LNP’s $100 million commitment to fix mobile phone black spots
13th August, 2013
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss, today said that local communities in Wide Bay without mobile phone coverage will benefit from a Federal Liberal Nationals $100 million plan to extend mobile phone services.“Widgee in Wide Bay is a prime example of a community that would benefit from the LNP’s initiative to boost mobile coverage. I have worked with the Widgee community for many years to help them gain mobile services but Labor has failed to listen,” Mr Truss said.
“The Coalition’s plan to turn on mobile phone services in black spot areas could also extend coverage to parts of the Cooloola Coast and South Burnett, and I will strongly support all applications for funding to boost local services in Wide Bay.
“This initiative will improve the amenity and safety of many communities, helping people to stay in touch and enabling them to call for help if disaster strikes,” Mr Truss said.
“While people would like to connect to the NBN, gaining access to the mobile phone network is absolutely essential and is the highest priority for many, which unlike Labor, the Coalition recognizes and will act on.
“The roll out of the mobile phone network was put on hold six years ago by Kevin Rudd, when he abolished the former Coalition Government’s $2.4 billion Regional Communications Fund. Mobile phone coverage at Widgee and better coverage of the Bruce would have been a reality today, had it not been for Labor’s raid on this fund,” Mr Truss said.
The Coalition’s commitment will deliver a $100 million fund that can be partnered with other levels of Government and telecommunication companies. This will leverage greater funding to turn on the mobile network in places where it has been uneconomic for the telecommunication companies to do so.
“There have been two independent regional telecommunications reviews which have identified fixing mobile phone black spots as the number one telecommunication issue in regional Australia. Labor has ignored the problem, wasting billions on duplicating broadband services in the cities, while making people who live in mobile phone black spot areas wait,” Mr Truss said.
“The Coalition’s commitment will take those communities off hold and provide them with access to funding to deliver improved mobile phone services in regional and remote areas.”
The funding will split into two key areas:
• The $80 million Mobile Network Expansion Programme that will improve mobile phone coverage along major transport routes, in small communities and in locations prone to experiencing natural disasters. This is expected to generate at least an additional $80 million investment from the major mobile phone carriers.
• An additional $20 million will be invested in the Mobile Black Spot Programme to address unique mobile coverage problems — such as locations with high seasonal demand — and deliver a targeted response.
A Coalition government will fund up to 50 per cent of the cost of deploying mobile black-spot solutions. Our policy will seek to maximise the contribution of mobile phone network providers as well as maximising economic and social benefits.
The Coalition will also work with the NBN, a company fully owned by Australian taxpayers, to co-locate new mobile phone base stations with many of the NBN’s fixed wireless broadband towers that are being rolled out across regional Australia. The use of NBN infrastructure will reduce costs for carriers.
