A recent business breakfast in Mount Isa has heard that people should be pushing the powers-that-be to demand access to the fibre backhaul network.
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The call came from Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur Steve Baxter who was speaking at a business breakfast at the Buffs Club’s along with Juiced TV founder Pip Russell, Open Cloud Broadband founder Luke Baker and Queensland Small Business Champion, Maree Adshead.
Mr Baxter said the NBN needed to be turned into a network to ensure innovation and enterprise is well positioned and access to the backhaul network was crucial to make it happen.
“This network is already out there, these are networks in utilities with lots of spare capacity,” Mr Baxter said.
Mr Baxter said with access to this network people could build superfast transmission lines from Brisbane and Mount Isa in three to 12 months that could revolutionise business in the bush.
“I’m technology agnostic, I don’t care if it’s fibre or copper as long it’s fast and cheap,” he said.
“We know it’s out there, we need to say to our politicians ‘where is our backhaul network’.”
One of the other speakers at the breakfast was Bundaberg businessman Luke Baker, the the Founder of Open Cloud Broadband, a company providing high speed fixed wireless internet to Bundaberg.
Mr Baker said he was frustrated by the internet service available in town which forced him to seek out his own options.
“Just by providing high tech connectivity, we can turn dying towns into homes of future-proof industries,” Mr Baker said.
Queensland Small Business Champion, Maree Adshead said her job was to make state and local governments more small business-friendly,
“Communities that are small business friendly can see the flow on effects in more employment, lower crime statistics, and better property values,” Ms Adshead said.
Final speaker Pip Russell started Juiced TV, a television show made by kids in hospital, for kids in hospital. Since launching in 2015 at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, the weekly episodes of Juiced TV have been watched by millions.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
