MANNING Valley as a high tech industry hub? Voice and data moving along cables at the speed of light?
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C'mon... Really?
The national broadband network (NBN) arriving on the front step of Taree businesses (with more being turned on this week) promises, alongside many things, just that.
According to NBN's website, NBN will drive improvements to local economies, bring in new opportunities, and 'enhance lifestyles' in the areas of health, education, wellbeing, sustainability and wealth.
Technophobes might think that is a pretty tall order for what is inherently a bunch of fibre optic cables.
But NBN's supporters say the faith is not misplaced.
"The NBN gives us a once in a lifetime golden opportunity to benefit from world class technology," Steve Attkins, Manning Valley Business Chamber's economic development manager, said.
Indeed, despite some teething issues, Taree's imminent 'Fibre to the Premises' (FTTP) technology is being lauded and embraced by those lucky enough to have got it as a means of enticing new businesses into the area.
"We've still got eight million homes to connect by 2020. A whole lot of areas would be dying to be in Taree's situation," said NBN Co spokesperson Darren Rudd.
According to Mr Attkins, FTTP gives Taree a competitive advantage over other regions using 'node' connections - the current and cheaper option preferred by the government - including uniformity in connection speed.
"Cities like Sydney are becoming too costly and problematic for many businesses. We will be strongly advocating that we market ourselves to industry hubs elsewhere, with a targetted campaign promoting the Manning as a viable alternative to live and work.
"After all, we're an easy drive to Sydney, we live in a beautiful region, so the NBN opens up all sorts of working business opportunities," Mr Attkins said.
Mr Rudd agrees. Armidale, for example, has been marketing itself as a high tech hub.
"Some regional centre services are combining to optimise on opportunities presented by the NBN. When services all work together they can really maximise the potential," he said.
Mr Attkins said that the Manning's proximity to both Newcastle's major airport hub and Taree's airport also gives the region a strategic advantage over other regional markets.
"We haven't yet captured the potential of our airport as a freight centre, but it's there," he said.
The biggest benefit surrounds the speed of uploading, downloading, and simply connecting.
"There's less time spent waiting for the computer to respond, and there are less dropouts for video conferencing and skyping," Mr Rudd said.
"This not only saves time and money, but is efficient in terms of what it does for businesses. With so many retailers available, it also has very competitive plans with a low price point, which is good."
An enthused Mr Attkins said that Taree had yet to explore the full range of options which would become available with the NBN due to the fact that the network has up until recently focused primarily on residences out of town, thus most local businesses which might profit from the network, are not yet connected.
"Over 60 per cent of business in the region don't have a strong web presence, but it's hard to realise what capacity can be brought to a business, until it's there," he said.
In the meantime, NBN Co is looking for business case studies in the region, which have already benefited or plan to benefit from the NBN on its doorstep. They say case studies are a great way of showing how technological advances can have practical impacts on business.
Read more: Greater Taree NBN uptake strong