The NBN Co accounced today that the NSW town of Bourke will receive a new NBN satellite ground station to help deliver high speed broadband to remote communities across Australia - including many in Bourke Shire itself.
As part of the NBN's Long Term Satellite Service, the new facility will bring broadband at speeds of up to 12 Megabits per second to homes, farms and businesses in outback and remote parts of Australia, including communities in the Bourke Shire such as Louth, Gumbalie and Fords Bridge.
The new station, which will comprise a single storey building with up to three 13-metre-in-diametre satellite dishes, will be built approximately eight kilometres north of the town centre on an existing industrial development site. Construction is expected to begin next year with the facility scheduled to be up and running by 2015.
Burke was chosen due to favorable weather conditions and a reliable power source, the NBN Co said in a statement.
"The town is also located close to reliable power and other infrastructure including the NBN's core fibre transit network - the main fibre transmission lines linking towns and our exchanges" explained Matt Dawson, NBN Co's Satellite Program Director.
When completed, the Bourke facility will link up with other satellite ground stations across the country - including the recently announced Merimbula station - to deliver broadband to some of the most isolated communities in Australia.
An Interim Satellite Service is currently available to eligible homes and businesses in rural and remote areas that lack access to metro-comparable broadband services. To find out if you qualify, pay a visit to the NBN Co Satellite page.
