Press Releases

Australian telco Agile Communications today launched a service that halves the cost of long distance calls for 18,000 rural South Australians with the construction of one of the the first publicly available non-Telstra communication networks in regional Australia.

The broadband telecommunications network, built by Agile Communications, covers the Coorong towns of Meningie, Tailem Bend, Tintinara, the rural city of Murray Bridge, and links the entire area to Adelaide. The network and will slash thousands of dollars from the annual phone bills for farmers and businesses in the area. The network will prove the viability of such initiatives in other regional areas throughout Australia.

The network, funded by grants from the Federal Networking the Nation program, a T2-financed initiative, the South Australian State Government, and Agile itself, is estimated to cut the cost of intra-region and Adelaide phone calls by more than half for local residents and businesses.

State Premier the Hon. John Olsen, launched the network at Meningie today (Thursday April 26, 2001), with a telephone call to the Prime Minister John Howard using the low-cost network provided by Agile Communications.

Project partner Coorong District Council will save $11,000 annually in recurring telecommunication costs for data alone by using the new network to connect its offices in three towns. The council will also save a far greater amount annually on voice call cost savings, both for intra-office calls between its widely distributed offices and for calls to and from Adelaide.

Coorong Council Information Services Coordinator Kym Cleggett said internal data communications now work 30 times faster at 40 per cent of the previous cost. The new network will also provide people in the community with choices, which aren't usually available to regional communities, he said.

Some farmers and businesses are paying in excess of $2000 per year in phone bills, which could be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. The knock-on effect of this saving has significant benefits as money is reinvested in the community.

Local Government Association IT&T Program Manager John Mundy said the project showed how Local Government could build 'high tech highways' for regional communities. This infrastructure ensures the long term economic and social development of these communities, he said.

The Agile Communications network will also open new opportunities for Murray Bridge-based Internet Service Provider (ISP) Bridge Online Systems, which will launch broadband network services in the Coorong area, based on the new technology.

Bridge Online Systems Managing Director Noel Johncock said the Agile network allowed his company to provide services to businesses and individuals that simply weren't possible before. "We can now start to enjoy some of the benefits that were previously only available to metro areas " he said.

Agile Communications Managing Director Simon Hackett said the project is designed to fix 'black spots' on the information superhighway. "Rural businesses will suffer unless they have access to the same level of communication services as exist for their metropolitan rivals " he said.

Because we have effectively built a 'new road' rather than just reselling Telstra services, we are in control of the recurrent running costs of the network, which is why we can halve the cost of phone calls for subscribers in the first instance, with further rate cuts to follow.

Coinciding with the launch, Agile Communications is offering residents the opportunity of free calls via its new network until the end of May. Free $20 calling cards will be offered to provide an opportunity for the community to become familiar with the new network.

Agile Communications, http://www.agile.com.au, a sister company to renowned Internet Service Provider (ISP) Internode, was the first SA-based company to gain a national telecommunications licence, granted in May 1998. Using Internet Protocol-based technology the carrier achieves price-performance points unavailable through traditional carrier networks.