Michael told an NBN selected committee in Sydney that while its 5500 members, many of whom are SMEs, see online as an advantage rather than a threat, some did not know how to set up a website.

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"Many of those regional retailers want to reach the global market through the NBN but they lack the knowledge on how to do that," he said.

"We are working with companies such as eBay to encourage retailers to use their e-commerce platform."

In addition, the ARA has a pilot project underway with the Victorian state government to help get SMEs in regional Victoria online.