FASTER internet cannot come fast enough for Mandi Gunsberger. Whether she is working on her website or doing her grocery shopping, the Paddington mother of two young children is always online.

Slow downloads and obstructive limits are a headache. When she and her husband, Ben, go over their monthly download limit she is forced to stay up after midnight to work during off-peak hours. "Faster broadband would stop me from going completely insane at the end of the month," she said with a laugh yesterday.

Though her two young children, Hayley, 3, and Polly, 18 months, are yet to discover the internet, their household was one of many that warmly received the Government announcement yesterday, even if it means they will have to pay more.

Ms Gunsberger said rapid downloads would transform Babyology, the baby products website she runs from home.

"We use a lot of low-res images for the website but we could run high-res images … if we had fast internet we could also do a lot more media presentations."

But it would also improve their leisure time. "Having small kids, we don't get out much … it would be great if legally we were able to stream movies and it didn't take up any monthly download limit."

The Government announcement sent social networking sites such as Twitter abuzz with excitement and prompted an enthusiastic reaction from Herald readers.

"This is good planning by the Government to make the extra effort of taking it all the way to the door … It is also great for jobs," Malcolm Finnan wrote on smh.com.au.

As well as the promised faster downloads, the Government's decision to take on the project received high praise.

"Most importantly, it consigns Telstra, that ill-tempered and lazy 'elephant in the communications china shop', to a much smaller place in history," wrote Declan Power.

But others felt the investment unfairly sidestepped regional internet users.

"For the rest of us, those outside the capitals, we pay the same taxes but get 12 per cent of the services, whether it be internet, hospitals … how unusual," Peter Fawkes wrote.