Telstra has announced it will develop a new exchange in Malaga to deliver Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) to businesses previously unable to access it.
The move follows persistent lobbying over an 18 month period by the City of Swan, the Malaga Business Association and local businesses frustrated with the lack of access to ADSL.
Telstra metropolitan general manager Catherine Emory said while not all businesses in the Malaga area would be able to access ADSL once the exchange was operational, the move represented a “significant investment” by Telstra where there was a “viable business case” for ADSL to be made available.
She said other factors, including distance from an exchange, could preclude some businesses from accessing the service.
However, businesses would continue to be able to access other types of broadband should ADSL not be available.
That comment has fallen foul of some business owners in the area who said the cost of those broadband alternatives were prohibitive.
The move by Telstra also comes too late for businesses that have spent thousands of dollars to install wireless antenna to receive alternative high-speed Internet.
Telstra offers broadband in several formats including satellite, microwave, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and ADSL.
Ms Emory said Telstra had “reconfigured our telecommunications network” to solve risks of laying copper cable next to high voltage power lines in Malaga, which had been a concern.
“The way Malaga was developed meant the telecommunications network had to be designed carefully. Proximity to high voltage power lines had prevented the use of copper cable necessary to deliver ADSL,” she said.
“Telstra is committed to rolling out ADSL where there is sufficient demand. In Malaga, the roll out will require a significant investment with the building of a new exchange so the need for a viable business case was vital.”
Ms Emory said the network upgrade was expected to be complete by October 31.
WA Business News reported last year that 365 businesses east of Malaga Drive could not get ADSL.
City of Swan CEO Eric Lumsden said a recent survey of the area had shown that at least 38 of those businesses required ADSL immediately.
In December the City of Swan appointed consultant Beale Telecommunications to investigate demand for ADSL in Malaga.
City of Swan business development manager John Rogers said businesses in the area would be notified of Telstra’s decision to install the new exchange.
He said the City of Swan would run workshops on the benefits of broadband for business.
Malaga is one of Perth’s largest industrial estates with more than 1,600 businesses employing 10,000 people. Along with Belmont, is one of the areas in metropolitan Perth where businesses have become increasingly frustrated through lack of access to ADSL.
