Megalong Valley will get a boost to its mobile coverage with a new base station set to be built under the Turnbull government’s mobile black spot program.
Macquarie MP Louise Markus made the announcement last month during a visit to the region by the federal communications minister, Mitch Fifield.
“It will bring a much-needed boost to mobile coverage, providing benefits to emergency service operators, businesses, and residents,” Mrs Markus said when she visited on May 27.
Mrs Markus said four new base stations would be rolled out in Macquarie, which “are expected to address 33 of the 43 nominated mobile black spots with handheld or external antenna coverage”.
“We [the Coalition] are committing an additional $60 million on top of the $160 million already invested. The active cooperation of mobile network operators in the program has been strong, with 499 new or upgraded base stations covering 3,000 black spots nation-wide already being rolled out under the first funding round.”
Labor candidate for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, said Labor supported the additional $60 million “but like the Turnbull government’s promise to deliver the NBN, the Mobile Black Spot Program has over-promised and under-delivered”.
“Of the 499 mobile towers funded ... only 21 have been switched on. This is critical infrastructure central to … daily life.”
Mr Fifield said the previous Labor government “did not spend one dollar on fixing mobile black spots in regional and remote Australia”.
