Telstra wins international award for its broadband fibre deployment

Telstra’s Arnhem Land Fibre Project won the prestigious ‘Changing Lives’ award at the Broadband Infovision Awards at the recent 2010 Broadband World Forum event held in Paris.

Telstra’s Network Construction Executive Director John Gibbs said: “While this project is a proven industry favourite in the project management field, this win stands out because the category stresses the positive impacts broadband can have on individuals living in remote communities.

“I can’t help but think of our network construction fibre crews working on the ground together with traditional owners in 45°C conditions and how they will feel when they hear how the benefits of their labour have been highlighted on the world stage.”

The award-winning project has seen the laying of over 800 km of fibre-optic backbone through tropical savannah terrain from Jabiru to Nhulunbuy. Further works, installing fibre spurs and radio systems in late 2009, means a number of island communities also have broadband access.

Project completion means nine healthcare centres are now connected to broadband services, enabling the centres to use videoconferencing to consult with other healthcare providers across Australia and send scans to test for diagnosis.

In addition, the internet access for 12 schools across Arnhem Land has now moved from 256 Kbps up to 20 Mbps. Students in these remote communities will now have access to classrooms online, providing the same range of subjects and quality of learning options as received by children in the city.

This award win is the third international award for the Arnhem Land Fibre Project and the tenth achieved overall.