Outback town the new location for NBN satellite service station

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The outback town of Bourke, north-west of NSW, is the location for a new NBN satellite facility.

The satellite ground station gateway forms part of NBN’s Long Term Satellite Service, designed to bring the high speed broadband to the Australian outback, including communities in Bourke Shire.

The new facility is planned for an existing industrial site, 8km north of the town centre and is scheduled to be up and running by 2015.

The township of Bourke has been earmarked to receive broadband via fibre optic cables, however.

In the meantime, an Interim Satellite Service is available now to eligible homes and businesses in rural and remote areas.

NBN Co said it would provide more information about the rollout in Bourke at a later date.

The ground station will comprise a single story building with up to three 13-metre-in-diametre satellite dishes. Construction is expected to begin next year.

 “We chose Bourke because it was an ideal location with an ideal climate,” said Matt Dawson, NBN Co’s Program Director, Satellites.

“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.”

“The Bourke facility will link up with other satellite ground stations across the country to deliver broadband to some of the most isolated communities in Australia by 2015 – including many in Bourke Shire itself.”

Last month NBN Co announced the construction of a similar facility in Wolumla on the Far South Coast of NSW.

See www.nbnco.com.au/satellite, or call NBN Solutions Centre on 1800 881 816.