After finding out that Telstra wasn’t planning to upgrade the sluggish broadband network in his area until July 2010, he launched an independent study into the situation.

Mr Todd uses Telstra NextG wireless broadband because, like many Thornton residents, he cannot get ADSL after three years of trying.

The former telecommunications student, who majored in wireless communications, carried out a 10-day study.

“Telstra’s chief executive officer David Thodey announced that the next big push is to get everyone on wireless,” Mr Todd said.

“But because there are a lot of people using wireless in Thornton, the system is overloaded and is basically unusable between the peak periods of 4pm - 10pm weekdays.

Mr Todd said Telstra could provide the speed it promised but not at a convenient time.

“I get good speeds, but the catch is that I have to be using it at 3am in the morning,” he said.

“At 8pm it can sit for a long time without being able to transmit or receive a single bit of information.

Mr Todd recently bought a high-powered antenna that he fixed to the roof of his house in an effort to connect to a base station outside of the Thornton area.

“I’m hoping that I can reach a tower in Beresfield or Tomago where there is less congestion,” he said.