Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Fast, reliable broadband is particularly important in my rural electorate of O'Connor, where more than 2,300 constituents are connected to the Interim Satellite Service. The Interim Satellite Service has been a huge disappointment, and that is why I have been fighting for a better service for my constituents since I was elected to the seat. I was particularly pleased to see the successful launch of the long-term satellite, Sky Muster, from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on 1 October. When the service is available in the second quarter of next year, my constituents will be able to access speeds of 25 megabits per second for downloads and five megabits per second for uploads. This is great news for students trying to access distance education, for farmers conducting business and for isolated constituents accessing government online services such as e-health and completing their online tax return. I recently visited a local constituent, Kim Gardner, at the Tree Elle Retreat in Denmark. She is just one of many residents who is looking forward to connecting to the satellite in 2016 so that she can provide a great wireless service for her customers.

The Kalgoorlie tracking station I visited last week will play a critical role in monitoring the new NBN satellite, and is one of only two manned stations across the country that will guide of this satellite. I am proud of this federal government for delivering on this $2 billion satellite project for residents of O'Connor. Combined with the continued rollout of the fixed line and fixed wireless networks, along with our mobile phone black spot program, the people of O'Connor are experiencing a revolution in our communications .