Less than two months to go for remaining homes and businesses in parts of Gosford to order a service over the NBN

The countdown is drawing to a close for the first homes and businesses living within parts of Gosford to make the switch from the existing telecommunications network to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

For the first time on the NSW Central Coast, services over the NBN are scheduled to replace most existing landline phone and internet services in parts of Gosford from 5 October 2014.*

NBN Co today urged the remaining affected residents and businesses in parts of Gosford who have not placed an order for services over the NBN to contact their preferred internet service provider or phone company as soon as possible.

NBN Co spokesperson, Darren Rudd said:

“The move to the NBN is not automatic and may take some planning and coordination. Residents and businesses in parts of Gosford need to move their landline phone and internet services over to the NBN if they wish to continue using them. They have a choice whether to switch across to the NBN or to make do with mobile or other solutions.

“We particularly want to reach out to people in Gosford who could use the NBN to jump on their computers to do work rather than commuting to Sydney or Newcastle each day. NBN-enabled ‘teleworkers’ have the potential to work from home like they do in the office, helping provide a better work/life balance.**

“We are encouraging residents and businesses in affected areas to ensure they make the switch before it’s too late.”*

Business owner Dave Abrahams, who runs Organise Internet & TimeSlotStudio in Gosford CBD says since making the switch to the NBN, local film makers and students are seeing they don’t need to travel to Sydney or Newcastle to do their work.

“Since connecting to the NBN with Arrow Voice and Data, our clients have been able to use fast broadband to transfer huge image and movie files to offshore servers and editing studios in other parts of the country, allowing them to collaborate with producers, editors and script-writers over high quality Skype sessions. 

“We're not only saving our clients time and money from not needing to travel to studios in the city, we're getting a competitive advantage over getting their work to market faster.” **

NBN Co is currently undertaking a comprehensive communication campaign with residents in areas of Gosford scheduled to make the switch to the NBN from 5 October 2014.* This includes local advertising, community information sessions, direct mail and door-to-door service calls to those within the area.

This continues the momentum of the NBN rollout in NSW, with over 70,100 residents and businesses already connected to the network.

You can find out whether you are eligible to connect to the NBN as well as more information about the steps you need to take to make the switch by visiting nbnco.com.au/switch. 

Media enquiries:

NBN Co Media Hotline
P: 02 9927 4200
E: media@nbnco.com.au

Nick Creevey
M: 0415 515 008
E: nickcreevey@n2n.com.au

Media materials:

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Parts of Gosford are scheduled to be switched-off from 5 October 2014*

Notes to editors:

• The move to the NBN is not automatic – homes and businesses will need to take the following steps:

1.     Contact your preferred internet service provider or phone company:

a.     If you have a medical alarm or alert (or a family member, carer or friend) you are encouraged to register your details with NBN Co’s Medical Alarm Register by calling 1800 227 300 or complete the online form at nbnco.com.au/medicalregister.

b.     If you have an EFTPOS terminal, fax or alarm system, call the provider of that service (for example your bank) to ask what internet or landline phone services over the NBN will support the device.

c.     If your building has an emergency lift phone and/or a fire indicator panel you are encouraged to register your details with NBN Co so these services can be identified by calling 1800 687 626.***

d.     Contact your preferred phone company or internet service provider and discuss your requirements.

2.     Choose a plan that suits your needs.

3.     Order your service over the NBN as soon as possible.

• As part of the Statement of Expectations released in April 2014, NBN Co is working to ensure all Australians have access to very fast broadband as soon as possible, at affordable prices, and at the least cost to taxpayers. The Statement allows for the NBN to be built in the most cost-effective way using the technology best matched to each area of Australia.
• The rollout maps on the NBN Co website are intended to be an accurate picture of the state of the rollout as it stands today. The maps are updated monthly with additional information about the rollout of the NBN.
• Areas within suburbs will have different switch off dates depending on when the NBN becomes available to their premises.
• Homes and businesses that have an existing medical or security alarm systems should contact their alarm provider and phone company to enquire about their current system and how it will work over the NBN.

*The NBN is replacing most of the traditional landline networks for phone and internet services, including copper and the majority of HFC networks, within its fixed line footprint with a mix of technologies.  Services provided over existing fibre networks (including in-building, health and education networks) and some special and business services may not be affected. To find out if your services will be affected, please contact your current phone or internet provider.  For more information, visit www.nbnco.com.au/switchoff or call 1800 687 626.

**Your experience including the speeds actually achieved over the NBN depends on the technology over which services are delivered to your premises and some factors outside our control like your equipment quality, software, broadband plans, your organisation’s IT policy and infrastructure and how your service provider designs its network.

*** Due to specific in-building cabling requirements NBN Co is working closely with industry to develop solutions to connect emergency lift phones and fire indicator panels to the NBN. NBN Co does not currently intend to disconnect existing lift phone and fire indicator panel services. A register has been set up to identify where these services are located so that NBN Co can ensure that they are not disconnected when many other existing services are disconnected in a particular area.

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