New Optus phone tower for Russell Island

Mobile coverage on the south eastern side of Russell Island will get a boost when a new Optus tower goes live in a few months.

This is a welcome relief for the island with mobile coverage improvements giving emergency services the ability to communicate in the event of any bush fires or natural disasters

One islander said he'd lived in a black spot for four years and lost connectivity regularly.

"With the new tower, calling triple zero in emergencies will be possible without having to drive up the road to find signal. It will give residents a sense of security," he said.

Resident Greg Hartay Szabo said the mobile connectivity varied and making phone calls was an uphill battle.

"One has to move around in the house and often outside which had its challenges now that there is a high mosquito infestation following the rains. Even outside, calls sometimes drop halfway through. Mobile handsets are on two bars at most," he said.

Mr Hartay Szabo recalled when he was assisting Queensland Fire Emergency Services prepare its fire hazard report on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, he had trouble on Glendale Rd downloading the cgis maps showing council vs private ownership of blocks on the island.

"Another time, we had to call an ambulance via 000 but the call dropped twice so, we needed to call three times," he said.

According to an Optus spokesperson, the tower is part of the priority round of the mobile black spot program.

"The site has been funded by the federal government and will provide residents and visitors to the southern part of the island with Optus mobile coverage for the first time," she said.

The island was listed as one of the nation's 125 prioritised black spot locations in 2018.

The phone tower is anticipated to be live in the next few months.