Cowley Beach experiences little to no mobile services. The average age of the residents in Cowley is 70+ and if constituents need medical service or any other emergency service, they must leave their homes and go to the beach front to make a phone call.
During very likely weather events that occur in FNQ, Cowley residents are unable receive warnings by SMS on Severe storm/cyclones/fire via our mobiles so are ill-advised to take the recommended precautions.
Other important factors to consider for phone reception for this area include: big tourism populations, recurrent Army training presence, major banana farming region and highway crash zone.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
QLD
Community Location:
Kennedy Valley/Cardwell
Description of community needs:
Mobile reception is critical for business operations and economic growth of the region – many more people are working from home post pandemic in rural areas.
Many constituents in this region have experienced a loss in mobile reception following the 3G switch off – reliable coverage is essential for emergency management for the safety of locals and visitors alike.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
QLD
Community Location:
Mission Beach – El Arish Range (Cassowary Drive)
Description of community needs:
Mission Beach is a coastal town which is becoming the epicentre of infrastructure expansion with the investment of the boating facility and the recent purchase of Dunk Island.
This mobile black spot is the range into Mission Beach which little to intermittent service. This path is also greatly trafficked by cassowaries - in the event of either driver or wildlife collisions there is little to no mobile service.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
QLD
Community Location:
Yarrabah
Description of community needs:
The community of Yarrabah struggles with a lack of reliable mobile phone coverage. Lack of coverage means that residents with medical issues are unable to attend telehealth appointments, meaning they must make a 100 kilometre round trip to Cairns to access services.
The lack of coverage also puts a strain on local health care providers with additional costs of transporting patients. We have heard that the service is so intermittent that the local health service cannot even access patient records online.
We have heard that calls often do not go through, and text messages do not arrive on time. This is also a safety hazard in the event of emergencies.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
QLD
Community Location:
Fishery Falls/Deeral
Description of community needs:
Residents have contacted our office on multiple occasions due to poor mobile coverage which hinders residents, businesses and is a safety issue.
The township is located only 32 kilometres from the centre of Cairns and has road traffic of around 20,000 vehicles a day on the Bruce Highway.
We have been advised that local businesses and residents have spent thousands of dollars trying to fix the issue to no avail.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
WA
Community Location:
Mt Magnet - Sandstone Road
Description of community needs:
Sandstone is located 150 kilometres east of Mt Magnet and 150 kilometres west of the town of Leinster. This road is a major tourist and transport route between the northern Goldfields and the port of Geraldton.
There has been several deaths and numerous truck accidents on this road in the past 18 months. There is one mobile tower near this road close to the town of Sandstone.
This tower is subject to regular outages leaving no mobile coverage in the town of Sandstone nor on the 300 kilometres between Mt Magnet and Leinster.
What is required is at least one new tower for the town of Sandstone and two towers east and west of the townsite.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
WA
Community Location:
Karnup road between SW Highway and Kwinana Freeway
Description of community needs:
Karnup Road enterprise corridor. This corridor is a key link of business and residential activity between the freeway and SW Highway, creating a significant focus for business logistics and transport needed.
It is important to improve mobile data capacity to support the growth of these businesses, and to enable adaptation of autonomous technologies to stay competitive.
It is also impacted by severe bushfire risk, due to the extensive rural interface which exists. Coordinates = -32.363857, 115.933345
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
QLD
Community Location:
Yeppoon
Description of community needs:
Residents of Yeppoon and surrounding localities are impacted by significant lack of mobile phone coverage. Many are reporting inability to obtain service within their homes and businesses.
The Capricorn Coast region is in an area which has the potential to be affected by cyclones (the most recent being Cyclone Marcia) and more recently, was impacted by the Black Summer Bushfires.
The region is experiencing significant population growth and this is placing further strain on the already severely depleted coverage.
Livingstone Shire Council is supportive of further improvements.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
NSW
Community Location:
The locality of Cullival (specifically Urana - Lockhart Road and Frank Westblade Lane - 35°18'56.3"S 146°27'20.4"E)
Description of community needs:
In 2022, Lockhart Shire Council conducted a community-wide survey to evaluate phone and internet connectivity across the region. A total of 215 responses revealed significant issues with mobile reception.
Residents between Lockhart and Urana face severe connectivity challenges, reporting zero mobile reception.
The area's vulnerability to bushfires and flooding exacerbates the impact. Businesses cannot operate effectively without reliable communication infrastructure.
Full survey results are available from the contact provided.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
State or Territory:
NSW
Community Location:
Maraylya
Description of community needs:
Proposed target location for improved coverage in its LGA is in the Maraylya area which adjoins the suburbs of Gables, Box Hill and Vineyard.
Those suburbs represent a significant part Sydney’s North West Growth Area which will result in a large increase in the residential population of that area and a corresponding increase in the demand for mobile telecommunication services.
Co-contributions:
• Willing to discuss potential co-contributions (financial and/or in-kind) with program applicants
