Bendigo's quiet revolution: How a regional city became a global broadband leader

More than 46,000 premises in Bendigo can now access faster NBN speeds under the completed Accelerate Great program, and over 24,000 are eligible for service upgrades, according to federal infrastructure minister Catherine King. The milestone positions the city as a standout example of regional connectivity in a world where broadband gaps typically widen outside capital cities.

Fibre backbone

Behind the headline numbers is infrastructure that many larger centres lack. Bendigo is the first Australian region to complete a business case for becoming a '100 Gigabit City,' leveraging local fibre infrastructure from Bendigo Telco. The city's existing network-built on copper originally-is now being upgraded as part of a $480 million federal investment targeting roughly 3,300 premises.

Fixed wireless users in the Bendigo electorate will also see upgrades: download speeds up to 100 Mbps, with up to 85% of users able to access 250 Mbps, according to federal member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters.

Public WiFi that works

A city's tech ecosystem is only as strong as its public access. More than 140 outdoor locations across central Bendigo offer free superfast public WiFi, allowing users up to 5GB of data daily without providing personal information. The network, funded by the Victorian government, covers key pedestrian zones and civic spaces.

The combination of a municipally-minded telco, federal broadband investment, and state-backed WiFi infrastructure creates a level of digital equity rarely seen in cities of comparable size. Residents shifting to work-from-home or hybrid models have options that avoid expensive mobile data plans.

For businesses, the implications are concrete. The 100 Gigabit City business case, prepared with support from Invest Loddon Mallee, outlines a vision for high-capacity broadband to attract data-intensive industries. Bendigo Telco's existing fibre already reaches commercial districts; the federal upgrades extend that reach into residential streets previously reliant on slower copper connections.

The next practical step for residents and businesses is to check eligibility for the Accelerate Great upgrades. NBN Co has listed local suburbs covered in its rollout schedule, and service providers have begun contacting eligible customers. With the fixed wireless upgrades also underway, Bendigo is demonstrating that regional cities can lead rather than follow in the global race for better broadband.