'Top hat' improves ADSL
Faster internet is now available to an extra 200 people in Bridgetown.
Telstra has upgraded a cabinet on the corner of Moulton and Hackett streets with technology referred to as a “top hat” to offer more ADSL2+ internet connections.
ADSL2+ caters for higher bandwidth applications, including video streaming, Telstra Country Wide area general manager Boyd Brown said.
“This has provided an extra 200 ports to Bridgetown,” he said.
“Being connected to ADSL 2+ broadband technology will enable households to stream video, access their favourite internet sites and work from home.”
Bridgetown has received a top hat because demand for fast broadband is particularly high — and one top hat by itself will not meet demand, Mr Brown said.
But the 200 extra ports will help relieve the congestion which slowed network speeds.
Until now, existing cabinets have not been able to support ADSL2+ technology due to physical constraints — a new cabinet would have been built alongside an existing one.
Telstra is installing top hats across Australia as part of a network upgrade expected to be completed in mid-2013.
Blackwood Stirling MLA Terry Redman welcomed the upgrade, saying it complemented the mobile communication improvements being made through the Royalties for Regions scheme.
“While the area of telecommunications falls largely under Federal Government jurisdiction, it is an issue my Upper House colleague Colin Holt and I have put a concerted effort into, as has our federal colleague Tony Crook,” he said.
Mr Redman said a new Royalties-funded mobile telephone tower would be installed at Yornup next year, following the two new towers which were erected at Balingup and Quongup.
