Federal Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Conroy, officially launched the Coffs Harbour City Council’s digital strategy ‘Switched On Coffs’.
The strategy was created by community regeneration expert Dr Tim Williams in consultation with local businesses, Council, educators, the health industry, the creative industry and the wider community.
The strategy aims to capitalise on the early rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) to improve the prosperity and lifestyle of the Coffs Harbour community.
Coffs Harbour City Councillor Jenny Bonfield is a Switched on Coffs Broadband Champion.
She said this is a very exciting moment in the history of Coffs Harbour.
“The arrival of NBN gives Coffs Harbour a significant competitive edge over most of the rest of Australia,” she said.
“It is up to us, as a community, to work together to use this technological investment and its benefits to make our city a beacon of economic and social innovation.”
Senator Conroy said Coffs Harbour is an excellent example of a community that really understands the advantages that the NBN can deliver.
“A world class NBN will enhance every aspect of our lives – the way we care for our families and ourselves, the way we share knowledge and information and the way we trade our goods and services,” he said.
“By being able to bridge the digital divide, we will see better educational outcomes, improved health service delivery, more opportunities in the creative industries and increased economic prospects.
Importantly, the NBN will allow local communities to thrive as businesses grow – without the need to move to major metropolitan cities. This will create more jobs for regional Australia and mean more people will be employed locally.
I commend Coffs Harbour City Council and its partners, particularly Southern Cross University, for seeing the opportunities presented by the NBN and having the vision to take a lead.”
Coffs Harbour is one of only two locations in NSW chosen for the second wave of the NBN rollout.
Over the next two years, a total of 27,800 premises will be connected to high speed broadband in Coffs Harbour and Sawtell.
