RESIDENTS and visitors to Byaduk and Orford will now enjoy improved mobile coverage and connectivity, with the recent construction of a Telstra mobile base station.
“We know how important mobile connectivity is becoming for Australians, and we can see this each day in our network data,” Telstra Western Victoria regional general manager, Steve Tinker said.
“Each day we have about 20 million devices using our mobile network and together they make about 60 million phone calls, send 40 million SMS, and use about 8.6 million Gigabytes of mobile data.
“Co-investment programs such as this, where carriers like Telstra and the government work together to share the cost in bringing new connectivity in regional and rural locations, are really important in helping deliver great connectivity outcomes and enabling all Australians participate fully in the digital economy,” he said.
Residents and businesses in Byaduk North now have new 4G and 5G mobile coverage, with the new Telstra mobile base station near the Hamilton-Port Fairy Road.
The site was built as part of the $500 million Connecting Victoria program, which sees Telstra partnering with the Victorian Government to fund the construction or upgrade of 344 mobile sites across Victoria.
A little differently funded, the Orford site was built by Telstra as part of the Regional Connectivity Program (RCP), a partnership of Telstra, the Commonwealth Government and the Victorian Government.
The deployment of a new macro cell site with fibre backhaul in the Moyne Shire Council will provide new and improved mobile coverage to the small town and surrounding areas
The Commonwealth contributed $400,950 to this project, with co-contributions from the Victorian Government and Telstra.
Telstra said modelling predicted the Orford tower should deliver new and/or improved coverage to approximately 296 premises when using handheld devices and 16.7 kilometres of the Princes Highway when using devices with an external antenna.
The RCP is part of the Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia, providing $656 million to improve mobile and broadband connectivity and resilience in rural, regional and remote communities.
The project was delivered under Round 2 of the RCP funding, which has committed $137.2 million towards 93 projects across Australia.
The RCP will fund the construction or upgrade of 168 sites across 147 different telecommunications projects.
20 of these projects are in Victoria and are supported by $5 million investment from the Victorian Government.
The projects range from transmission, coverage, and capacity upgrades plus construction of new macro or small cell mobile base stations in blackspot areas.
Mr Tinker said Telstra invested heavily in improving regional connectivity.
“Over the past seven years to the end of FY23, Telstra invested $11 billion in our mobile network nationally, with $4 billion of this invested in our regional mobile network,” he said.
Telstra has over 11,800 mobile base stations covering more than 2.7 million square kilometres.
Nationally the Telstra network provided coverage to 99.6 per cent of the Australian population.
Federal Communications minister, Michelle Rowland said every Australian deserved access to reliable connectivity, “regardless of postcode or circumstance”.
“Residents and businesses will benefit from improved mobile coverage and connectivity,” she said.
“I look forward to seeing these benefits replicated across the country as we continue to deliver our Better Connectivity Plan.”
Victorian senator, Raff Ciccone said the projects will make a “meaningful difference” to the local community.
“The connectivity upgrades will support local businesses to employ new technologies and solutions to boost productivity, and support access to essential digital services and emergency communications,” he said.
Victorian Government Services acting minister, Melissa Horne said she knew the community depended on mobile phone connectivity.
“Through Connecting Victoria, the Victorian Government has partnered with Telstra and other telecommunications providers to deliver more than 1200 mobile projects across the state, particularly in regional and rural areas like Byaduk North,” she said.
Besides bringing improved Telstra coverage to the areas, the mobile base stations will also help connect any Triple-Zero calls from users on other networks in cases of emergency.
For more information on the Regional Connectivity Program, visit: infrastructure.gov.au/rcp
For more information on the Better Connectivity Plan, visit: bit.ly/3xV8oe2
