While the Mid and Upper Mountains celebrated last week's news that villages from Woodford to Mt Victoria have been included in the National Broadband Network's next fixed-line rollout plan, it was a different story for residents in the Lower Mountains.
Just 18 months ago, the area from Lapstone to Linden was earmarked to get the NBN, but that was a commitment from the previous Labor Government. A spokesman for Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, confirmed that the Lower Mountains are not included in the current rollout plan.
Vice-president of the Blaxland Chamber of Commerce, Trevor Lloyd, said the news was disappointing.
"It's not good, is it? We're competing against a major city down here."
Mr Lloyd said there were many businesses in the Lower Mountains crying out for better service.
"I know of one instance where someone had to go down to the University of Western Sydney to use the internet," he said.
Labor spokeswoman for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, also criticised the decision.
"This is a real blow for the 20,000 homes and businesses from a densely populated part of the Mountains, where there are many small, home-based and village-based businesses who have been counting on access to high speed broadband within the next two years," Ms Templeman said.
She also queried whether the promised "mixed technologies" would result in a top-class service.
"Of course Upper Mountains people will be pleased to be getting improved broadband, but no one should think this is the quality of product that was to have been rolled out under Labor," Ms Templeman said.
"We look likely to end up with boxes on the street and customers who want optic fibre to their door will have to pay for it themselves."
But there were smiles amongst members of Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise (BMEE) and the Blue Mountains Connected Communities Alliance (BMCCA), who had lobbied hard to get the Mountains area on the NBN agenda, including at a personal meeting with Mr Turnbull.
BMEE chief executive officer, Jacqueline Brinkman, said the group had spent much time pleading for digital connectivity.
"Reliable, high-speed broadband is required to assist the Mountains increase its competitiveness, across a range of industry sectors," she said.
BMCCA chairman, Hereward Dundas-Taylor, was delighted the message had been heard.
"We tabled significant business and analytical data backed by an extensive survey to support a powerful case for a consistent, high speed fibre optic model," he said.
He had also pointed out the topography in the Mountains often eliminates line-of-sight wireless or satellite communications.
Mr Dundas-Taylor said the delegation presented local case studies showing how the current infrastructure in the region presents significant challenges to business and economic development.
Difficulties include the increasing failure of the existing copper line network, increasing service outages, significant delays in connectivity for new connections and no competition for service providers.
