NBN Co says it is close to being able to make an announcement on the preferred site of its new "radio network base station" and tower at Redbank.
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"NBN Co currently have an in-principle agreement regarding an alternate site location in the Beechwood North/Redbank region," an NBN Co spokesperson told the Gazette on Tuesday.
"NBN Co expects to be in a position soon to communicate details of the alternate site to the community as part of the consultation.
"At the end of this consultation process NBN Co will make an assessment of the site that will best meet our coverage requirements whilst taking into consideration visual and community expectations."
The Redbank Residents Group is also expecting an announcement on the facility's site soon, spokesman Joe LeNevez told the Gazette.
NBN Co had been involved in ongoing negotiations with Redbank residents over the tower, he said, and the group was waiting on a decision rather than becoming involved in speculation over its positioning.
It was understood there was only a "narrow area" where NBN Co could locate the tower for it to operate effectively, he said, and the group was hoping the site selected would have less visual impact than in the original location.
People wishing to comment on the tower site can email courtney.lansdown@aurecongroup.com, marking them "attention Jacqueline Crompton" or by phone to Jacqueline Crompton at Ericsson, 0425 203 832, or Courtney Lansdown at Aurecon, 9465 5526.
In response to questions from the Gazette, NBN Co said that within the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area, the company is currently proposing 10 facilities to provide fixed wireless broadband to the region.
These facilities will be located in Kendall North, Middle Brother, Fernbank Creek, Brombin, Comboyne, Mount Cairncross, Oxley Highway, Telegraph Point and Hibbard, as well as the proposed site in the Beechwood North/Redbank area.
Of these 10 facilities, five are proposed co-location sites (attached to existing infrastructure) and five are proposed stand-alone sites. Of the five stand-alone sites, four have already been approved.
Once construction of a site has commenced it takes on average 12 months before residents are able to access services.
The Fixed Wireless network will offer speeds up to 25Mbps download at the wholesale level and 5Mbps upload.
This is as good as or faster than ADSL2+ services available in metropolitan areas today, NBN Co said.