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Byron Shire
August 29, 2026

NBN, Labor promise better, faster internet service

Latest News

How can we keep paying for incompetence

The only way forward is going backwards. That’s how I explain the current situation of Byron Shire Council. The...

Other News

Troubled Hastings Point sewage plant upgrade goes back to the community

A long-running battle over the future of the Hastings Point Wastewater Treatment Plant has entered another round, with Tweed Council putting its preferred upgrade option back before the community.

NSW gambling reforms announced

The Minns government says it is delivering on a key election commitment with its latest tranche of gaming reforms, giving people and families stronger protections against gambling harm and tightening the rules concerning gambling promotion and marketing.

Can you help our rainbow community find a home?

For four years Queer Family Inc has lived the perilous life of a homeless community organisation – bouncing from one temporary venue to the next, sometimes without anywhere to stay at all.

Who decides Byron’s future?

A recent Four Corners program provided a harrowing insight into new state planning legislation made in consultation with developers....

Mullumbimby puts new governance models first, and now wants to build it

Imagine Northern Rivers says Mullumbimby is the only community across the region to rank new models of governance and decision-making as the number one element of its preferred future, and last week locals gathered to work out how to make it real.

Rail and community consultation

The first stage of the Casino to Murwillumbah railway was opened in 1894 and shortly after the line was...

Telco service is a regular hot topic on the Northern Rivers. Photo Marie Cameron

National telco NBN says it has ‘escalated’ issues raised by Byron Shire customers who spoke to The Echo last week.

Two hinterland customers said they were frustrated with their phone and internet services as supported by Telstra and NBN, with one, George Lewin, saying he’d reluctantly switched to Starlink instead.

Mr Lewin had also launched a petition calling on Telstra to improve its service.

NBN sent The Echo a statement, saying technological upgrades to its fixed wireless network had finished.

‘More homes and businesses in regional Australia can benefit from higher NBN speeds and more reliable connectivity than previously available,’ an NBN spokesperson said.

Customers experiencing issues with their service were encouraged to discuss directly with their internet service provider in order to investigate, with complaints outlined in The Echoto be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Labor spruiks NBN upgrades

The comments came after Federal Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot shared similar advice.

Ms Elliot last week issued a media release announcing faster internet and increased data with the completion of the ‘Albanese Government’s upgrades to NBN Co’s Fixed Wireless and Satellite services’.

Ms Elliot said more than 13,000 premises across the North Coast could access broadband speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps thanks to the upgrades.

Federal Labor said it had also improved NBN’s Sky Muster satellite service, offering unlimited data and download speeds of up to 100 Mbps.



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Greens urged to back pathway to end native forest logging

Some of NSW’s most respected and long-standing forest campaigners and scientists have today urged the Greens not to support the Nationals' attempt to disallow the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) method.

Ballina Council makes decision on Ross Lane

With the absence of all four of its progressive councillors for various reasons, Ballina Council pushed ahead with its agenda at yesterday's monthly meeting, including a decision which is likely to close Ross Lane for months while the road is upgraded.

Mullumbimby puts new governance models first, and now wants to build it

Imagine Northern Rivers says Mullumbimby is the only community across the region to rank new models of governance and decision-making as the number one element of its preferred future, and last week locals gathered to work out how to make it real.

Appeal to locate man missing from Broadwater

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate a local missing man.