A large dead-spot in NBN fixed wireless coverage will be addressed if a proposed tower goes up on the outskirts of Beechworth, and a site for Wooragee follows.
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Further details about a proposed facility at 76 Payne Road in Beechworth were made available for residents at a community briefing on Wednesday.
The tower will provide access to a fixed wireless service for about 200 premises within an approximate three-kilometre radius of the facility, to go live in 2019.
Plans show the tower on Payne Road will look similar to the existing AusNet structure, with maximum EME levels to be 0.051 per cent of the public exposure limit.
If no major concerns are raised by residents, NBN plans to submit the development application to Indigo Council within weeks.
Options for a fixed wireless facility for the Wooragee area are also being investigated.
Helen McGowan attended the community briefing and said she was cautiously optimistic about the new facility.
“I came to get educated because I’ve got an experience of sky muster where I live, which is unsatisfactory, and then I’m in Yackandandah where I work, and that’s been unsatisfactory, and I’m hearing Beechworth is coming,” she said.
“I’m really impressed by the turn-out from NBN.”
Ms McGowan said Yackandandah residents also had fixed wireless access.
“A lot of people had ADSL, which they relinquished to go to the NBN fixed wireless, which has failed,” she said.
“I was working there last week and there was no internet – what I’ve heard is they underestimated capacity – it has been oversubscribed and is under-performing.”
NBN corporate affairs advisor Kasey Ellison said works were being undertaken on the fixed wireless towers in Yackandandah throughout September and October, expected to result in improved performance.
“An overall capacity upgrade to the tower located in the vicinity of Kirby Flat Road is also planned for the second half of next year, and NBN is working hard to bring the works forward to complete this upgrade sooner,” she said.
“It is important for people to understand that speed and reliability issues can be due to a number of factors that are outside of NBN’s control.
“This is why it is important the residents and businesses with any concerns should contact their retail service provider in the first instance.”
Meanwhile, construction will commence in coming months to connect an additional 8500 homes and businesses in parts of Beechworth, Bright, Corryong and Tallangatta to the NBN fixed line network.
It is expected to go live for those areas in the second half of next year.
