Internet services provider MyRepublic has launched a competition, dubbed Gigatown, to demonstrate the benefits Ultra-Fast Next Generation Fibre can deliver and to “prove that Australians want access” to premium fibre products at a fair price.
From today until 31 May, anyone can enter the Gigatown competition and MyRepublic says, in addition to lighting up one town with Ultra-Fast speeds in July, two individual winners will receive a premium Sony prize pack, which includes:
• PlayStation4 Pro – PS4 built with twice the power and 4K and HDR visuals.
• PlayStationVR
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• Sony 49inch 4K HDR TV – display partner for PlayStation 4 Pro
• Sony 5.1ch Home Cinema System with Bluetooth.
The Singapore-based MyRepublic, which launched in the Australian market in November last year, says the competition will make one town into Australia’s “first Gigatown, giving both consumers and small business owners access to Ultra-Fast internet speeds”.
And, existing MyRepublic customers in the Gigatown will get complementary speed upgrades for a year. Following that MyRepublic will open Gigatown up to new customers at “a fair price”.
To enter the Gigatown competition MyRepublic asks those submitting entries to tell it in 50 words or less “why you and your community would benefit from being Australia’s first Gigatown”.
Launch of the competition follows MyRepublic’s introduction in February of an online petition as part of a strategy to “give a voice” to the Australian public on affordable Ultra-Fast 1Gbps speeds.
Nicholas Demos, managing director at MyRepublic Australia, said, “It’s important for us to provide Australians with affordable high-speed Internet, otherwise how will we compete on the world stage?
“We’ve had an outstanding response to the petition with over 6,000 individuals having signed and expressed how they feel about current Internet speeds.”
According to Demos, since MyRepublic’s launch late last year the company has signed up 15,000 customers, “with 99% of our NBN customers provisioned on the NBN100 sped tier that provides nominal access line speed of 100/40Mbps, compared to 83% of Australia’s NBN customers being provisioned on the NBN 25 speed tier or below”.
“In just over four months this is a phenomenal achievement but we want to continue the awareness for ultra-fast Internet across Australia and our Gigatown competition will do so.”
Demos says MyRepublic has been ‘instrumental in delivering affordable Ultra-Fast 1Gbps speeds in both Singapore and New Zealand, by successfully lobbying for lower AVC and CVC prices in both countries”.
According to MyRepublic, in Singapore, more than 95% of all new connections order 1Gbps speeds and in New Zealand 50% ordering a MyRepublic service select the 1Gbps plan.
“Despite NBN having launched the wholesale 1Gbps speed tier over four years ago, Australian ISPs have yet to launch this as a consumer facing product,” Demos says.
“MyRepublic believes the main reason for this is the current regulated AVC and CVC wholesale pricing, which would suggest that a retail product based on the NBN 1Gbps speed tier would retail over $300 per month, compared to MyRepublic’s retail pricing of S$49.99 per month in Singapore and NZ$129.99 per month in New Zealand.”
MyRepublic is heavily subsidising the cost of the winning Gigatown which Demos says is part of its aim of demonstrate the benefits Ultra-Fast Next Generation Fibre can deliver.
To sign the petition and for full terms and conditions on the MyRepublic Gigatown competition, click here.