A GROUP of disgruntled Wellington Point residents have taken aim at federal MP Andrew Laming for failing to get Redlands on the NBN rollout map before 2016.
The group, headed by father-of-two Martin Eugarde, 52, started a Facebook page called "Where's my NBN? Redlands" and a petition pushing Mr Laming to champion their cause in Canberra.
Mr Eugarde said he was forced to buy a $90-a-month wireless 25 gigabyte data plan, which struggles to cope with everyday internet requirements and his children's school work.
"Our street does not have ADSL and we are now faced with the prospect of not getting access to a fast broadband network as we were promised by the end of 2016," he said.
"The NBNCo has not included Redlands in its latest schedule of works up to June 2016. We have been abandoned and lied to."
In 2013, the federal government said it would provide download speeds of between 25 and 100 megabits per second by the end of 2016 and 50 to 100 megabits per second by 2019.
It also promised regions with substandard internet services would receive priority.
Bowman MP Andrew Laming denied the promises and said no area would be deemed a "priority" and 7 per cent of houses would never get the NBN.
He said only 93per cent of dwellings were part of the NBN footprint and only those could expect the committed speeds. The remainder, in remote areas, would still rely on wireless and satellite solutions.
He said areas were being addressed in order of need, but where two areas have equally poor quality broadband, those closest to fibre roll-out points would be done sooner than more remote areas, such as Redland Bay, Victoria Point and the bay islands.
Mr Laming said 47 per cent of Redlands, north of Victoria Point which have access to hybrid fibre-coaxial cable (pay-TV cable), would be connected to the National Broadband Network via that cable by the end of 2016.
That would include infill connection where streets close to cable would also be connected, he said.
The government's commitment was to provide 25 megabits per second download and 5 megabits per second upload using FTTN or HFC.
Areas without pay-TV cable would receive fibre-to-the-node, as the broadband network was rolled out south from Chatswood.
"In Redland Bay and Mount Cotton, 1500 houses will be connected to the NBN cable within 18 months," Mr Laming said.
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UPDATED: After this article was published, Mr Laming said: "By end of next year, around half of Redlands will have HFC connection with 25/5 speeds, and the remainder (mostly Victoria Point, Redland Bay and Mount Cotton) will have FTTN to 1500 homes with more in a 3-year plan, to be released in June. "Marty's house in Wellington Point should be connected if the PayTV cable is close enough for cost_effective connection, but I have to look after all Redlanders fairly. "Rolling out and connecting 9million homes can't happen same day, so by definition some streets get it before others. Working as hard and fast as we can." Mr Laming clarified that only 94% of dwellings were part of the NBN footprint, and only those could expect the committed speeds. He said the remainder of dwellings in remote areas would still rely on wireless and satellite solutions for their internet.“Areas are being addressed in order of need but where two areas have equally poor quality broadband, those closest to fibre rollout points would be done sooner than more remote areas, like Redland Bay, Victoria Point and the islands,” he said. The government’s commitment was to provide 25 megabits per second download and five megabits per second upload using hybrid fibre coaxial cable or fibre to the node, he said.
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"The remainder of houses in those two suburbs will be part of a three-year plan to be released in June."
An NBNCo map, released last week, showed Redlands only had NBN connections at Era Estate, Capalaba; 104 Kinross Road, Thornlands; Fiteni's Unwin Road and Silkwood at Mount Cotton.
Villaworld's Waterline estate at Thornlands would also offer access to the NBN when completed.
Mr Eugarde said he set up the Facebook page after realising many parts of Redlands had similar complaints and he wanted to give the whole community the chance to have their problems heard in Canberra.
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