Hundreds gain NBN access

Businesses and homes in Broomehill and Katanning's surrounds are now able to connect to the fast and reliable broadband, after the official NBN switch was flicked on last week.

About 430 homes and businesses in Broomehill and 214 in the surrounding Katanning areas are now able to connect and Member for O'Connor Rick Wilson said while it may not be the whole solution, it was a step forward.

"We have tried to prioritise areas that have poor connectivity now, and by getting these fixed wireless towers up, it is the quickest way to give that coverage to smaller towns," he said. "It is a massive project, it is probably the biggest civil infrastructure project conducted in Australia.

"It may take a while, and these towers have the capacity for about 250-400 people, so it may not cover a large town like Katanning, but it is ideally suited for a town like Broomehill."

Katanning's central residents will be able to connect to the NBN by mid-2016.

NBN spokeswoman Philippa Perry said for decades rural and regional Australia had been left behind when it came to telecommunications.

"It will assist those living in regional areas like Katanning and Broomehill to set up their own small businesses or deliver work from home," she said.

Mr Wilson said those conducting education programs from home would have a proportion of their data downloads set aside for educational purposes, free of charge.

Shire of Katanning chief executive Julian Murphy said it would help them.

"You need that high downloads and uploads speed, and to have that fast speed at half the current time than it is at now will make life a lot easier," he said.

"As a Shire, it will allow us to connect all our different service points and have them running through the same central hub."