BUSINESSES FEEL IMPACTS
SMALL business owners across the Gold Coast are still desperately waiting for NBN more than a year after it was promised.
Dell Laundromat owner Debbie Anderson said she was told her Southport shop would be able to connect to NBN almost two years ago, but still nothing.
“It’s a bit of a shock, Southport is one of the busiest areas on the Gold Coast,” she said.
“Everything is connected to the internet, paywave and the security cameras, but at the moment they’re going through older systems.”
Ms Anderson said in a trip out west, in the “middle of nowhere”, she had seen contractors laying down cables for the network.
“I’m shocked it’s taken so long to get to our business district ... It’s good for (those living out west), but a business centre should be first.”
Owner of Burleigh’s PC Fix It, Tim McKew, told the Bulletin some businesses had been forced to use a more expensive “microwave service” because NBN hadn’t been available.
A microwave service beams communications such as images, data and video between two locations.
For businesses who do have NBN though, it has helped to make businesses run smoother – despite a number of teething issues.
One Stop IT owner Daniel Anders, who works every day on computers from his Mermaid Waters business, said he had received NBN more than a year ago.
He said while it had been a “big mission” to have it up and running once it had been requested of his provider, it was certainly better than the ADSL he had previously been using.
“I get 100Mbps downloading and 45Mbps on uploading,” he said.
“My speed is 10 times faster now.”
Mr Anders said his clients’ computers would often need to be updated when running Windows 10, and because these updates were automatic, they would slow down his internet considerably on ADSL.
“NBN has certainly made running my business easier.”