By Kath Gannaway
The provision of better mobile phone services to East Warburton, with a long-awaited mobile tower erected in July, has fallen dismally short according to some residents of East Warburton.
Pat Ingram and Ursula Palamountain are two residents who have contacted the Mail to voice their disappointment and frustration with the service following years of anticipation that a new tower would provide increased capacity and a reliable signal.
They are calling for a public meeting with Telstra representatives on site to hear their concerns first-hand and come up with solutions ahead of the 2018-19 fire season.
Telstra however says it’s the best they can do under the circumstances and have rejected a call for a public meeting saying given the amount of consultation that took place during the site selection processes, they do not believe another public meeting is the best way forward.
Casey MP Tony Smith agreed that East Warburton has the best solution available.
Mr Smith, who advocated strongly for the tower told the Mail that while he understands it is disappointing for those without coverage, East Warburton now has a footprint of coverage that people can be certain about.
“The new tower has delivered coverage to a large number of residents, but no tower in that type of location can ever deliver universal coverage,” he said.
The tower, funded under the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program, was installed in mid-July after a frustrating search for an available, suitable location.
The Mail reported then that some residents reported an improvement to their mobile service, but according to Ms Ingram and Ms Papamountain, there are many instances where there is still no service or the service is worse than before.
They say they are also frustrated with the lack of response from Telstra who they say are offering no solutions.
The tower was first mooted more than five years ago after the Black Saturday bushfires and following a public meeting attended by more than 200 people demanding mobile phone connection.
Ms Ingram said she despite buying a G4 Telstra mobile she still has to drive several kilometres down the road to get a signal.
She said the tower has been hit and miss with households in some area which previously had no signal now had a signal, but that others had lost what little signal they had and that wifi was not reliable either.
“You have people saying they get one or two bars at the bus stop, but I don’t get any there.”
“We pay the same money as people in the city, and we have a $750,000 tower, but still can’t get reception.”
Ms Palamountain said their mobile function is worse since the tower went in.
“We had so many problems with Telstra we ended up going with Optus. The home phone improved and had some mobile function via wifi but since the tower went in it’s made everything worse.
“It seems it’s now interfering with the wifi. We can get the occasional text message, but can’t make a call.”
She said there were questions that need to be answered about where the tower was erected and whether it was a compromise location just to get the job done.
A Telstra spokesperson responded to questions about location saying “The site the tower is located on is the best option available taking into consideration factors such as environmental assessments, lease negotiations, community concerns and the required coverage metrics and is performing in line with its specifications.”
Mr Smith told the Mail “Telstra worked to obtain the best available site with the widest possible coverage, based on expert advice and the programme guidelines.”
