By Claire Reilly

The Minister responsible for the rollout of the NBN, Senator Stephen Conroy, has announced the launch of the NBN Discovery Centre in Melbourne, set up to educate consumers and businesses on the benefits of the new fibre network. The Centre will also be supported by the NBN Co Truck, which will tour around the country and sell the NBN message to Australians.

“These new initiatives will help consumers and service providers alike discover more about the NBN – how it will work and how it can benefit them,” said Conroy.

“The Discovery Centre at Docklands in Melbourne and the NBN Co Truck have been created in direct response to the large number of queries and interest about when, where and how the NBN will be rolled out. It simulates the home and small business environments in which the NBN will be connected and used.

“The mobile demonstration centre will tour the country as the rollout progresses, visiting as many towns and communities as possible to inform Australians about how important the NBN will be in their lives.

“The mobile demonstration centre has a physical mock-up of the NBN equipment being installed in homes to provide visitors a hands-on experience.

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Incorporated into the Discovery Centre is a Test Facility that allows telephone providers and ISPs to test their services before they go live for public use, as well as a Network Service and Operations Centre that will “enable NBN Co to monitor network traffic across the country, manage orders and support interaction with telephone and service providers.”

Individuals and groups (such as school groups and small businesses) can book 30-minute sessions at to learn about the network either at the Discovery Centre or on the touring NBN Co Truck. The Truck will be touring across Australia, beginning in Devonport and Deloraine next week, before a schedule of similar appearances in towns across the rest of Tasmania and the Australian mainland.

According to Senator Conroy, “the unveiling of these facilities marks a new phase in the delivery of the NBN”.