Telstra – ramping up our mobile black spot rollout
Article by Mike Wright – Telstra News
We’ve rolled out 50,000km2 worth of mobile coverage to 100 rural and regional locations, and more is on the way.
By any measure, 50,000 square kilometres is a big area. To put it in perspective, that’s bigger than Switzerland, Denmark or Costa Rica.
It’s also the amount of new or improved mobile coverage that Telstra has rolled out to rural and regional Australia under the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program (MBSP), and it’s about to grow rapidly.
I’m pleased to report we’ve delivered this new coverage by reaching a significant mobile black spot milestone – 100 new mobile base stations across the nation are now online, delivering state-of-the-art coverage to communities that previously had none.
For the first time, thousands of people living, working and travelling in these areas can now talk with family, friends and run their businesses more effectively through Telstra’s superfast mobile network.
Our 100th mobile black spot base station is in Culla, in Victoria’s Southern Grampians, and it’s an excellent case study of the success and importance of the MBSP.
With eight mobile base stations progressively coming online in the region, a vast area with previously little to no mobile coverage is gaining increased access to new technologies for key regional sectors like agriculture, which is increasingly taking advantage of fast, reliable and affordable mobile connectivity.
Culla sheep and cattle famer Anthony Close is already making great use of the new opportunities. It’s lambing season and he’s now using the new, fast mobile coverage to compile valuable data, like lamb weights, from the field. Then, after a long day, he kicks back and watches Netflix.
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