25 May 2012, NBN Co announced that from next week homes and businesses in areas around Armidale and Toowoomba will be able to connect to a fixed wireless service, and premises in areas around the Tamworth region will be able to order a fixed wireless service.

The news follows the completion of two months of intensive network and business-readiness testing by NBN Co and retail telcos in Armidale to ensure the network was able to deliver robust, high speed broadband to a set number of premises in each coverage area.

Following the successful completion of testing, over 50 customers are already trialling commercial broadband services from one of ten internet service providers in the Armidale region.

NBN Co’s Head of Product Management, Jim Hassell said:

"These communities are the first in Australia to be able to order and connect to a fixed wireless NBN service. This is great news for these regional areas that should experience many benefits from the enhanced service," Mr Hassell said.

"People living in these areas will soon receive a letter which sets out three easy steps to get connected - call, select and connect.

"We’re encouraging people to call their preferred internet service provider, select the appropriate package that’s right for them and connect by co-ordinating with their service provider a time for the NBN Co equipment to be installed and activated," he said.

"Ordering and connecting to a service brings the world to their door and it’s the first step in improving the way we live and work.

"Keeping in touch with family and friends, opening up entertainment opportunities and accessing educational content is easier with high speed, reliable broadband.

"The fixed wireless service will deliver high speed broadband to homes and businesses at wholesale speeds* up to 150 times faster than dial-up internet and up to eight times faster than a basic 1.5Mbps ADSL 1 connection.

"Unlike mobile phone networks, where speeds experienced by end-users can be affected by the number of people moving into and out of the area, the NBN fixed-wireless service is engineered to deliver high-speed broadband to a set number of premises in a coverage footprint.

"What this means is end users will experience greater consistency in the speed and quality of service than mobile broadband services can deliver," Mr Hassell said.

NBN Co aims to complete the entire fixed wireless component of the NBN by 2015 and anticipates passing approximately half a million homes and businesses.

The small towns and sparsely populated areas that surround Geraldton (WA), Ballarat (Vic) and Darwin (NT) are scheduled to receive the fixed wireless service later this year.

Maps of the indicative fixed-wireless coverage areas for the Armidale. Tamworth and Toowoomba regions are available at www.nbnco.com.au