the national broadband network will see every home, school and

PROSPERITYPipelinesto

Why we need to get connected

national broadband

The National Broadband Network will see every home, school and workplace in Australia connected to high-speed broadband.

Because when it happens, we’ll be more connected

than ever before – with business, employment,

education and healthcare opportunities.

And while there is no doubt it will happen, there is a

question of when.

At the moment, the South West region of Australia – a

regional economic powerhouse with a fast-growing

population – has not been scheduled to receive the

And residents have every reason to feel impatient.

Every year we’re not connected to the NBN, we’re

losing money and opportunities.

Should the South West region not receive the NBN

until 2018, the potential loss to the economy over the

next 20 years, in present-day terms, would be:

• $5.8billion in terms of gross valued added activity

• $1.3billion in terms of wages and salaries.

That’s a big loss of opportunity for the South West and

shows exactly why the region needs to be connected

sooner rather than later.

CONNECTEDis the key word here

About the National Broadband NetworkThe National Broadband Network is an Australian

Government initiative to connect every home and

workplace in the country to high-speed internet. It

is the largest ever infrastructure project undertaken

in Australia and will replace the ageing copper

communications network which currently connects

Australians to the internet.

Under the plan, 93 per cent of premises in Australia

will be connected to the NBN via fibre optic cabling

providing download speeds of 100 megabits per

second.

The remaining seven per cent of premises will be

covered by a combination of fixed-wireless and satellite

technologies offering peak download speeds of up to

12 megabits per second.

Commencement of the first NBN services began in

Tasmania in July 2010, while the launch of the first

mainland NBN services occurred in Armidale, NSW in

May 2011.

Geraldton, South Perth, Applecross, Victoria Park,

Meadow Springs, Mandurah and Pinjarra are sites in

Western Australia which have already been scheduled

to receive the NBN.

It is intended the NBN will be rolled out over about 10

years.

South West Development Commission

9th Floor 61 Victoria Street Bunbury 6230

PO Box 2000 Bunbury Western Australia 6231

Tel: +61 8 9792 2000 · Fax: +61 8 9791 3223

Email: [email protected]

www.swdc.wa.gov.au

Economic figures used in this document have been sourced from a report prepared by the AEC Group on behalf of the South West Development Commission. The report, titled National Broadband Network: Impact Assessment on the South West region of WA, is available to download from www.swdc.wa.gov.au . To request a hard copy of the brochure, please phone (08) 9792 2000.

• Perth

Bunbury •

In the South West corner of Australia we’re not

simply crossing our fingers in hope the NBN will

be rolled out to the region in the near future.

Organisations such as the South West

Development Commission are actively working

with stakeholders to identify what is required for

the NBN to be fast-tracked to the region.

As part of efforts to secure an early rollout date,

the Commission set up a stakeholders group

comprising industry and State government

representatives.

This stakeholders group has been developing a

case for the delivery of broadband services to

the South West, including the commissioning of

a report into the possible social and economic

impacts of the NBN on the region.

All this because the Commission and its

stakeholders believe the delivery of the NBN

to the South West will increase the region’s

competiveness, driving productivity and growth

opportunities.

Working to get connected

E ST E R N A U S T R ALIA

GO V E R N M ENT OF

the SouthWest region

A fast-growing regionThe South West is a fast-growing region, with an increasing

number of people choosing to call it home each year. Over

the past five years the South West region’s annual growth rate

was 3.1 per cent, resulting in an extra 23,161 people living in

the region.

Currently more than 162,000 people are residents of the South

West. By 2027 it is anticipated about 216,000 people will

reside in the region – and it’s little wonder why.

Lifestyle, employment opportunities and a diverse economy

make the South West a popular place to live, work and invest.

Large investments are either planned or underway in

the region, including in the areas of mining, tourism and

infrastructure.

Regional economic powerhouseThe South West is the regional economic powerhouse of

the State. Its thriving economy generated $12.4billion during

2009/10. The South West region derived a large portion of its

wealth from mining and manufacturing sectors, which latest

figures show produced $1.7b and $2.7b respectively.

The South West has a diverse economy, with many industries

contributing to the region’s prosperity. These include mining

and industry, manufacturing, building and construction, retail,

tourism, food and agriculture, wine and viticulture, fishing and

forestry.

Excitingly, the South West region is home to a growing group

of smart and creative professionals whose work is making a

big impression on the global market.

The South West region of Western Australia is not only a region of vast natural beauty, it is also an economic powerhouse in its own right.The port city of Bunbury is the South West’s regional hub, while

many smaller towns throughout the South West offer attractive

lifestyles throughout the region’s 12 local government areas.

The region offers new residents both the employment benefits

of the city and the social and lifestyle benefits of country life.

