PORT Fairy will soon have better 4G and new 5G coverage with Telstra planning upgrades to its mobile base station, but the works will require a series of temporary outages or reduction in mobile coverage.
From Wednesday, August 21 at 7:30am to Friday, August 23 at 6pm there will be no Telstra mobile coverage from the site at the Hamilton-Port Fairy Rd site two kilometres west of town during daylight hours as the new equipment installation begins.
The Telstra network will be restored for the weekend of August 24-25.
From Monday, August 26 to Friday, August 30 there will be no Telstra mobile coverage from this site; Telstra mobile customers will receive text messages advising of the upcoming work.
Landline services, NBN internet services and mobile coverage from other providers will not be impacted.
Any calls to Triple-Zero (000) from a Telstra mobile when the site is off air will automatically be diverted to any working mobile network for connection to emergency services.
The Telstra mobile base station located at the Telephone exchange in Bank St, Port Fairy will not be impacted.
Telstra regional general manager, Steve Tinker, said the crews need to work during daylight hours for safety reasons, and the goal was to only switch off the site when the work required it.
“There’s never a good time to undertake this sort of work but once it is completed, it will mean better mobile services for local residents,” Mr Tinker said.
“As a company, we heavily invest in improving regional connectivity and this site is another example of our commitment.
“Over the past seven years to the end of financial year 2023, Telstra invested $11 billion in our mobile network nationally, with $4 billion of this invested in our regional mobile network.”
Tips for improving connectivity while works are underway
FOR mobile coverage in the interim, if residents have access to a Wi-Fi signal at home or at work, Telstra encouraged residents to activate Wi-Fi calling.
This is a free setting on most popular mobile phones and allows your mobile to use a Wi-Fi network to make and receive mobile calls.
Also, EFTPOS terminals may be affected; businesses are advised to contact their financial institutions and consider whether their unit can alternatively connect via Wi-Fi or even to a fixed line.
Once the work is complete, Port Fairy will join more than 4900 Telstra 5G sites on air within selected areas of more than 400 cities and towns across Australia.
For customers wishing to access 5G on the Telstra network, they will need a 5G-capable device.
Mobile customers are also reminded both the Telstra and Optus 3G networks are scheduled to close at the end of the month.
