The Federal Budget has delivered significant funding to help address the issue of mobile phone black spots in regional Australia.
The news will no doubt be welcomed by Outback-travelling grey nomads … as well as those who live in these remote spots!
The Government’s $1.3bn spend will include boosts to mobile coverage along 8,000 kilometres of regional travel routes, a review of mobile tower costs to increase competition, and $480m to improve regional NBN services.
The ABC reports that the core measure of the budget package is an $811.8m investment in fixing ‘mobile black spots’ along regional transport routes and poor connections affecting nearby tourism hot spots, homes and businesses.
The investment, in addition to the existing mobile black spot program, is designed to improve mobile coverage in regional areas over five years.
In his budget speech, Josh Frydenberg called the program an ‘unprecedented regional investment package’.
“These long-term investments will unlock new economic frontiers and grow our national economy,” he said.
Many grey nomads are certainly not overly impressed by the mobile coverage they currently get when out in the bush.
Grey nomad Cecilia Netolicky says she actually had better luck when travelling in remote South America,
“We were amazed that we had decent mobile phone reception at the top of Machu Picchu in Peru and even in the middle of Lake Titicaca,” she said. “It is time for Australia to look at forward-thinking options … if Peru can utilise satellite reception, surely Australia could have all farmers, miners, travellers in the Outback with a reliable phone service.”
Ross Simon was equally damning.
“Except for the coastal areas, mobile reception is non-existent 10-15 kilometres out of towns,” he said. “And most Outback towns are only 3G.”
However, long-term traveller Chris Thaler had a very different take.
“Live your life outside the handheld device … smell the wildflowers, enjoy the countryside, speak to your itinerant neighbours,” he said. “And don’t expect city-like facilities in the back of beyond!”
