Fibre serves from the National Broadband Network (NBN) have been switched on in the Tasmanian Capital, with the service now extended to 1,800 homes and businesses in South Hobart.

NBN Co’s Community Relations Manager for Tasmania, Lalla McKenzie, said the fibre service was on schedule for the completion of the rollout for Tasmania by 2015.

Ten internet service providers are ready to sign up Hobart families and business people to the NBN, with retail prices and packages comparable to current internet plans but offering the prospect of faster speeds and far greater bandwidth. They are: Telstra, Optus, iPrimus, Spintel, iiNet, Exetel, Commander, Westnet, Internode and MyNetFone.

To showcase the benefits of the NBN, local children took part in a virtual training session at South Hobart Oval, with the children being trained by cricketers Brett Lee and Patrick Cummins, who were beamed in via video conference from the Sydney Cricket Ground.