Leading Edge Data Centres, launching Tamworth's facility, vows to end digital divide with new technology rollout

The city's $7 million facility, built by Leading Edge Data Centres, is the first data centre in a rural area to be switched on. Eventually the company will boast 26 centres across the country.

Leading Edge Data Centres CEO and founder Chris Thorpe said it's already making a huge difference to Tamworth businesses.

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"We're going to close the digital divide in regional Australia," he said.

"The difference between Sydney metro and regional is huge as far as connectivity speeds, access to that connectivity, and in a lot of cases, how much you're paying for that connectivity. Trying to access cloud-based services becomes a real challenge at times."

Car and truck business JT Fossey, among their first clients, has seen an enormous communications boost between their three sites.

Communication costs have dropped 74 per cent, broadband speeds have increased 20 times and internet connectivity by four times, Mr Thorpe said.

"I think it's a pretty good value proposition for JT Fossey," he said.

"They are now operating in a completely different world than where they were a month ago."

As a result of the new facility, the internet will be cheaper, faster, more efficient and more resilient, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Minister for Regional Communications Bridget McKenzie cut the ribbon on the new facility on Friday, alongside Tamworth mayor Col Murray and MP Kevin Anderson.

"What this platform provides for this community, is a foundation to attract global players and national businesses here to Tamworth," Minister McKenzie said.

"It overcomes those barriers of why they don't shift, why they stay in Sydney."

Mr Joyce said the project, like the new Dungowan Dam upgrade, would help unlock business opportunities in Tamworth.

"I've always wanted to have my head in the clouds, now I've got it," he joked.

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Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said the facility was vital for the city's plan to grow to 100,000 by 2041.

Mr Thorpe led media and dignitaries on a tour of the facility, which has multiple layers of security, and is completely covered by security cameras.

He jokes it was "the most secure in the whole of Australia" because it has been built immediately next to the Tamworth jail.

The company's ultimate goal is that 85 per cent of regional Australia will be able to contact each other within 5 miliseconds, through a "distributed, meshed, network".

Newcastle's data centre was the only facility switched on before Tamworth's. Dubbo and Albury-Wodonga's facilities are set to open in coming weeks.

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