Broadband blackspot

By Bridget Brady
POOR internet broadband coverage in the City of Casey is a serious problem in the municipality and is hindering some residents who work from home, a councillor says.
Residents who live in some pockets of Casey, in particular Narre Warren South and parts of Cranbourne, are unhappy with the lack of broadband in their homes, and many new residents to the area have told the council they would not have chosen to live in Casey if they had known how bad the service was.
Springfield Ward councillor Lorraine Wreford said inadequate broadband was not what residents expected in the current day and age.
The council will support the WIRED development consortium project that will lobby government to provide the infrastructure needed in new residential developments in order to have ‘fibre-ready estates’ so new houses were ready to be connected.
But for residents in already developed areas, the poor service was frustrating, Cr Wreford said.
“Some can’t get it at all, and others can get it but it’s very slow. If you’re trying to run a business from home there is nothing worse that having slow internet connection that drops out regularly. That’s not what we expect in the year 2009,” Cr Wreford said.
Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce (CCC) president Judy Davis moved out of her shop in Cranbourne to set up her business online at home in Cranbourne West.
Ms Davis said her business was interrupted for weeks when she first tried to set up the internet.
“I can’t get ADSL at all. When we first moved from the shop into home it took me a month to get any kind of internet,” she said.
“Now I do have wireless, but it’s very intermittent.” Ms Davis said she also has only one option for a network provider, so does not have the luxury of opting for a cheaper company.
“To be truthful with regards to business I can understand how frustrating it was.”The problem was not just frustrating for business owners, but also for students, Ms Davis said.
Cr Wreford said the broadband problem was an issue she would not give up on.