The Victorian State Government has announced a new laboratory which will act as a test-bed for businesses to explore and develop new applications for the use of new high-speed broadband which will be delivered through the National Broadband Network (NBN)

 

Located at the Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society (IBES) at the University of Melbourne, the Australian Broadband Applications Laboratory (ABAL) will aim to encourage broadband innovation by Australian businesses.

 

"ABAL will open up new opportunities for Victorian and Australian businesses to explore the innovative use of broadband for projects in a real-world environment," State Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillip said.

"The facility will provide support to a range of organisations from small and medium enterprises through to multinational corporations to foster innovation by leveraging broadband technologies."

 

ABAL was established through $3 million in direct investment from State Government in IBES, announced in July this year.

 

The laboratory includes a state-of-the-art broadband network that supports the development and testing of new ideas in a real-life environment. By replicating the NBN set-up, businesses will be able to test new service offerings over the NBN.

 

ABAL will be available for all Australian businesses to use for a fee for service. Initially employing two additional employees, it is expected that ABAL's staff will grow to around ten employees by 2014.