Internode will spend $10 million upgrading its ADSL2+ infrastructure in a move that will primarily benefit Victorian and Tasmanian customers.
Over the next 12 months, the company said in a statement today, Internode plans to install DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) technology at 57 new phone exchanges, with half located in Victoria, while boosting capacity at 115 existing exchanges. The ISP will also increase its presence of DSLAMs in Tasmania, adding another 10 to its existing footprint of two.
Internode CEO Patrick Tapper said the investment was a direct result of the government's decision to ditch its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) project proposed under the $4.7 billion National Broadband Network. "By removing the disruptive threat of the FTTN, we can proceed with a major investment that will pay its way over several years," Tapper said.
The investment in Tasmania comes off the back of a recent deal the ISP struck with Basslink Telecom, which is expected to fire up its long-overdue Bass Straight fibre cable by the end of June, which provides an alternative to Telstra's cable to the state. "With the imminent availability of the Basslink fibre cable and the Federal Government's plan to roll out fibre first to Tasmania, this a good place for us to build," said Tapper.
Internode's announcement is the second boon for broadband in Tasmania in as many weeks, with the Tasmanian Government announcing it would tip $12.7 million into state-owned utility Aurora Energy for its fibre-optic network as part of the new NBN. Internode's DSLAM expansion will double its ADSL2+ broadband ports from 50,000 to 100,000, the ISP said today.
