Community members from Wangaratta, Yarrawonga and Oxley were among a 20-person jury put together by Infrastructure Victoria to create a report of priorities for the state government.

RMIT senior lecturer Mark Gregory told the jury the federal Coalition’s fibre-to-the-node system was “obsolete”.

Alternative ideas included councils installing their own fibre-to-the-home network and registering as a carrier, while using the community to help implement the system.

The report also suggested investigating spare capacity of optical fibre in Victoria’s rail system to make the fast internet more cost effective.

Wangaratta’s Evelyn Robinson, who was on the jury, said it was an amicable process where members listened and agreed with the expert presenters.

She had farming friends in the Buckland Valley who struggled with only satellite internet, so she believed a fibre-to-the-home system was the best option.

“We were all very strong about not just having better access to the service, but method of delivery,” Ms Robinson said.

“Very much, the technology is coming into farming.”

She said she would watch the Victorian government’s response with interest when it was tabled in Parliament in December.

The jury’s report stated fast internet “also encourages growth of regional Victoria … (and) gives businesses and services the right infrastructure to enable them to be competitive and equitable.”

Wodonga was outside the catchment area for the jury and its only mention in the report, as part of a rail line to connect with other cities such as Geelong and Ballarat, received just one vote.