Telstra to build big in the bush

Telstra will put government money to work with plans to build 429 new mobile sites across regional Australia.

Like Vodafone, Telstra has received funding through the government’s Mobile Black Spot Programme to build new infrastructure in regional areas in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia.

Telstra will add $165 million to $94 million in government funding for the project, which aims to build the 429 3G/4G towers across the country. In addition to this, Telstra says it will also install 250 4G-only small cells to existing base stations in small towns where compatible equipment already exists.

If you want to check if your town is included, Telstra has a full list of towns where it intends to build new towers on its Exchange blog.

The Mobile Black Spot Programme is a government initiative, set in motion in 2013, which is designed to identify regional areas needing an improvement in mobile coverage. The programme has identified 6,000 regional locations and has now allocated the funding necessary to start making a difference.

Vodafone also secured federal funding, and will add $20 million of its own money to build 70 new mobile base stations. In total, 499 new sties will be constructed as part of Round 1 of the Programme.

Cell phone tower image via Shutterstock.

Joseph Hanlon

Editorial Director | X | LinkedIn

Joe Hanlon has been immersed in mobile phones, plans and the internet for over a decade, having written for publications like CNET, Techradar, Gizmodo and Lifehacker. He steers the editorial ship and makes sure that we are always serving up the most useful guides and recommendations. If you ever bump into Joe on the street, don't be afraid to ask for a phone recommendation. It's embarrassing how much he enjoys talking about this stuff. He also loves listening to podcasts, so feel free to email Joe with recommendations.

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