$5.9 million internet project connects 900 homes and businesses across Western NSW

The project has delivered new infrastructure including two new towers and new fixed wireless equipment on three existing towers along the Narromine Cobar corridor.

The infrastructure is improving coverage for communities near Cobar, Narromine, Nyngan, Trangie and Warren, helping locals check farm conditions, access essential services, study from home and stay connected.

The Minns Government has contributed $5.3 million to the project with nbn as the delivery partner.

The project builds on existing nbn fibre connections in these communities by extending coverage to more homes and businesses in surrounding areas that previously relied on satellite services.

For Grace Walker, owner and Chief Instructor at Narromine flight school Flying with Grace, poor internet connectivity in the office meant relying on her phone's hotspot or taking paperwork home after hours to keep the business running.

The project is helping Grace spend less time working around poor internet and more time doing what she loves - training students in the air.

For Trangie farmer Mark Dugan, the new fixed wireless services mean simple tasks such as checking the weather from the tractor or lodging paperwork from the home office are no longer interrupted by slow speeds and frequent dropouts.

Delivered through the NSW Government's Regional Digital Connectivity Program in partnership with nbn, the co-investment is helping close the connectivity gap for regional communities by giving more homes and businesses access to reliable digital services.

The project forms part of a $76 million partnership with nbn to bring faster, more reliable internet to nearly 12,000 homes and small businesses across more than 49 regional locations.

Other regional communities set to benefit include Taralga, Binda, Goolgowi, Wilcannia and areas surrounding Narrabri, with services expected to go live for residents by the end of 2027.

Residents and businesses can check their eligibility for an nbn upgrade at nbn Check Address.

Minister for Regional and Western NSW, Tara Moriarty said:

"Reliable internet is no longer a luxury. It is essential to running a business, managing a farm, accessing services and studying from home.

"For too long, poor connections have made these everyday tasks unnecessarily difficult for people across Western NSW.

"This investment will give more than 900 homes and businesses surrounding Cobar, Narromine, Nyngan, Trangie and Warren a connection they can rely on, without the constant disruption of slow speeds and dropouts."

Flying with Grace Chief Flying Instructor and owner Grace Walker said:

"Before fixed wireless, I often had to hotspot my laptop from my phone just to stay connected. The internet at my office wasn't reliable enough to run the business properly, so I ended up doing much of my administrative work from home after hours, which had a real impact on my work-life balance.

"If I didn't have connectivity, I wouldn't be able to connect with my current students and potential students or grow my business.

"Now I have fixed wireless, work is more efficient for me, which means I'm less stressed and my work life is easier. I can spend more time doing what I love, which is getting in the air, teaching students and empowering other people."

Primary Producer from Trangie, Mark Dugan said:

"Like any business, the key to our success is the ability to communicate. Without communication, I'm behind the eight ball in every way. We need to be connected, otherwise we're going to miss out on opportunities.

"Connectivity in western New South Wales has been quite poor and we really struggle. We need reliable connectivity."

"Before the wireless turned up, we were getting dropouts through the house halfway through doing something on the computer, and that was really disruptive. One thing that this new wireless gives us is security of connection - we can get our job done and we know we won't have those dropouts."

"It's been very important to us. It's fast and secure, and rather than worrying about other issues, we can get on with the job at hand, which is farming."

What the $5.9 million upgrade delivered

The $5.9 million project delivered fixed wireless infrastructure to the surrounding areas of Narromine, Trangie, Cobar, Nyngan and Warren, providing improved internet to around 900 homes and businesses.

Some premises in Narromine, Trangie, Cobar, Nyngan and Warren had existing internet access via nbn fibre, but many properties in surrounding areas relied on satellite technology.

The infrastructure gives those properties the option of connecting via fixed wireless instead.

This can provide faster download speeds and support everyday uses including working from home, video calls, streaming, online services, multiple connected devices and Wi-Fi calling.