Mobile coverage boosted in The Falls and Elbow Valley

December 16, 2020

People living and travelling through The Falls and Elbow Valley will now have better phone service to make calls, browse the internet and stay connected with family and friends.

Two new mobile base stations in The Falls and Elbow Valley have recently been turned on and are expected to significantly improve phone service.

Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said he was pleased that local residents and businesses would now have better service in more locations.

“My constituents have raised the issue of poor service in these areas and I’m pleased to be part of a Government that is listening and delivering,” Mr Littleproud said.

The small cell base stations were jointly funded by the Federal Government and Telstra under Round 5 of the Mobile Black Spot Program.

The small cell at O’Deas Road, Elbow Valley is expected to provide new and improved 4G mobile coverage to Elbow Valley to address current gaps in coverage, while the Spring Creek Road small cell is expected to provide new 4G mobile coverage to The Falls, where previously no mobile network operator provided coverage.

The new mobile base stations were completed by Telstra and are the latest of 40 sites across Maranoa to be switched on under the program to provide new or improved mobile coverage.

“Our continued investment in mobile phone base stations is further proof of the Coalition’s commitment to connecting Australians, wherever they are, particularly in rural areas like The Falls and Elbow Valley,” Mr Littleproud said.

“This Government knows how frustrating it is to be talking on the phone or browsing the internet and then lose service, so we’re getting on with the job of building more phone towers to deliver better service.

“Not only will these towers make it easier for people to stay connected to family and friends, it will also make it easier to do business and access education.”

Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts the Hon Paul Fletcher MP said the switch on of the new mobile base stations at The Falls and Elbow Valley under the Mobile Black Spot Program reflects the Morrison-McCormack Government’s commitment to further improving connectivity in the regions.

“This significant investment as part of the Mobile Black Spot Program means that people living, working and travelling in Maranoa will now have better mobile coverage. This is especially important following last summer’s devastating bushfires,” Minister Fletcher said.

“While no telecommunications network is 100 per cent impervious to damage from natural disasters, Australians naturally want to be confident our communications networks are as resilient as possible. The Mobile Black Spot Program is an important part of this as it provides an alternative communications option if another network goes down during an emergency situation.

The first five rounds of the Australian Government’s $380 million Mobile Black Spot Program are funding more than 1,200 mobile base stations around Australia, with more than 890 of these already on air and providing much needed mobile connectivity to rural and regional areas

More information about the program is available at www.communications.gov.au/mbsp.