Technology
Bendigo builds 100-gigabit fibre network powering advanced manufacturing boom
A regional city that already boasts one of Australia's fastest broadband networks is laying the groundwork for what comes next in advanced manufacturing, software and skills training.
How we reported this
Bendigo's technology sector is quietly building a multi-pronged future that stretches from battery-electric mining vehicles underground to a 100-gigabit fibre network above it, with a newly opened Deloitte skills centre expected to anchor the next phase of job growth.
The city's digital infrastructure already sets it apart. Bendigo has a 100-gigabit broadband network through the '100 Gig Bendigo' initiative with Bendigo Telco, a project designed to attract digital businesses and help close the digital divide, according to Source 1. That kind of capacity, usually reserved for capital-city business districts, gives the region a tangible edge when courting tech employers that need to shift large data volumes.
New Skills Centre and a Manufacturing Pivot
La Trobe University's Bendigo campus now hosts the Deloitte Australia Digital Operations Centre, a tech skills centre that is up and running and is expected to create 200 jobs, Source 2 reports. The centre provides work-based learning for both university students and existing employees, blending classroom theory with on-the-job experience in digital operations.
At the same time, Bendigo is developing into a hub for advanced manufacturing and sustainable technology. Bortana EV, a company producing battery-electric mining vehicles, is part of that push. A $2 million regional advanced manufacturing innovation hub at La Trobe University is also underway, according to Source 4. Together, they signal a shift away from traditional manufacturing toward high-value, low-emissions production.
Software Growth and a Grassroots Tech Community
The software side of the local economy has been expanding steadily. Web design, app development and games, lumped together under software and digital content, recorded 9.5% growth between 2011 and 2016, Source 5 notes. That predates the broadband upgrade and the Deloitte centre, suggesting the talent pipeline was already thickening before the recent infrastructure arrived.
The Bendigo Tech Community, founded in 2017 as the Bendigo Developer Meetup, has grown into a collective of technology professionals and enthusiasts that gathers regularly to celebrate innovation in Central Victoria, per Source 3. The group helped organise the inaugural Bendigo Technology Festival, which focused on electronics and radio communications, giving hobbyists and professionals a rare local forum to share ideas.
What comes next is less about a single flagship project and more about the accumulation of these pieces. The 100-gigabit network gives Bendigo the raw speed to host data-intensive operations. The Deloitte centre provides the trained workforce. The advanced manufacturing hub and Bortana EV show where some of those workers will go. And the tech community ensures there is a cultural foundation, meetups, festivals, peer learning, to keep people in the region rather than watching them drift to Melbourne.
For anyone watching Bendigo's trajectory, the roadmap is becoming visible: fibre capacity, skills infrastructure, specialised manufacturing, and a self-sustaining community of practitioners. The challenge now is execution, turning those assets into a steady pipeline of new products and companies that can compete nationally.