NBN receives $12.9 million extra funding

An extra $12.9 million in funding will be used to develop new digital initiatives showcasing the National Broadband Network’s (NBN’s) possibilities, Senator Stephen Conroy has said.

“Since launching in February 2012, the Digital Enterprise and Digital Local Government programs have successfully delivered expert digital training to small businesses and not-for-profit organisations around Australia, as well as assisting local councils take advantage of the NBN,” the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy said.

“Over 4500 participants have already taken part in the training on offer and over 30 local councils are deploying new NBN-enabled online services to transform how they interact with their communities.”

The additional funding will deliver an extra 21 Digital Enterprise services, including a virtual service in remote Australia, with the expanded program expected to provide 3650 group training and 14,350 one-on-one training sessions to approximately 49,000 SME and NFP participants. Another 15 Digital Local Government programs will also be rolled out.

Successful councils could receive up to $375,000, which will enable them to use the NBN to deliver improved services to local residents.

Further information about the Digital Enterprise program is available here. More information about the Digital Local Government program is available here.