WA commits further $6.3m for broadband for farms

The Western Australian Government has committed $6.3 million towards improving high-speed broadband in the state’s grain belt as part of Round Three of the state government’s Digital Farm program.

As part of the investment round, the government plans to deliver high-speed broadband to around 600 farmers and residents across the state’s grain growing regions.

The funding round will consist of five projects to deliver enterprise-grade broadband to the Shires of Esperance, Kukerin, Koorda, Mount Marshall, Wyalkatchem, Tammin, Quairading, Beverley, Yilgarn, Kulin, Kent, Lake Grace, Dumbleyung, Goomalling and Cunderdin.

The first of these deployments, the Esperance project, will be delivered as part of a partnership between the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association collaborating with project partners CipherTel and Telstra.

Other partners in the Round Three program are CRISP Wireless and the Field Solutions Group.

During the first two rounds of Digital Farm grants, funding was awarded to deliver digital connectivity to more than 1640 agribusinesses across 65,000 km² of WA. Projects from these two rounds are currently underway.

“The McGowan government’s investment through this program is transforming businesses in the regions, ensuring they are equipped with modern business technology to operate effectively and efficiently in a market,” WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said.

“The broadband on offer has the speed and bandwidth for agribusiness use, such as hosting Internet of Things technology including remote sensing technology, weather stations and data-driven decision-making tools, surveillance and marketing applications.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Christine