Telstra will be upgrading its mobile base station at Bairnsdale by adding additional infrastructure to bring better 4G and 5G services, as well as expanding coverage to more parts of the region.
The works will however require some temporary outages or reduction in mobile coverage.
These improvements will temporarily impact Telstra mobile coverage at various times until March 8.
Telstra mobile customers have been sent text messages advising of the upcoming work.
Landline services, NBN internet services and mobile coverage from other providers will not be impacted. Any calls to Triple Zero from a Telstra mobile when the site is off air will automatically be diverted to any working mobile network for connection to emergency services.
Telstra regional general manager, Jenny Gray, said while crews need to work during daylight for safety, we’ll only be switching off the site when we need to and will have it back on as quickly as possible.
“The works will be delivering new and improved mobile coverage to Bairnsdale and the surrounding area, providing faster speeds and higher capacity to more parts of the region,” Ms Gray said.
“Customers may notice slower data speeds during the works. We have other mobile sites in the area that will deliver some overlapping coverage in the area.
“There’s never a good time to undertake this sort of work but recent events have highlighted the importance of connectivity in rural and regional communities. and this will mean better mobile services for local residents.
“As a company, we heavily invest in improving regional connectivity. Over the past seven years to the end of FY23, Telstra invested $11 billion in our mobile network nationally, with $4 billion of this invested in our regional mobile network.”
For mobile coverage in the interim, if residents have access to a Wi-Fi signal at home or at work, Telstra encourages residents to activate Wi-Fi calling. This is a free setting on most popular mobile phones and allows your mobile to use a Wi-Fi network to make and receive mobile calls. To find out more they can google Telstra WIFI calling or search in your settings icon on your phone.
