Four locations for National Broadband Network communications towers are confirmed for Horsham Rural City.
Four locations for National Broadband Network communications towers are confirmed for Horsham Rural City.
An NBN Co spokeswoman said development applications had been submitted and approved for fixed wireless sites in Horsham, Pimpinio, Quantong and Haven.
She said the first services were due to become available in stages from mid-2014.
The spokeswoman said a development application for Natimuk was still being finalised and was several months away from being submitted.
She said increased speed would be available when the services became active next year.
Horsham Rural City Council statutory town planner Adam Moar detailed the addresses for the tower sites.
NBN Co will build a new tower on farmland in Hutchinsons Road, Quantong and also one on farmland at 482 Three Bridges Road, McKenzie Creek. The latter will also cover the Haven area.
NBN Co will build a new tower 10 to 15 metres from an existing mobile phone tower in Gatehouse Road, Dooen, which will also service the Horsham area.
NBN Co will also co-locate equipment to an existing mobile phone tower on farmland at Verandah Swamp Road, Pimpinio.
Council chief executive Peter Brown said the four sites were approved before Christmas.
"The sites have been through a planning process and have been approved," he said.
"They will be going ahead when NBN Co comes through to build them. We have proposed to have a discussion with the Natimuk community in March about their tower location."
NBN Co aims to provide high-speed broadband services via three technologies: fibre, fixed wireless and satellite.
An NBN Co spokeswoman said the first fibre construction module for Horsham was due to start by the end of the year.
Mr Brown said a satellite service was due in 2015 to cover the remainder of the municipality, while an interim satellite service was now available.
"The interim satellite service is better than anything there is now, but not as good as it will be when it comes in," he said.
"These services will give Horsham Rural City people and businesses an enormous potential advantage in being able to access fast internet.
"We need to be ready to take advantage of this.
"Through Wimmera Development Association, Business Horsham and council's own business development unit, we are working on programs that might be able to help retailers and other businesses take advantage of the digital age.
"We are also starting to think about how we need to ensure the rest of the community is able to understand digital technology as the new way of doing things."
Wimmera Development Association executive director Jo Bourke said the NBN roll-out had been stop-start because it was a nation-wide project, but it was a good initiative to have in the Wimmera.
"We are keen for people to gain an understanding and think about how they will use the new infrastructure," she said.
"Particularly with the announcement by NBN Co about virtually doubling the speed of what they initially proposed for fixed wireless services.
"We also need to be not so much focusing on the infrastructure but on how we are going to use it and maximise the benefits for the region's communities and businesses."
An NBN Co spokeswoman said the company was working with other councils in the Wimmera on applications for fixed wireless services, including Ararat, Northern Grampians, Southern Grampians, Hindmarsh and Yarriambiack.
