QUEENSLAND has reached a major milestone in the rollout of the Mobile Black Spot Program, celebrating the the activation of Telstra’s 100th Queensland mobile base station.
Telstra regional general manager May Boisen joined Federal Member for Wide Bay, Llew O’Brien, State Member for Maryborough, Bruce Saunders, and locals in Maaroom, one of three sites in the region to recently come online.
“With its prime position along the Great Sandy Strait, more mobile coverage at Maaroom means more people can now call, download and stream at home, at work, on the road and even on the water,” Ms Boisen said.
“As Australia’s most de-centralised state the benefits of the Mobile Black Spot Program are plain to see in Queensland.
“Whether it is the local caravan park taking a credit card payment, streaming high-quality video content or a farming app to keep track of cattle, increased mobile coverage is a high priority for people and businesses in rural and regional Australia.
“From Darnley Island in the Torres Strait, The Summit near the border, way out west in Gregory and now in Maaroom, communities across this vast state are now benefitting from 3G and our superfast 4GX mobile coverage, and a number of more communities will soon be joining them.
“Planning is progressing for dozens more new mobile base stations across Queensland under the Mobile Black Spot Program which we expect to bring online in the coming months.
“Telstra is committed to continue leading the way in mobile connectivity under our T22 strategy. As well as delivering immediate benefits to the community, these new mobile base stations prepare their regions for future rollouts of new technologies.”
The Mobile Black Spot Program involves co-investment between Telstra, Federal, State and Local Governments.
“We have delivered more than 500 new mobile base stations nationally under the Mobile Black Spot Program, which have carried more than 100 million calls and downloaded 5000 terabytes of data, which is the equivalent of downloading more than a million HD moves,” Ms Boisen said.
“Telstra invested $2.2 billion in its regional mobile network between FY15 and FY17 so more Australians can experience a connected world that supports their way of life.”
The investment in increased coverage is further augmented by Telstra’s recently launched Narrowband Internet of Things network, which provides IoT coverage to more than 3.5 million square kilometres and supports millions of connected devices such as small sensors, tracking systems and alarms.
Queensland Minister for Digital Technology, Mick de Brenni, said the Palaszczuk Government was committed to improving the access to telecommunications networks for all Queenslanders.
“Mobile phone black spots are a barrier that Queenslanders and their small businesses shouldn’t have to be confronted with in 2018, regardless of their location,” Mr de Brenni said.
“We believe in bringing people together and in a big state like Queensland, decent mobile coverage is fundamental to connecting people in a way that improves lives in the process.”
