Prime Minister Julia Gillard today confirmed Casuarina residents and businesses in Darwin will be among the first on mainland Australia to discover the benefits of the National Broadband Network.
The landmark agreements reached between NBN Co and Telstra last week have provided the green light for the NBN to be rolled out in Casuarina faster and more efficiently.
The agreements allow NBN Co to get early access to Telstra's infrastructure - such as pits and pipes - to support the rollout of the fibre network to second release sites.
It means NBN Co can now get on with the job of rolling out the NBN fibre in the most efficient way in Casuarina and 18 other second release sites on mainland Australia identified by NBN Co last year.
This will make a significant difference for residents and businesses in Casuarina.
They will be among the first in Australia to benefit from NBN Co's fibre-based high speed broadband.
The NBN will be a wholesale only open-access network, delivering genuine retail competition and innovation to consumers, leading to new and affordable services.
The NBN will change the way we live and work in Darwin and across Australia whilst ensuring our economy keeps up with the rest of the world.
It will give our children access to world-class education resources, deliver better health care services and close the distance between our regions and cities.
It will also give local businesses like those in Casuarina a better opportunity to expand and reach new markets anywhere in the world in an instant.
The NBN will allow faster, more cost effective data exchange for all Australian businesses - it will create a platform for productivity growth across our economy.
The agreements represent real micro-economic reform in the telecommunications sector - offering greater retail competition and better value for more Australians.
The Northern Territory will also see NBN Co's new Interim Satellite Service (ISS) commence on 1 July.
This new service offers eligible regional and rural Australians the opportunity to access fast broadband where they are unable to access a metro-comparable broadband service.
The ISS replaces the Australian Broadband Guarantee, and represents a significant improvement in broadband performance for tens of thousands in remote areas.
It will offer peak speeds of up to 6 Mbps download and 1 mbps upload, which is around 6 times faster than typical satellite services currently available.
The cost of installing the satellite dish and equipment will be covered by NBN Co.
The ISS will serve as a transition until NBN Co launches two cutting edge, high-speed broadband satellites in 2015.
This is a clear delivery on the Commitment to Regional Australia that the Gillard Labor Government signed with the Independents last year to bring forward the introduction of enhanced broadband in remote and rural Australia.
It is yet another step in the delivery of the Government's National Broadband Network for regional Australia.
This is all in stark contrast to the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott who doesn't appreciate the potential of the new technology and has made it clear that he wants to “demolish” the NBN.
Tony Abbott would rip up the fibre out of the ground.
The choice could not be clearer - faster broadband to support a modern society and economy or the same old slow lane where Australia falls behind the rest of the world.