Vic selects Spirit Telecom for Morwell broadband

The Victorian Government has awarded Spirit Telecom its second grant under the Connecting Regional Communities program.

The Victorian Government has awarded South Melbourne-based wireless broadband provider Spirit Telecom a $1.1 million grant to provide fixed wireless services in the town of Morwell in the south-east of the state.

Under the agreement, Spirit Telecom will provide a fixed wireless broadband service capable of providing speeds of up to 1 Gbps symmetrical covering the town.

The coverage area will include the CBD, Tech School & Innovation Precinct and Gippsland Logistic Precincts. Spirit Telecom Managing Director Geoff Neate said the company plans to deploy an internet ring around Morwell, and the network may in future be capable of serving neighbouring towns such as Traralgon and Moe.

“We believe our offering is market leading and will put to bed the mindset that 5G technology is purely a mobile play,” he said.

“The project will reinforce Spirit as a leader of high-speed internet in the telco industry. It also fulfils the demands of businesses and consumers for a fast, reliable broadband service that delivers on what it promises.”

Construction of the network is expected to be complete by 2020. Spirit Telecom uses wireless networking technology which incorporates beamforming, a technique for improving signal strength used in 5G networks.

The $1.1 million grant has been provided as part of the Victorian Government's Connecting Regional Communities program.

This is the second grant Spirit Telecom has received under the program, with the company having secured a $1.7 million grant to provide wireless broadband services to the city of Horsham in western Victoria in October last year. The company said it is exploring more opportunities to work with the state government under the program.

The Victorian Government has committed $7 million as part of the program to pilot the delivery of higher-quality broadband networks for businesses to address gaps in the nbn in Morwell, Horsham and Geelong.

The Connecting Regional Communities program is designed to help close the urban–rural digital divide and address issues such as mobile black spots.

The Victorian Government aims to work with all nine of the state’s Regional Partnerships, community groups, local governments, the federal government and commercial partners to help address disparities of access and affordability between regional and rural Victoria.

Connecting Regional Communities forms part of the state government’s Connecting Victoria program. As part of the program, the government has also announced investments of over $44 million to reduce mobile blackspots, $18 million to improve mobile coverage on the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour and Traralgon V/Line commuter train routes, and $8 million for free public Wi-Fi pilots in Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Geelong.

“Having access to fast internet in regional Victoria is a priority, and the Victorian Government is doing all it can to ensure better connectivity throughout the state,” Victorian Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade Martin Pakula said.

“Congratulations to Spirit on being awarded the Connecting Regional Communities grant. Being better connected will help Morwell’s businesses to boost the local economy and create jobs.”

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/welcomia

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