THE National Broadband Network will be fully connected across the Douglas Shire by September 30 this year in a huge step forward for the region.

Often maligned for having ‘third world’ internet coverage, the NBN will be online for the greater Port Douglas community in a matter of months according to Communication Minister Mitch Fifield.

He attended a meeting in Port Douglas alongside Federal MP Warren Entsch, Douglas Shire Mayor Julia Leu and councillors Abigail Noli and Michael Kerr to discuss the NBN rollout.

Douglas Chamber of Commerce President Wade Greasley said it was time to put the area's ‘really rough trot’ behind it.

“The future is bright around telecommunications in the Douglas Shire and it’s time to get excited about it,” he said.

“We’ve had a really rough trot in this region when it comes to internet issues but it’s time to start looking ahead and there is a lot to look forward to.”

Greasley said the direction of the Douglas Shire ‘from a telecommunications standpoint’ was a lot clearer following Wednesday’s meeting with Fifield. Hotel owners, tour operators and residents were given an opportunity to relay their frustrations to the Minister about consistent internet outages.

“A big takeout from the meeting was Telstra and retail service providers are reviewing the way they can advise customers on outages,” Greasley said.

“One of the main concerns was there was no one giving clear and definitive answers on outages.

“So I think people can look forward to better management when it comes to this moving forward, but some of these issues will be resolved by the NBN anyway.”

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