The National Broadband Network has been switched on in metropolitan Brisbane with Broncos winger Jharal Yow Yeh and legend of the game Mick Hancock giving local children a glimpse of the benefits that superfast broadband can bring communities in Queensland and across Australia.

Superfast broadband is now available to more than 500 premises in the suburb of Aspley, with the NBN fibre set to be available to a further 1700 premises in the coming weeks.

Construction has already commenced on rolling out the NBN to 135,000 Queensland homes and businesses, with construction set to be commenced or complete for 678,000 premises in the state by mid-2015.**

Other suburbs in and around Brisbane where construction has already commenced include Ascot, Banyo, Bridgeman Downs, Carseldine, Collingwood Park, Eagle Farm, Goodna, Hamilton, Hendra, Northgate, Nudgee, Petrie, Kallangur, Redbank Plains, Slacks Creek, Virginia and Zillmere.**

NBN Co lead community account manager Darren Rudd says, “It’s not just faster speeds but what they can enable that makes the NBN such an exciting prospect for people in Aspley and Brisbane as a whole.”

“People can work from home like they would from the office; get all the family online at once and stream TV over the internet really smoothly.

“Just as importantly, services over the NBN fibre network are available at a price less than you might think and offer superfast speeds.”

Broncos showcase broadband benefits for sports stars of tomorrow

To demonstrate the benefits of superfast broadband, the Brisbane Broncos teamed up with local Aspley children to demonstrate how the NBN can support the development of the future footy stars.

Via a connection enabled by internet service provider iiNet, children from Aspley Rugby League Football Club joined by Jharal Yow Yeh participated in the world’s first NBN-enabled rugby league coaching session delivered by Mick Hancock from Suncorp Stadium.

“Today’s coaching session was a great way to show how we are going to discover and train the next crop of footy stars,” says Broncos, Maroons and Kangaroos legend Mick Hancock.

“Australia’s a big place and we have so many great players that come from regional areas. The NBN will allow coaches in our capital cities to run video training sessions in remote areas they would normally not be able to get to, helping coaches to identify and train the future’s regional footy heroes,” he says.

NRL League Integration and Game Development general manager Andrew Hill says virtual coaching sessions are just one way the NBN will open up large sections of Australia.

“We have record numbers of children playing the game and this technology is opening up a world of possibilities for Rugby League to better connect with them, especially kids in remote parts of the country.

“Virtual coaching has the potential to be an incredibly powerful tool, as does the opportunity to take the game’s health and education programs into classrooms everywhere.”

Aspley Rugby League Football Club president Jim Spletter says the demonstration drove home the benefits of the NBN.

“This showed us what is possible with superfast broadband and the NBN. The kids got a kick out of training with former Broncos’ legends and the adults got a kick out of seeing a glimpse of how this technology will help our kids in the future.

“I can’t wait to get connected and to discover so many more ways we can use the NBN.”