Government to provide $12 million for improved Wi-Fi and mobile coverage across train lines

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 10 May 2017

As part of the 2017 budget, the Federal Government has announced that it will provide $12 million in funding to improve connectivity across train lines in New South Wales.

"This program will establish mobile and internet connectivity along the train route between Hornsby and Wyong," said the government in a budget paper.

The 70km or so stretch of train line is rife with blackspots, which result in constant connectivity dropouts for travellers journeying between Sydney and the Central Coast. Approximately 30,000 Central Coast residents make the long distance commute each day.

The government will provide $5 million toward the project in 2017-18, another $5 million in 2018-19, and a final $2 million in 2019-20. The NSW Government is expected to make an additional $4 million investment to the project.

As with the mobile black spot program, there will be an expression of interest for mobile network providers to bid for the funding. When finished, commuters should have continuous mobile coverage across the Central Coast-to-Sydney stretch, and access to Wi-Fi at each train station.

In other tech related budget news, the government allocated to $7 million to the ACCC for its Broadband Performance Monitoring and Reporting program, a scheme designed to make it easier to find out what speeds fixed-line NBN providers actual deliver

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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