Nextgen Networks (‘Nextgen’) today commenced construction on a 426 kilometre, high capacity fibre optic cable that will serve an addressable market of 35,000 people and the high growth economic activities in the area from Perth to Geraldton.

This landmark occasion is being marked with a formal ceremony in The Shire of Gingin, around 100 km north of Perth. Nextgen welcomes Senator the Hon. Stephen Conroy Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy to launch the construction phase of this project in Western Australia.

In December 2009, Nextgen Networks (‘Nextgen’) was announced as the winning tenderer for the Australian Government’s $250 million Regional Backbone Blackspots Program (‘RBBP’) which has the specific objective of providing competitive wholesale backbone services to underserved regional markets.

This route from Perth to Geraldton is a key part of this program and has been identified by the Australian Government as a priority area.

Nextgen’s role with this contract is to design, construct, manage, operate and maintain these new backbone transmission links on behalf of the Australian Government.

Phil Sykes, Managing Director of Nextgen said, ‘this launch extends Nextgen’s ongoing commitment to Western Australia and builds on its initial investment in 2001 connecting Perth to Eastern Australia with a state-of-the-art transmission network. The works will be
undertaken by our project partner Visionstream Pty Ltd, a leading Australian telecommunications network contractor.’

The site was chosen for this event as a future location to house the cutting edge, active electronics necessary to provide high capacity connectivity between Perth and Geraldton. Mr Sykes said: ‘the construction in Western Australia was distinguished by the involvement of the Ngarda Alliance, Australia’s leading indigenous engineering service firm, to undertake
the critical civil engineering component of the network deployment.’

This network will be capable of supporting the high-end requirements for activities in the Mid West area such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (‘ASKAP’) project and the Oakajee Port and Rail development.’

‘In addition, the project will deliver new competitive wholesale access points to allow Carriers and service providers to establish new, local and commercially viable ADSL, Mobile, Wireless Broadband and Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) networks along the route,’ Mr Sykes said.
Access points will be established at the following eight sites:

• Bluff Point,
• Geraldton,
• Geraldton South,
• Port Denison,
• Dongara,
• Arramall,
• Boothendara, and
• Rig Road

Nextgen looks forward to collaborating on this project with the Australian Government, Rural NBN Co-ordinators, the State Government of Western Australia, communities in the Mid West and service providers to ensure that the RBBP objectives are fulfilled.

As a national operator with Australia’s third largest long haul fibre network, Nextgen has a proven track record and is uniquely placed to undertake this project.

For media enquiries contact:
Phil Sykes
Managing Director
Nextgen Networks Pty Ltd
P: 03 8623 6447
M: 0419 971 896
E: phil.sykes@nn.com.au

About Nextgen:
Nextgen owns and operates the 3rd largest long haul optical fibre network in Australia with established fibre routes from Brisbane to Perth. It is a specialist transmission services provider to telecommunication carriers and service providers, corporations and government. It does not sell services to consumer or residential customers.

Nextgen is wholly owned by Australia's largest project development and contracting group, Leighton
Holdings Limited.

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