming industry.
- Mobile - eliminating mobile black spots where people live and work.
"Wagga Wagga and Dubbo have been chosen as the initial locations to investigate and design the future digital infrastructure for regional NSW. Technical studies and stakeholder engagement are already underway and the work done here will help shape the digital future for the rest of regional NSW," Mr Singh said.
The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will now explore other locations for this infrastructure in regional NSW. No decisions have been made on the final locations for this infrastructure.
The Connect Regional NSW program is being funded by the $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund, which is dedicated to being spent on transformative infrastructure in regional NSW.
Visit http://www.nsw.gov.au/connectregionalnsw for more information.
