ALMOST every government school in the state will have a high-speed, fibre optic internet connection by mid-2020 under a landmark contract between the State Government and Telstra worth more than $80m.
The massive expansion of the fibre optic network will deliver speeds of up to and beyond 1GB to 514 schools sites – 98.8pc of all public schools.
Once the project is completed, it is estimated some schools could experience internet speeds up to 1000pc faster than before.
The move will see thousands of kilometres of fibre optic cables installed right across South Australia and past the front doors of thousands of small businesses, public sector agencies, hospitals and independent schools, making high speed internet connection a viable reality in almost every town in South Australia.
Premier Steven Marshall said the project would deliver for all South Australian students.
“Fast, reliable internet connection is critical in the modern world and our students will now benefit from this landmark network expansion that will help deliver a world class education system,” Mr Marshall said.
“When the last bit of fibre optic cable is in place, every public school student, from Yalata to Bordertown, will have access to the world.
“The expanded fibre optic network will not only provide high speed internet to our public schools, it also puts a fibre optic connection within reach of thousands of small businesses, public agencies and independent schools.”
Telstra Enterprise’s chief customer officer John Ieraci said Telstra was proud to be working in partnership with the government to help deliver a new era of learning for South Australian children and teachers.
“Demand for connectivity is growing exponentially around the world, which makes high speed data access for the students of South Australia so incredibly important – not only for the classroom experience of the students of today, but ultimately the future competitiveness of the state,” Mr Ieraci said.
“We are excited to help level the technological playing field for public school students in regional and remote locations as well as open the doors for new ways of learning.
“It will now be possible for almost every public school student across the state to have access to educational collaboration tools as well as emerging virtual and augmented reality solutions.”
It is expected the network expansion will be completed by the middle of 2020.
