Confirming Optus' commitment to the top-end, Optus Northern Territory Manager, Matti Urvet, announced today a major upgrade to Optus' infrastructure and services in the region.

"Optus has invested more than $30 million in ICT infrastructure and facilities used to serve the Government, businesses and the people of the Territory since opening its office in 1999," Mr Urvet said.

"Our investments have included a GSM mobile network covering over 75 per cent of the NT population and a state-of-the-art Interactive Distance Learning facility for School of the Air students.

"Optus is focused on enhancing and extending its coverage to all corners of Australia - not just metropolitan areas," Mr Urvet said.

"For example, our GSM mobile network provides coverage across the Territory, be it Uluru or Berrimah, Katherine or Darwin, Jabiru or Nhulunbuy - and I am pleased to announce that over the next two years we will be extending it with nine new base stations planned for Alice Springs, Howard Springs, Humpty Doo, Tindal and Darwin central.

Mr Urvet said the Northern Territory had benefited from the commitments Optus had made over the last few years to build additional base stations and Optus was raising the levels of telco competition, which would ultimately mean better services and better prices for Territorians.

"We have extended our broadband capability with the recent launch of Optus Broadband Satellite (OBS) which provides fast internet connections for regional customers eligible for a subsidised service with support from the Australian Government's Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme," Mr Urvet said.

"OBS is the ideal solution for people living outside the Territory's traditional copper telecommunications network - it is now more affordable than ever.

"Broadband gives fast and easy access to the internet – speeding things up for school children researching an assignment, farmers checking the weather or commodity markets, or small businesses using the internet as their gateway to national and international markets.

"Also we have formed new relationships with Imparja and Integrated Technical Services Pty Ltd to market the service. These partnerships are important to us – together we will bring some of the most technically-advanced services to the Territory via local and trusted channels," he said.

Note to Editor: Optus recently announced it had provided a public wireless hotspot (WiFi) service in the Darwin Supreme Court, and partnered with ICA Solution and Darwin International Airport to provide wireless and wired internet access in selected areas throughout the domestic and international departure lounges.

Media contact:
Luisa Ford
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 9342 5045