NBN Co said homes and businesses in Booral, Stroud, Bowman Farm, Barrington, Forbesdale and Gloucester would soon have access to faster internet speeds and services.

A spokesman for NBN Co said the planning and consultation phase for the rollout had now ended and construction of the fixed wireless network had commenced.

“More farms, residents and businesses can look forward to having access to faster internet with the NBN expanding its broadband footprint throughout NSW,” spokesman Tony Gibbs said.  

“For decades, rural and regional Australia has been left behind when it comes to telecommunications. The fixed wireless service is designed to provide access to internet speeds and bandwidth that many in the big cities currently take for granted.

“The NBN also means you can get the whole family online at once, opening up opportunities for local farms, businesses and the wider region to participate in the digital age. Fast broadband can help deliver improved access to health, education and entertainment over high quality video links.”

On average, it takes about 12 months from the start of construction until residents and business owners can order NBN retail services from telephone or internet service providers. 

NBN Co’s wholesale fixed wireless service offers retail service providers download speeds of up to 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to five megabits per second.

NBN Co also plans to deliver these wholesale speeds to retail service providers over satellite in rural and remote areas when its long term satellite service launches in 2015. 

Gloucester residents can visit the NBN Co website to see if their home or business is included as part of the coverage footprint via the interactive map www.nbnco.com.au/rollout/rollout-map