Mobile Network Hardening Program Round 3—Project Noticeboard

Christmas Island as part of the Indian Ocean Territories falls under the federal seat of Lingiari. On behalf of the Christmas Island Shire, the community and as their local Federal MP I would like to nominate this location as part of the Mobile Network Hardening Program Round 3. The improvement of blackspot mobile services is important for safety given their location, experiences of extreme weather and limited access from the mainland. Currently I am advised that there is only 2G network, with 4G being activated but not for approx. 6 months.

Cocos (Keeling) Islands as part of the Indian Ocean Territories are part of the Federal Seat of Lingiari of which I am the local MP. On behalf of The Shire of Cocos Island and the community I would like to nominate this location as part of the Mobile Network Hardening Program Round 3. The Cocos Keeling Islands have no mobile phone network. I have been advised that this in part is due to a sole mobile phone tower damage which has not yet been replaced. This is an area that can be cut off from the mainland due to extreme weather including medivac operations being held up due to high winds.

Mobile network coverage needs improving significantly along the Forsayth to Einasleigh road &/or the Georgetown to Mt Surprise section of the Gulf Development road in the Etheridge Shire. These two areas have a history of being impacted and closed by bushfire activity and flash flooding in both normal & severe weather events. Many locations along these sections (67km & 92km) of regional road/highway don’t have mobile coverage, and this exacerbates the significant risk of natural disasters on lives of residents and visitors. The current bushfire event that started inside Einasleigh township and has come within 3km of Forsayth with a front heading north through the Newcastle Range towards the GDR has underscored the seriousness of this submission.

Each location is prone to natural disasters, typically due to flooding, however bushfires pose a significant risk. These rural townships have very limited service/coverage, poor mobile reception affects daily communications, reliable mobile connectivity is critical for emergency services. The recent Dirranbandi fires 5-6 November 2024, highlighted the issue with an extended power outage, loss of communications resulting in evacuation of the town. Generators/solar options would improve the resilience of our small rural communities ensuring that our emergency services and communities have reliable mobile reception when it is needed the most.

The Western Downs experiences frequent and recurring significant natural disasters including flooding and bushfires. Many residents live in remote towns and become isolated during these events. Access to reliable communication is critical during these events, both for residents and emergency services workers.

Existing mobile coverage in the remote regional towns is lacking, and has been noted to suffer due to power loss during significant events. Improvements to generator and battery backups for towers in the towns of Miles / Dulacca, Chinchilla and Tara would improve the safety of residents, emergency services and would assist recovery efforts after these events.

Mobile network coverage needs improving significantly in Burdekin Shire which has a history of being impacted by cyclones and flooding from the Burdekin and Haughton Rivers. Poor mobile coverage exacerbates the significant risk from natural disasters on lives of residents and visitors. The Bruce Highway runs directly through the Shire and travellers are often stranded in the district for extended periods due to flooding of the highway in numerous locations. Mobile network coverage needs upgrading to help ensure safety especially during and after natural disasters and severe weather events including cyclones, heavy rain events and floods. During disasters, reliable communication through mobile networks and radio is crucial for maintaining robust connections within and between our communities. Proactive warnings and support before, during and after disaster events are paramount. Connectivity is often poor, highlighting the importance of enhancing existing infrastructure and developing more robust systems to better serve the Burdekin community. A recent survey provided Council with valuable information on areas of most concern, however there are also further known troublesome areas in addition to locations identified in the survey. Further information can be provided if successful in the next stage of application.

Mobile network coverage needs improving significantly along the Forsayth to Einasleigh road in Etheridge Shire &/or the Georgetown to Mt Surprise section of the Gulf Development road. These two areas have a history of being impacted and closed by bushfire activity and flash flooding in both normal & severe weather events. Many locations along these sections (67km & 92km) of regional road/highway don’t have mobile coverage, and this exacerbates the significant risk of natural disasters or traffic accidents on lives of residents and visitors. The current bushfire event that started on the 6/11/24 inside Einasleigh township and came within 3km of Forsayth with a front that headed north through the Newcastle Range towards the GDR before being stopped via the combined efforts of many local landholders, machinery contractors, shire council and RFES personnel and aerial assets from around Northern Qld has underscored the seriousness of this submission.

Suburbs in Redland such as Mt Cotton and Sheldon, as well as many of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, are at risk of bushfires over the summer. In these suburbs, homes and businesses have reported major problems with service, and the threat of not having phone service in a natural disaster is a worrying one.

