Last year, Adelaide revealed its ambition to become a “Ten Gigabit City” with plans to rollout a 10Gbps fibre broadband network. To put things in perspective, the National Broadband Network (NBN) offers up to 100Mbps download speeds in selected rollout areas.
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South Australia’s capital is wasting no time in trying to make its dream a reality. The Council of Adelaide is now recruiting international partners to help build the network. Here’s what you need to know.
The 10Gbps network is expected to be implemented to the CBD and North Adelaide, which are what the council recognises as “key innovation precincts”. South Australia’s capital wants to woo data-reliant businesses, universities and government agencies to set up operations in the city.
Now the Adelaide Council has issued an expression of interest (EOI) for the network rollout.
“The City of Adelaide is dedicated to having the fastest, most reliable, secure and flexible data transfer in the nation…if not the world,” Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese said in a statement.
“We can see from the overseas experience in cities like Boston, Chattanooga, Dayton (Oregon) and Salisbury (North Carolina), that this infrastructure will attract new businesses, in new growth industries, and support the growth of existing businesses in a city seeking transformational growth in 21st century jobs and increases in export income.”
Organisations that respond to the EOI is expected to leverage the Council’s extensive duct, pit and cable infrastructure assets as part of the project, which would help bring down the cost of the rollout.
Adelaide is also running a separate but complementary project called Gig City which will see the Council extend existing South Australian Broadband Research & Education (SABRENet) Network for $4.65 million.
According to the Adelaide Council, the Ten Gigabit City complements the National Broadband Network (NBN). Bear in mind that the 10Gbps network is intended for government and business users. Adelaide consumers will still have to rely on regular retail ISPs for their broadband services.
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