The Situation

Ross has a disability pension. He is keen to do casual work for Bush Nursing Association, but Ross needs to keep his pension agency Centrelink informed whenever he earns extra money.

Previously, he was facing the problem of not getting Internet connection in Club Terrace, “They have ADSL at Cann River. But even though it's only 25 kilometers away from here, we can't get ADSL. Our only access to the Internet was through dial-up, and it was so slow that you can go and cut the lawn while waiting for it to download”, he said.

Broadband Internet Access via IPSTAR

The major breakthrough came to Ross when he applied for APN's Activ8me broadband Internet service under the government's Australian Broadband Guarantee (ABG) program – which offers incentives for IPSTAR broadband subscribers living in difficult-to-reach and remote areas.

“I basically have the Internet for private use, but the big plus for me is being able to log into Centrelink's system and report what I have earned. The nearest Centrelink office is 200 kilometers from here, so having IPSTAR broadband Internet enables me to save lots of traveling time and fuel – making life much easier. If I didn't have broadband, I would have to physically go to Centrelink and report there often,” Ross added.

“There are 10 to 15 houses here in our small community and I think about 5 of them have already signed up for Activ8me. I have the basic AUD 29.95 a month plan which does all I need”, he said.

Ross's story is typical to some 300,000 Australians who, for various reasons, have been unable to access broadband Internet. Thaicom-4 (IPSTAR) is a satellite designed for high speed communications over an IP technology. Designed to push satellite Internet into the mainstream of broadband access, IPSTAR offers affordable bandwidth and rapidly deployable user terminals – anywhere, anytime under its extensive footprint.