The NBN will be rolled out across the Northern Rivers and Clarence Valley during 2017 and early 2018, with the whole of the country connected by the end of 2020. “This will see a large number of extra communities having access to superfast broadband within 18 months in our region,” Federal member for Page Kevin Hogan said. More than 10,000 local homes and businesses already have access to the NBN. “The release of the plan is a huge step forward for the NBN as the company works to speed up the rollout and make the build as cost-efficient as possible,” Mr Hogan said. “The Government understands that internet access is important for our community and will transform education, health care and other critical online services. “We recognise that consumers want fast broadband as soon as possible. All services over the NBN will allow families to stream movies, surf the web, and complete schoolwork online, – all at one time. Businesses will also benefit from the vastly higher bandwidth available.” Clarence Valley locations earmarked for connection are Clarenza, Grafton, Junction Hill, South Grafton, Waterview Heights in the first quarter 2017 and Angourie, Freeburn Island, Iluka, Wooloweyah, Yamba in the first half of 2018. Another 2,580 households and business will benefit from fixed-wireless roll-out. They are Mororo, Palmers Island in the third quarter of 2016.