Press Releases

Yorke Broadband Wins Innovation Award

February 2006

Agile Communications' broadband partnership has delivered a prestigious SA Great Regional Award for Innovation to the District Council of Yorke Peninsula.

Agile, the infrastructure arm of national broadband innovator Internode, has partnered with the District Council to deliver broadband communication services through the boot-shaped peninsula.

The Yorke Peninsula is a major grain producing area as well as SA's third largest tourist region. Before 2005, the peninsula's communications infrastructure was akin to a remote Australian region although it is less than 100 km from Adelaide as the crow flies.

The SA Great 2005 Regional Awards for the Mid North / Yorke Peninsula / Southern Flinders region were presented at an Awards night in Port Pirie. The nine winners and three commendations were selected from 99 entries.

The District Council of Yorke Peninsula was presented with the award for the Innovation category for "the broadbanding of Yorke Peninsula". SA Great describes the District Council of Yorke Peninsula as a progressive rural council implementing corporate and community services for the benefit of the region.

"During the past 12 months the council has taken on the design and management of broadband implementation to the region, with an objective to increase telecommunication and technology services to the entire community," noted SA Great. "This challenging project was delivered on time and on budget, bringing improved communications, economic and social infrastructure so necessary for the sustainability of rural communities."

The District Council of Yorke Peninsula achieved this success through an innovative partnership with Agile Communications, which has delivered broadband services to residents, farms and businesses, using a combination of wireless and wired broadband communications infrastructure.

The broadband project has seen Agile create a high-speed wireless broadband backbone along the Yorke Peninsula with 'tails' to towns including Maitland, Minlaton, Yorketown and Warooka. The project was funded by the Australian Government's Co-ordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund (CCIF), the State Government Broadband Development Fund (BDF), the District Council of Yorke Peninsula and Agile Pty Ltd. Internode managing director Simon Hackett said Agile's partnership with the council had delivered substantial benefits for the local community.

"Yorke Peninsula has gone from being a communications backwater to an area with the fastest broadband services in the country," he said."A corollary benefit has been the ability of residents to obtain low-cost phone calls, using Agile calling cards, which gives them untimed national phone calls for just 18 cents. It's a partnership in which everyone is a winner."