JIM FAGAN
NBN Co planners are looking for another preferred site at Cooran for their 35 metre tower which is a key part of their wireless broadband network.
NBN’s preferred site is at 321 Coles Creek Road but Noosa Council has not yet approved the application – now in the extended decision stage – while it waits for responses to questions on the tower’s height and alternative locations. According to a network spokesman, the present site “is being kept in the mix until a new site has been found and approved by the landowner but, yes, we are looking for another site. “We don’t know as yet when we are going to be able to respond to council but we know we are trying to get it done as quickly as possible. What’s taking the time we have to find alternative locations and then talk to the different landowners involved. It’s hard to put a fixed timeline on it but we know it is a high priority.” During the public notification period, council received about 100 submissions for the application, including a petition of objection of some 300 signatures from residents. A spokesman for the petitioners said the group was happy and excited about the NBN attempt to find somewhere else for the tower. “We hope they find another viable location because in our opinion the proposed location they have isn’t satisfactory because it is near semi-rural homes and properties”. The proposed tower will provide fixed wireless transmission as part of the NBN network. Fixed wireless is a network of base station facilities which provide a broadband service via radio transmissions. The base stations will communicate directly with antennas fixed to individual premises (eg dwellings or businesses) to deliver wireless broadband access.