Under the Western Australian Government’s

SuperTowns plan, three South West towns

will play a pivotal role in absorbing the State’s

forecast population growth.

Collie, Manjimup and Margaret River will be

developed not only to provide choices for people

wanting to live and work in regional areas,

but to also offer an alternative to living in the

metropolitan area.

As part of its important role in absorbing

Western Australia’s predicted population growth

over the next four decades, the South West

needs to have infrastructure in place to make its

towns even more attractive places to live, work

and invest.

This means being connected to the

NBN, especially in the region’s three

SuperTowns of Collie, Manjimup and

Margaret River.

Having access to superfast

broadband will enable the

SuperTowns to remain economically

and socially competitive.

SuperTownssuper-speed

TIMING IS:

EVERYTHINGThe South West is both a regional economic

powerhouse and an area with a fast-growing

population.

Despite this, it has not yet been scheduled to

receive the National Broadband Network.

This is a concern as the timing of the rollout

of the NBN to the South West will have a

substantial impact on the region’s future

prosperity and wellbeing.

Research has found that early adopters

experienced greater economic and social

benefits than late adopters as a result of

increased internet speeds and reliability, and

reduced internet costs.

The rollout of the NBN to the region is likely

to positively impact on areas such as health,

education, teleworking, access to specialists

and healthcare, business productivity, expansion

of client bases, income levels, and attracting

new businesses and residents.

If the South West was to receive the NBN in

2014, in its first year of having access to the

NBN the economy is expected to benefit from

an additional:

• Output of $501million

• Gross value add of $193million

• $48million in wages and salaries

• 839 full-time positions

By 2030, the NBN is expected to generate

additional annual:

• Output of $11billion

• Gross value add of $4.3billion

• Income of $912 million

• Employment of 13,058 full-time positions

However, should the South West region not

receive the NBN until 2018, the potential loss to

the economy over the next 20 years, in present-

day terms, would be:

• $5.8billion in terms of gross value added

activity; and

• $1.3billion in terms of wages and salaries

For the South West to participate in the digital

economy and remain globally competitive, not to

mention socially advantaged, clearly it needs to

get connected to the NBN as soon as possible.

It’s not just about keeping pace with the rest of the world, it’s about connecting with the rest of the world.

The benefits of superfast broadbandOnce the National Broadband Network is in place, it

will offer a range of benefits to all Australians regardless

of whether they live in metropolitan or regional areas.

Thanks to the new technology, we will be able to do

things we could only dream about doing with ordinary

internet.

In many ways, the delivery of the NBN across Australia

will result in game-changing moments, opening up

new opportunities in areas such as business, health

and education.

Just as the installation of telephone networks and

wide-spread take-up of internet changed the way

people communicated and carried out business, so

too will the NBN.

Consider how greatly the capacity to teleconference

will be increased. No, think bigger – think more along

the lines of teleworking. In fact, start thinking of work

as less about a place we go and more something we

simply do – because with the new communications

technology available to us we’ll be able to work from

home more than ever before.

In fact, animators could produce content for Hollywood

movies from their homes in the South West.

That’s just one possibility – there are many others.

Because having superfast broadband is not just about

having the ability to download movies at a quicker rate.

It’s about an animation professional being able to

create computer generated imagery for the next

blockbuster from his home office in the South West.

It’s also about the world’s best medical specialists

being able to diagnose a patient in Bunbury from their

workplaces in, say, Sydney or London.

It’s about students in regional and remote areas having

enhanced educational experiences by being able to

interact online with their teacher.

It’s about a grandmother in Walpole using Skype to

teach her granddaughter in New York how to knit.

The possibilities are truly amazing. And limited only by

our imaginations.

It’s no wonder the South West needs to get

connected. And the sooner the better.

the region.

infrastructure.

forestry.

metropolitan area.

and invest.

Margaret River.

TIMING IS:

population.

an additional:

additional annual:

activity; and

internet.

and education.

too will the NBN.

our imaginations.

the region.

infrastructure.

forestry.

metropolitan area.

and invest.

Margaret River.

TIMING IS:

population.

an additional:

additional annual:

activity; and

internet.

and education.

too will the NBN.

our imaginations.

national broadband

question of when.

second.

May 2011.

to receive the NBN.

years.

Tel: +61 8 9792 2000 · Fax: +61 8 9791 3223

www.swdc.wa.gov.au

• Perth

Bunbury •

representatives.

opportunities.

GO V E R N M ENT OF

national broadband

question of when.

second.

May 2011.

to receive the NBN.

years.

Tel: +61 8 9792 2000 · Fax: +61 8 9791 3223

www.swdc.wa.gov.au

• Perth

Bunbury •

representatives.

opportunities.

GO V E R N M ENT OF

the national broadband network will see every home, school and

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