Mobile coverage in Tasmania to be improved

Regional Tasmania will be receiving a significant mobile connectivity boost as a result of two recently announced public-private partnerships.

Telstra and the federal government have commenced a joint project to bring improved mobile coverage and capacity to the west coast of Tasmania.

As part of the project, a new mobile base station will be deployed in the town of Tullah. The program also includes upgrades to Telstra’s 4GX branded LTE advanced network in Rosebery, Queenstown, Savage River, Strahan, Zeehan and Waratah.

The project has a total budget of around $5.2 million, with the federal government planning to contribute $790,000 towards this total.

The public-private partnership also has the participation of the West Coast Council and Waratah-Wynyard Council.

Telstra expects to complete the first 4GX upgrades under the works program in around 12 months.

For the federal government, the project complements its existing initiatives aimed at improving regional coverage in Tasmania.

The state will have 47 new mobile base stations deployed as part of the government’s Mobile Black Spot program, and the government has committed $18.5 million towards improving fixed line connectivity in the state through a mix of nbn fixed and fixed wireless technologies.

Meanwhile, the Tasmanian Government has itself partnered with Optus to augment mobile coverage along Tasmania’s Great Eastern Drive between Binalong Bay and Buckland.

The project will have a total investment of more than $11 million, with the state government investing $3.4 million of this total.

The project will see 15 new mobile base stations constructed along the highway, bringing quality mobile coverage to more than 96% of the road.

The government has made providing the ability for rival operators to co-locate at the new mobile sites a condition of Optus winning the tender.

Construction under the joint project is expected to commence in 2021.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Juan Aunión