Wireless broadband now in the Riverland in SA
Internode has used its expertise from covering the Yorke Peninsula and the Coorong region with wireless broadband to build the WiMAX network for the Riverland / Murraylands region, from Mannum in the south to Renmark in the north. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a technology for high-speed wireless communication that can deliver affordable Internet access services in rural areas.
Under the Federal Government's Australian Broadband Guarantee initiative, if an individual or business in the region can't get ADSL, they're eligible for a free connection to a Wireless DSL broadband service, which is worth about $1,200. Internode delivers Wireless DSL services via its fixed WiMAX network.
Internode is promoting this extended broadband coverage at the 2010 Riverland Field Days at Barmera on Wednesday and Thursday, September 15-16. An Internode marquee will have computers hooked up to the new network, with staff showing its coverage and helping people register for a subsidised service.
Internode has provided ADSL broadband services throughout the region, including Barmera, Berri, Blanchetown, Glossop, Mannum, Monash, Murray Bridge, Renmark, Swan Reach and Waikerie. The company now offers extended coverage via Wireless DSL services in areas surrounding Berri, Black Hill, Blanchetown, Maggea, Murray Bridge, Ramco, and Renmark.
Internode delivers its broadband services both directly and through local partners such as Redback Technology at Berri and Riverland Internet at Renmark. The state-of-the-art network was designed and built by Internode sister company Agile Communications.
Agile Communications Operations & Infrastructure Manager Kym Cleggett said the extended coverage for Internode broadband services would intensify competition in the Riverland and Murraylands areas. "We're about giving consumers a better range of choices," he said.
"We're using the Riverland Field Days as an on-the-ground way to talk to a lot of people about how they can take advantage of Internode's extended network coverage. The real beauty is that people in this region will not pay any more than if they were located right in the middle of Adelaide."
Internode's new regional network extends its deployment of a fibre-optic network in Berri. Agile Communications has installed 28 kilometres of fibre-optic cable in Berri, Murray Bridge and Port Pirie to deliver commercial broadband services for SA Government agencies in those towns.
Agile has also built a microwave backhaul service that links Berri with Murray Bridge. Commercial fibre-optic services are used to transfer data from Murray Bridge to Internode's data centre in Adelaide. To create that microwave backhaul link, Agile used one existing tower and built three new towers - one of which is 90 metres tall! All are equipped with state-of-the-art Alcatel microwave equipment.
