REDLAND City mayor Karen Williams has visited Canberra to push for better mobile coverage across the bayside.
She met with Regional Communications Minister Bridgette McKenzie, lobbying for improved telecommunications infrastructure at North Stradbroke and Russell islands.
The federal government has committed $220 million to its mobile blackspot program, which Cr Williams wants Redlands to have a guaranteed slice of.
Both islands were listed as two of 106 national priority areas but have not yet been fixed as the federal government sorts through applications from service providers.
The Australian government hopes to target priority blackspots by sending the jobs to market, offering a share of $60 million to selected service providers.
Providers like Telstra, Optus and Vodaphone are eligible to apply but it is unknown when the federal government will announce funding recipients.
Over the past five years, large bushfires across the islands caused residents to complain about connectivity.
Cr Williams said council had lobbied the state and federal government for years about the blackspot problem.
“The isolation of our island communities is always a concern, but the potential risks become all too apparent during disasters such as the fires that have decimated both Straddie and Russell Island in recent years,” she said.
It is understood mobile reception on Russell Island’s southern end has also become patchier than usual in recent months.
Telstra was asked to explain why some customers had reported limited reception there but did not provide a direct response.
Telstra area general manager May Boisen said the company had applied to fix a number of locations in the mobile blackpot program’s third round and looked forward to the federal government’s decision.
She said mobile services at Victoria Point, Coochiemudlo Island and Point Lookout had recently been upgraded.
Redland Bay resident Del Mirams, who is on-call for Victoria Point VMR jobs, said reception inside his home disappeared in December.
The lack of connection, which has also affected his wife’s phone, means he has no way of knowing if he was called for an emergency.
Telstra were asked if any service towers had experienced problems but responded a range of factors affected coverage.
“A number of factors can influence coverage including local topography, obstructions such as trees and other structures and building materials, as well as how far a person is from the nearest base station,” Ms Boisen said.
“We provide a number of solutions for customers to improve their in-building coverage, such as Wi-Fi calling and a Telstra mobile smart antenna.
“Our local teams are more than happy to discuss the best options with our customers.”
