Keeping Connected in our Digital World Proving Challenging?

At a time when we have found ourselves suddenly separated, keeping connected has never been more important.

COVID-19 is having significant social, financial and personal impacts, not the least of which is the reliance on internet connectivity for our work, to help educate our children and to entertain us.

While our city cousins might be struggling with increased online traffic, internet connectivity (or lack thereof) in the Moree Plains is having a very real impact on how we go about our day-to-day activities. And the divide between metropolitan areas and the regions when it comes to the digital world is more pronounced than ever.

For some time, Council has been seeking support from other levels of Government to ensure that residents of our Shire have access to a faster, more reliable and more affordable digital network.

Last year, Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting Manager Libby Carter and Acting Economic Development and Grants Manager Susannah Pearse participated in roundtable discussions with the NSW Government in relation to the Regional Digital Connectivity Program.

As part of the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund, the NSW Government committed $400 million to bring a faster and more reliable digital network to regional NSW. The Regional Digital Connectivity program will ensure families and businesses across regional NSW have better access to enjoy mobile, internet and digital services.

This program seeks to bring metro-level data speeds and connectivity to regional NSW and invest in ‘backbone’ digital infrastructure including data hubs to support regional communities and businesses.

Council is today launching a survey to capture data to support our advocacy efforts, while our experiences are front of mind. The survey is now open here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JB8JH2C.

Mrs Carter explained “There has never been a better time for Council to gather information from our community in relation to the challenges we are all facing in our new norm.”

“Working from home, schooling from home and spending plenty of time at home streaming has highlighted just how deficient our connectivity is in many parts of our Shire. We now have a great opportunity to gather all this information to present a true snapshot of these challenges.

“I encourage as many community members as possible to complete this survey,” said Mrs Carter.

Mrs Pearse agreed, noting that the changed operating conditions had caused many businesses to turn to the digital world to support their operations.

“This week, we kicked off our Go-Digital Masterclasses with Regional Development Australia Northern Inland to assist some of our local retail businesses to enhance their digital presence.

“The significance of digital connectivity across the Shire to the success of local businesses is something Council has been acutely aware of for some time. We have been working with the AgTech sector so we know what great things our agricultural businesses are capable of achieving but the digital connectivity is really limiting.

“I welcome the opportunity to get broad feedback from all of our community to help us in obtaining further funding to improve our digital network.”

The survey is currently open and will close at midnight Sunday 10 May.