Telecommunications
Ballarat has a high demand for efficient and reliable telecommunications infrastructure, with approximately 24.4% of all Ballarat citizens being currently connected to the internet. This figure is well above the Victorian State average of 11.8% and indicates a highly ICT literate community.
In recent years, Ballarat has emerged as an industry leader and has delivered a number of significant ICT outcomes, including: increased community usage, increased business usage, the attraction of new ICT businesses to Ballarat and the growth of existing ICT businesses.
Furthermore, in order to accommodate demand in high growth residential and commercial areas, Council has recently adopted a landmark new policy which requires developers of new residential subdivisions to inlay telecommunications infrastructure which supports broadband capacity to a minimum standard of five (5) kilobits per second. The City of Ballarat is one of the first Local Government Authorities across Australia to adopt this type of policy.
Ballarat will also stand to significantly benefit from the recently laid fibre optic cable between Ballarat and Melbourne. The new cable will deliver high-speed internet capacity, supporting megabit, gigabit and terabit services. This new infrastructure will dramatically open up opportunities for business, industry and the broader community; and promises improved productivity and efficiency gains for business, increased revenues, greater innovation and diversification, increased capacity for export and will improve Ballarat’s global competitiveness.
Information & Technology (ICT) 2030
The Broadband Access Office. A Victorian Government Information tool for residents, businesses, local government, communities and investors.