[plug] Hoo-friggin-ray! SA town gets broadband - without Telstra

[Leon Brooks]

    http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/03/1064988380807.html

    The town of Meningie, which is the gateway to south Australia's
    Coorong region, has a population of 900 and is considered
    uneconomic as far as provision of DSL goes. 

    Agile Communications, a wholesale partner of the ISP Internode,
    switched on access to broadband services for the town this week. 

    In May 2001, Agile launched the Coorong Project, a $1.3 million
    Networking The Nation initiative. The company's combination of
    IP networking and fibre optic-capacity wireless communications,
    has made phone calls in the region cheaper. 

    Agile's partner in the project, the Coorong District Council,
    says the network has saved the council alone more than $30,000
    a year in reduced call and data charges. 

    Agile managing director Simon Hackett said he was filling a
    niche market which Telstra was never going to fill. "We can
    cost-effectively provide broadband services to 20 customers or
    less whereas Telstra's threshold is 60," he said. "The speeds
    we offer are the same as those we offer to our Internode
    customers in cities and the actual download speeds are also
    the same. So are the subscription rates."

Cheers; Leon

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