NBN Co opens new facilities in Melbourne

Communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has opened up the doors to NBN Co’s new operations and demonstrations facilities in Melbourne’s Docklands, dubbed the “nerve centre” for the National Broadband Networking (NBN).

“These new initiatives will help consumers and service providers alike discover more about the NBN — how it will work and how it can benefit them,” Conroy said in a statement.

The Network Operations and Test Facility (NOTF), which costs $32.5 million and covers 4000 square metres, is comprised of the Network and Service Operations Centre (NSOC), the National Test Facility (NTF), the Service Activation Centre (SAC) and the Discovery Centre.

The NSOC will monitor and manage the NBN’s day-to-day operations 24 hours everyday, and rectify network disruptions between service providers and their customers. It will also provide a single point of contact for telcos and ISPs for assistance, with a customer operations team and network surveillance team on call 24 hours a day.

The NTF will enable telcos and ISPs to test new services before they are rolled out across the NBN, as well as testing out NBN Co’s new products, while the SAC helps connect service providers’ customers to the NBN and the Discovery Centre provides an interactive educational experience for visitors to learn about the fibre network.

There is also an NBN Co demonstration truck, a 23-tonne mobile interactive discovery centre that is fitted with high-definition screens, cameras and audio equipment.

The truck will tour Australia, expected to visit more than 100 towns in the next 12 months, starting in Tasmania next week.

“The facilities at Docklands are the nerve centre of the National Broadband Network and a hub for future innovation as we bring broadband to life across Australia,” NBN Co chief executive, Mike Quigley, said in a statement.

“The two demonstration facilities make it possible for people to experience for themselves some of the exciting applications in education, health and business that can be delivered over the NBN.”

The facilities will create more than 900 jobs in Victoria by the end of 2012 and up to 100,000 people have been estimated to pass through the NBN Co Discovery Centre and demonstration truck.

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