Michael McHugh, the solicitor director of Stacks Law Firm Tamworth, said while much of the debate around the benefits of the NBN focused on education, recreational and medical uses, it would also deliver far-reaching benefits to the economy.

His comments come just a week after Tamworth was snubbed in the latest rollout plan for the super-fast internet, meaning residents could be forced to wait until 2020 or beyond for a large-scale rollout.

“The NBN would open up tremendous opportunities for us and enhance our ability to communicate with a global market,” Mr McHugh said.

“Tamworth is a significant regional centre, the fourth-biggest industrial town in NSW, and a lot of commerce flows from here.

“As such, it seems ridiculous we haven’t been given some priority in terms of NBN connections.”

He said just in the legal sector, NBN capability could transform the way locals did business.

“We could do conferencing in real time and across many venues,” Mr McHugh said.

“At the moment, we conference about three times a month, but the reliability and the speed of the connection makes it hard.

“It’s an important part of professional development and it helps us maintain our professional edge.”

He even raised the spectre of “virtual courtrooms” when the city became NBN-capable.

“Subject to court rules being changed, there’s no reason why we couldn’t appear (in court) virtually, over the internet,” Mr McHugh said.

“We could have a virtual court house and at least conduct civil matters here.”

The NBN could also provide a vital plank in the push towards decentralisation, he said, enticing larger businesses and government departments to Tamworth.

“Tamworth is a much cheaper place to operate than the city and there’s no reason why big businesses wouldn’t want to establish a base here,” he said.

Tamworth Business Chamber president Tim Coates said fast broadband was “the oxygen of modern business”.

“We are a major regional centre and the supplier of many services to the region,” Mr Coates said.

“As such, we should always be afforded competitive opportunities like the NBN.”