UPDATE: July 13
RETURNED New England MP, the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce made addressing mobile black spots a key item in his election campaign, pledging four towers in the New England, but said the rollout could take up to three years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“What we try to do is deliver on the ones we fight for. Kingstown, which we got, Copeton Dam, which we got, Fig Tree, which we got and another 28 besides that,” he said.
“They roll that out; I think it is two to three years.”
Responding to questions yesterday after a Fairfax Media poll registered more than 100 areas of patchy or poor signal quality around the New England and North West in June, Mr Joyce said the federal government had done as best it could to deliver reliable mobile, phone and internet service to his electorate, and the nation.
“We do as best we can with the electorate. We have done well,”
- Mr Joyce said yesterday.
“We have 32 new and upgraded mobile phone towers which we have supplied funding for, and we are rolling some of those out and getting them switched on as we speak.”
The second round of mobile black spot program funding, worth $60 million, closed on Thursday, July 14, but a third round has already been announced, Mr Joyce said.
“We also have other reforms--we have voice over internet protocols, which we can do on the NBN, and we now have satellite NBN in a whole range of areas,” he said.
“We are delivering on a whole range of platforms so that we can get the communication process right.”
Mr Joyce’s comments followed statements by telecommunications carriers in the region this week, sighting myriad reasons why regional areas experience poor reception including topography and distance to base stations.
Among them, Vodafone welcomed a Productivity Commission public inquiry, announced in April, expected to focus on the Universal Service Obligation (USO) held by Telstra. The USO charges the national carrier with providing a reasonable level of access to telecommunications services and provides up to $253 million annually to maintain the Telstra copper network.
The inquiry, which is expected to deliver a draft report in December, will examine Australia's evolving telecommunications market to determine to what extent government policies may be required to support universal access to a minimum level of retail telecommunications services, according to a release from Communications Minister Mitch Fifield.
As the NBN rollout looms, expected to replace the copper network, Telstra competitors have questioned if the $253 million could be better allocated.
“That’s a good question for the Minister for Communications. You’re outside my league there,” Mr Joyce said.
Mr Joyce did boast the Skymuster satellite for providing eligible customers with a 25-down-five-up data rate and said in his experience customers were extremely pleased with the result, but acknowledged that the interim satellite providing a prior service “had a whole heap of problems”.
“I saw Liston turned on the other day, and they were very happy with the service they got,” he said.
“The interim satellite, I acknowledge, had problems but we are transferring people from the interim satellite over to the new one.”
Mr Joyce was hopeful for an early NBN completion.
“The NBN should be finished. I am hoping we will be finished ahead of time, around 2019,” he said, anticipating a Tamworth rollout in the first quarter of 2017.
July 11:
Telcos look to federal mobile black spot program to improve service
A FAIRFAX Media survey identified more than 100 areas of patchy mobile, internet and telephone reception in New England as round two of the federal government’s mobile black spot program gets underway. But, telecommunications carriers servicing the region say there are myriad possible reasons why users are experiencing poor service quality.
More than 200 respondents identified more 108 areas around the New England region during the June poll, including sections of the New England highway and Thunderbolt’s and Waterfall ways, as well as in Warialda, Fernhill Road, Graman, Gravesend, Tingha, Elsmore and Delungra and several others.
In round two of the federal government’s black spot program, $60 million has been allocated above the $100 million delivered in round one last year, to address black spots across the nation, but user frustrations continue.
Telstra, a major service provider in the region, indicated this week more than 400 Australian communities would benefit from additional 3G and 4G coverage under round one of the blackspot program, but said there were several issues with providing a reliable service to regional areas.
“A number of factors also influence coverage, including local topography, obstructions such as trees and other structures and building materials, as well as how far you are from the nearest base station,” the carrier said in a statement on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, Telstra forecast 4G coverage to 99 percent of the national population by 2017.
Meanwhile, Vodafone sighted Telstra’s hefty backhaul premiums charged to competing providers to service a region via Telstra infrastructure.
In a statement, Vodafone welcomed a review of the universal service obligation which allocated $253 million to improve Telstra’s copper network.
“We think it’s an enormous missed opportunity that $253 million is spent every year to maintain an antiquated copper network in regional areas which will be connected to the NBN,” Chief strategy officer Dan Lloyd said.
Optus, another carrier in the New England, sighted “significant investments” in the past 18 months to improve mobile coverage in the region, “including bringing 4G coverage to areas including Inverell, Bingara, Armidale and Narrabri”.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall weighed in on the issue on Friday, July 8. He said the state government committed 25 percent of the total funding in round one and again in round two, with the caveat that state funded towers must be open to carriers sharing towers to deliver their service.
THE NUMBERS:
The map above shows submitted and known black spot areas and routes in the New England and North West area. Phone icons show areas where Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and NBN network signal service are located, or proposed to be located, in the past 30 days, according to OzTowers.com
EARLIER:
MOBILE black spots and the NBN were a political talking point in the recent federal election.
Incumbent New England MP, and deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce has promised to address non-service areas in the electorate by building mobile phone towers at Copeton Dam, and Parkes MP Mark Coulton announced a new NBN service in his electorate in May.
In February, Maranoa MP Bruce Scott announced the rollout of five new base stations to strengthen signals in his electorate.
Meanwhile, Labor candidate David Ewings said an elected Labor government would commit to a fibre-to-premises NBN network across Australia.
Black spots also made appearances in the campaigns of independent Rob Taber, and the seven remaining candidates vying for the seat of New England.