Broadband service provider, Internode, is injecting $9 million into a program which will see ADSL2+ equipment installed at 18 exchanges in the ACT, NSW, Queensland, SA and Victoria.

Additionally, Internode has announced 46 new telephone exchanges where it intends to deploy DSLAM broadband equipment.

The new exchanges comprise 22 in NSW, 14 in Victoria and 10 in Queensland, bringing Internode’s broadband rollout to a total of 170 telephone exchanges nationally.

Although Internode suspended its national broadband rollout program earlier this year due to the uncertainty created by Fibre to the Node proposals that threatened to strand its investment in broadband equipment, managing director Simon Hackett, has once again opened up the rollout in an effort to fuel competition in the highly competitive broadband marketplace, he said.

“The best defence to a challenging regulatory environment is a good offence,” Hackett said. “It is obvious that excellent consumer broadband outcomes are critically dependent on successful competition – so we're getting on with our part of it.”

Mr. Hackett said the $9 million investment was justified by Internode’s strong
growth rate and customer demand for ADSL2+ broadband services.

Full details of Internode’s ADSL2+ deployment schedule are available at www.internode.on.net/dslam.