THE announcement last week the Federal Government would be rolling out funding to commission new mobile phone towers in rural areas has left Tathra residents very disappointed.
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Tathra Beach House Holiday Apartments owner Rob White, also a member of the Tathra Chamber of Commerce, said he is disappointed the announcement of towers to be built in the Bega Valley localities of Nethercote and Towamba means busy coastal tourist towns such as Tathra are off the list.
“[Member for Eden-Monaro] Peter Hendy said he would make sure Tathra was on the list,” Mr White said after hearing the news.
“It’s very disappointing because regional tourism is a difficult business at the moment with people flying overseas more and more for their holidays.”
The towers to be built in Nethercote and Towamba, as well as at Central Tilba, as part of the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program will provide access to 3G and 4G mobile services, with other communities now vying for the installation of one of 250 “small cells” to provide data connectivity.
Dr Hendy said the announcement will address black spots at Barragga Bay, Greigs Flat, Nethercote, Pambula and Towamba.
“In Eden-Monaro we had 148 black spots nominated by local residents to be eligible for new or improved mobile coverage under the Mobile Black Spot Program, and today’s announcement will see 59 of those mobile black spots receive coverage,” Dr Hendy said last week.
With the issue of mobile blackspots an ongoing one for the region, Mr White is shocked that it appears only data will be available in areas such as Tathra in the foreseeable future, with the implementation of voice over LTE technology possibly years away.
“It’s another negative for the Far South Coast,” he said.
“All we can do is go back to Telstra and voice our concerns.”
Telstra said the small cells will deliver high speed 4G data services in some small country towns where suitable Telstra infrastructure is available
With Optus 4G available soon in Cobargo with the upgrading of one of its towers, other customers are looking for the same access to the service.
“Mobile phone connectivity affects where people are choosing to live in town,” Mr White said.
“People need a mobile phone for work and security these days and in regards to tourism, everything is web based now.
“Obviously businesses in Tathra can’t take advantage of tourists searching the internet for a place to stay if they’re not connected,” he said.
“We also try to attract conference groups, but the lack of connection makes that difficult.”
The blackspot program will involve investment of more than $340million in regional Australia, with $165million from Telstra, $94.8million from the Federal Government and tens of millions in targeted additional funding from State and Local Governments.
Telstra Country Wide area general manager for southern NSW Chris Taylor said with people and business now relying on mobile connectivity more than ever that Telstra is well aware of the challenges facing communities living with limited to no mobile network coverage.
“Over the next three years, the towers will be installed across the region, significantly expanding mobile coverage in the area,” Mr Taylor said.
“As the first carrier to bring 4G mobile services to regional Australia, we know how important high-speed mobile can be to supporting local businesses, tourism and education so we are also continuing the expansion of our 4G and 4GX services.”
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