Eastridge residents have expressed their frustration after news the area would not be the first to be connected to the NBN Co as previously stated.
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Jonathon Egan said his whole family has been affected by slow internet speeds in Eastridge, which he said would be fixed if the NBN was installed.
The NBN Co Rollout map shows the majority of Dubbo was still in the ‘build preparation’ stage however, Eastridge was now labelled as an area where the NBN rollout had not started.
NBN Co spokesperson Andrew Sholl said it was because of a sequencing issue due to “over ambition” that Eastridge would not be connected at the same time as the majority of Dubbo.
Do you live in a part of Dubbo with a slow or no internet connection? Tell us your story? Contact Lynn Pinkerton on 6883 2900 or email lpinkerton@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Mr Egan, who works in IT, said he was extremely frustrated when he saw the area had been downgraded.
“I thought it might have been a data error,” he said.
“I don’t understand how it changes and who makes these decisions,” he said.
“We’d like to know what’s going on- is it going to happen? When’s it going to happen?”
Mr Egan, who lives with his wife and stepson said currently his family couldn’t do the basic day to day things they liked to do online.
“We have ADSL 2 but I’m getting ADSL 1 speeds,” he said.
“We’re a creative household and we miss out on opportunities because the internet’s just too slow. It’s too hard.”
On the Daily Liberal Facebook page resident Geoff Tuckey described the situation as a “joke”.
“I live in Eastridge and you can’t even get ADSL in some streets, let alone NBN,” he said.
“We have to make do with WiFi at costly prices.”
Kelsie Lawry was also annoyed.
“This is stupid at the same price people with NBN pay for 500gb we get 15GB. Absolutely ridiculous!”
Due to the slow internet speeds Mr Egan said backing up files could take months and his family was unable to pursue their online hobbies because it was made too difficult.
“I do a bit of videography, my wife’s got a blog and my stepson does video reviews on YouTube. What happens when we try and upload that content, because our internet’s so slow the internet just grinds to a halt,” he said.
“[My stepson] has given up his YouTube channel because it takes too long.”
To rub salt on the wound Mr Egan said his mother lives around the corner from him and her internet was three times as fast.
