Media Release, 08 June 2018

 

Telstra answers calls for better mobile coverage in Gidgegannup

Mobiles are ringing and data is flowing in the northern Gidgegannup area with state of the art mobile technology now being available through Telstra’s rollout of the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program (MBSP).

Telstra Area General Manager Boyd Brown said the launch of a second mobile base station around Gidgegannup will bring new and improved coverage to the area. He said the new base station is among 189 sites being delivered by Telstra across Western Australia under the MBSP and part of $75 million worth of investment in the State’s central and southern regions in FY18.

“This new base station, north of Gidgegannup, is a welcome addition to mobile coverage for residents, businesses and visitors who can now make, receive mobile calls and access high speed mobile broadband using Telstra’s latest 3G and 4GX services,” he said.

“Mobile connectivity plays a major role in connecting friends and families, businesses, farms, tourist spots and essential services across regional Western Australia.

“Whether it’s a parent being able to call the kids, a small business taking a credit card payment for the first time or a local producer using sensors to run their farm more effectively, mobile connectivity is becoming increasingly important for growth and stability in regional areas.

“We recently launched the 400th mobile base station at Upper Chittering under the Federal Government’s successful program.

“So far, more than 60 million calls have been made and more than 2,500 terabytes of data have been downloaded thanks to these new base stations, showing how important connectivity is to regional and remote communities.”

Mr Brown said Telstra is committed to continue leading the way in mobile connectivity. As well as delivering immediate benefits to the community, the new mobile base station at Gidgegannup readies the region for future rollouts of new technologies, such as 5G.

“We continue to invest more in building mobile networks in regional and rural communities than any other mobile network provider, and we offer more mobile coverage in more parts of Western Australia,” he said.

Mr Brown said Telstra’s $260 million contribution to the Mobile Black Spot Program, more than double the commitment of all other carriers combined, complements its own direct investment in building Australia’s largest and fastest mobile network, which now covers more than 2.5 million square kilometres.

“We have a long and proud history of investing in regional Australia and over the previous three financial years have invested $2.2 billion in our regional mobile network so more Australians can experience a connected world that supports their way of life,” Mr Brown said.

In addition to more than 650 mobile base stations to be delivered under the Mobile Black Spot Program, Telstra is continuing to install up to 250 Small Cells to deliver high speed 4G data services and mobile voice services for those with VoLTE enabled devices in some small country towns where suitable Telstra infrastructure is available.

Telstra Media contact: Mark Thompson

Media reference number: 064/2018

About Telstra

Telstra is a leading telecommunications and information services company. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets in Australia, operating the largest mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Globally, we provide end-to-end solutions including managed network services, global connectivity, cloud, voice, colocation, conferencing and satellite solutions. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the United States and offer access to more than 2,000 points of presence across the globe. For more information visit http://www.telstra.com/