The City of Adelaide is partnering with TPG Telecom in a project to deliver a 10 Gigabit fibre-optic data network.
The first phase of the network, billed as an Australian first, will commence in early 2018, and will see TPG appointed as the "Official Network Partner" to progressively roll-out the network across the City of Adelaide.
The network is designed to provide 10Gbps data transfer capability and a range of high-performance services for the Adelaide business community.
TPG says the transformational network will begin to be progressively rolled out from early 2018 and will unleash a wide range of new possibilities for businesses and organisations without being inhibited by the restrictions and congestion often experienced by existing Internet services.
{loadposition peter}There will be no charge for the installation of a Ten Gigabit Adelaide access point in buildings – it is being provided free of charge by the City of Adelaide and TPG.
And, according to TPG, the cost for accessing the individual services will be considerably less than what is currently on offer in the marketplace, resulting in substantial cost-savings for businesses and organisations.
In a recent independent report, the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies puts the quantified productivity and efficiency benefits of Ten Gigabit Adelaide in the range of $16 million to $76 million per annum.
And, it is estimated that Ten Gigabit Adelaide could generate between 1400 and 2500 jobs over the first six years of the fibre infrastructure’s life, with 40 FTE jobs per year created during the construction period alone.
City of Adelaide chief executive Mark Goldstone says that Ten Gigabit Adelaide is a landmark initiative that Council’s administration has been working on for more than two years.
“It provides the backbone for a wide range of smart city projects to be carried out far more efficiently – and savings made in this area will free up funds to spend on other services and public infrastructure,” he said.
“It will reduce current and future costs of Council’s own communication requirements and provide an ongoing revenue stream for Council to generate vital funding for other key services and projects for the community.”
Mark Rafferty, group executive of Corporate, Government and Wholesale, TPG Telecom, said TPG was pleased to be partnering with the City of Adelaide.
“This will be the first network of its kind in Australia and the possibilities for innovation and investment for Adelaide will be endless.
“This network will leverage TPG’s infrastructure expertise and provide some very exciting products and services to the Adelaide Business community.
“We are proud to partner with the City of Adelaide and compliment their vision in driving innovation for local industry.”
City of Adelaide mayor Martin Haese said Council was "overwhelmed by the response" to the global expression of interest process which identified TPG.
“TPG is an ASX-listed company that has a strong track record of delivering communication services and we are delighted they will partner with Council to deliver this outstanding technology,” said Haese.
“This technology will be a game changer for the City of Adelaide. It will be a boom for local businesses and other organisations but will also attract business from interstate and across the globe.
“Adelaide is consistently ranked the fifth most liveable city in the world and, in addition to our comparatively affordable cost of living, we will soon have a technological advantage which will make us an even more compelling place to set up a business or regional headquarters.
“I say to the leaders of organisations paying huge dollars for office space on the top floors of skyscrapers in cities like Sydney or Hong Kong – consider doing business in Adelaide instead.”