FASTER broadband remains a distant dream for Point Cook residents with the suburb left out of the next phase of the National Broadband Network rollout.
Point Cook properties were not among the 30,000 Wyndham houses chosen by NBN Co to be plugged into the new high-speed internet network by 2015.
Computer specialist Daniel Dortmans said it was an “absolute disgrace” that Point Cook still had no NBN start date in sight.
“The area is a complete and utter internet black hole and will remain so until they throw some money at it, but it seems they don’t want to. It beggars belief,” he said.
When is the NBN coming to you?
Mr Dortmans, who runs Influx Computer Solutions, said most of his clients used 3G internet or dial-up connections because the suburb’s available ADSL ports had fallen short of the demand brought by population growth.
“Most people these days are on 3G, which is incredibly expensive, and its speed doesn’t compare to a normal fixed-line ADSL connection,” he said.
“In the medium to long term, the situation is going to devalue properties by quite a big margin … if you’re stuck between satellite and dial-up internet speeds, why would you even consider moving here?”
Wyndham mayor Kim McAliney criticised NBN Co for failing to schedule a date for Point Cook homes to plug into the $35billion network, which combines fibre-optic cabling, fixed wireless and satellite technologies Australia-wide.
“It’s not acceptable that there are still some areas within the city that still rely on out-of-date dial-up connection or are reliant on more expensive, slow and unreliable wireless connectivity,” she said.
Cr McAliney urged Telstra to continue upgrading its coverage across Point Cook by bolting “top hat” boxes above its street-side cabinets, which boosted the number of available phone lines capable of connecting to ADSL2+ internet.
