According to Swoop, the program is funded by a $1.8 million investment from the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) to future-proof Geelong.

The program is designed to connect regional communities by improving digital connectivity while addressing disparities of internet access and affordability to deliver smarter suburbs.

The program has seen Swoop partner with smart city infrastructure provider Ene.Hub to deliver enhanced broadband trial to support business growth and innovation in North Geelong, delivering speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Additional Wi-Fi locations have also been delivered across Central Geelong, the Kardinia Park Precinct, and Northern suburbs including Corio and Norlane.

This game-changing initiative was planned to both improve digital inclusion in the North and future-proof the region.

Twenty-two kilometres of high-speed optical fibre and 19 Smart Nodes provide key services including public Wi-Fi, intelligent lighting, IoT gateways and CCTV, opening doors to a raft of future possibilities.

“Geelong is an important region for Swoop. Over the last two years, Swoop have substantially committed with our own investment into our wireless broadband network around the city of Geelong,” said Swoop chief technology officer Tom Berryman.

“We are excited about our partnership with the Geelong City Council and Ene.Hub for the ‘Smart Cities and Suburbs Program’ as we work towards a shared vision of connecting people with services.”

“Our 60Ghz (mmWave) 'Enhanced Broadband' solutions offers customers true gigabit capability, delivered quicker than legacy services. Swoop plans to deploy our mmWave platform across cities, and surrounding areas through 2022 and into 2023,” Berryman concluded.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 23 September 2022.