Pittwater Life March 2023 Issue

News
Satellites a local ‘game-changer’
Northern
Beaches
Council has signed
a game-changing
deal for broadband
powered by
a constellation of
satellites.
It will ensure
Council can
continue to operate
and provide
critical services to
the community when networks are down
– especially during emergencies or natural
disasters.
Council confirmed it had signed a new
contract with tech billionaire Elon Musk’s
telco Vocus Satellite – Starlink; it becomes
the first Council and first government agency
in NSW to access their high-performance
low-earth-orbit satellite broadband service.
“Our community, like the rest of Australia,
has experienced its fair share of
environmental threats and challenges,”
Council CEO Ray Brownlee said.
“These events have reminded us of the
need to plan and prepare for future challenges,
as set out in our recent Resilience
Strategy. We need to ensure our teams remain
operational in times of crisis, so we
can continue to provide critical services to
RECEPTION: The Starlink network.
the community.
“Satellite broadband
is a real
game changer for
Council. It doesn’t
require the traditional
infrastructure
of cables and
fibre optics which
can be disrupted
during floods and
fires.
“We are a
Council that is focused on innovation and
we are proud to be the first government
agency in NSW to sign an agreement with
this service provider.”
Integration with Starlink-powered
broadband will improve Council’s delivery
of critical services, including child-care
centres and Surf Life Saving clubs.
Council will also avoid heavy costs associated
with network engineers troubleshooting
unreliable network connections
or black spot locations. It will also reduce
network downtime thanks to dual reliable
links installed at critical locations.
Vocus is the local Australian provider
of Starlink. The high-speed connectivity
is made possible by a constellation of
low-earth-orbit satellites the size of pizza
boxes.
– Lisa Offord
HCF rebates back
at Beaches Hospital
Healthscope has confirmed it has
reached an agreement for a new
two-year contract with private medical
fund the HCF Group.
The announcement comes as a
huge relief to thousands of Pittwater
residents who feared their private
medical expenses would no longer be
covered at the Healthscope-operated
Northern Beaches hospital.
Healthscope CEO Greg Horan said
he was pleased the hospital group
and HCF had secured an agreement
which fairly recognised the cost
inflation associated with provision
of services to HCF members, and was
commercially viable and sustainable
for both parties.
“We are delighted to be continuing
our long-standing agreement with
HCF,” Mr Horan said.
“We acknowledge that the recent
negotiation process has created uncertainty
for HCF members and patients.
I’m pleased this new agreement means
HCF members can continue to be
treated in our hospitals with no additional
out of pocket charges.”
The new agreement includes HCF,
rt health and Transport Health. – LO
8 MARCH 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991