Mr Pike's office had heard from countless locals who are worried about this possibility as summer approaches.

Mr Pike invites further investment in the region so that people living in the suburbs can be prepared and have access to the information they need when the worst happens.

Millmerran Downs and surrounding localities experience high frequency bushfire events. The localities are serviced by one telecommunications tower that regularly loses power supply in bushfires. The tower is critical for disseminating Emergency Alerts to at-risk residents and visitors and enables remote activation of the Community Alert Siren. Recently in 2023 the community was evacuated twice and the bushfire response duration was greater than 24hrs, exceeding the backup power supply. Hardening of the network in this area will greatly enhance the resilience and safety of the surrounding community and frontline emergency services.

The Gold Coast has a significant natural disaster threat profile of severe weather, cyclone, flood, tsunami, fire and cyber/hostile act. The Gold Coast population is greater than 660,000 people with majority of new housing development occurring in the Peri-Urban area. In December 2023 severe weather event which impacted large parts of the Gold Coast with residents without power or access to telecommunication for up to 9 days.

The project will install resilience upgrades to mitigate isolation and better prepare the community for natural disasters. Part of the project will supply portable Starlink services to areas prone to isolation.

There is a real need for increased power resilience to ensure network reliability and prevent outages during the summer storm season. This will have a positive health and safety impact on areas as wide as Baralaba, Woorabinda, Duaringa, Dingo and Comet.

There is a real need for increased power resilience to ensure network reliability and prevent outages during the summer storm season. This will have a positive health and safety impact on areas as wide as Anakie, Lochington and the Gemfields.

The Flinders Ranges Council, in support of the Hawker Community Development Board (HCDB), wish to strongly express our concern regarding telecommunications unreliability in the event of power failures in our town and surrounding region. Two recent power outages, one planned, (Sunday 15/9/24) and a prolonged outage as a result of severe winds and a thunderstorm causing damage to infrastructure, (Thursday 17/10/24 to Monday 21/10/24), highlighted serious weaknesses in the existing infrastructure for Telstra and Optus in Hawker South Australia. We believe these shortcomings need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Beetaloo Valley is in the Southern Flinders and has 75 residents and numerous visitors as it abuts a National Park and has a reservoir open to recreational fishing. There is virtually no mobile reception except weak signal at higher points. Beetaloo Valley supports a large area of diverse vegetation communities in relatively intact state and includes a significant area of grassy woodland. In 2014 Beetaloo Valley was affected by the Bangor Fire and many houses were threatened. Due to its heavily wooded status, the fire risk in Beetaloo is a constant threat and the lack of mobile communication very concerning.

Natural disaster risk—bushfire

Netherton and Tauragat Well localities are located 170km south east of Adelaide. These locations are very close to Ngarkat and Carcuma Conservation Parks and numerous Heritage Agreements (native vegetation).

These localities are typified by dryland farming—a combination of livestock and cropping enterprises.

Netherton was severely impacted by a bushfire in November 2020. The Yumali-Netherton fire burnt approximately 5,000 hectares of crops, grass, and scrub, impacting 14 farm businesses and claiming machinery, shedding, livestock, hay and hundreds of kilometres of fencing. This fire caused multiple burns injuries.

Murchison and surrounds constantly has issues with phone and internet coverage and this needs a significant upgrade. Residents and community experience poor connectivity during peak visitation periods, particularly on weekends and school holidays. Local businesses regularly lose connectivity to their Eftpos machines and locals and visitors are unable to use their phones or internet. Existing mobile coverage is lacking which is exacerbated by natural disasters such as flooding and storms that could greatly impact the safety of the residents and visitors in town if they are unable to access information via the phone or internet. 

These initiatives have been identified by Community Recovery Committees in Bunbartha and Murchison’s who are working to develop a Community Emergency Management Plan.

Telecommunications towers are critical pieces of infrastructure that allow communities to connect to work, education, friends and family, and perhaps most critically, emergency information.

At present, telecommunications services are not reliable in many parts of the Yarra Ranges, with significant sections of land receiving ‘unusable’ service coverage, including Kalorama. The lack of coverage poses a particular danger to the approximately 1,200 residents of this area which is particularly prone to bushfires. A lack of mobile coverage in an environmental disaster could lead to a loss of life.

When mobile towers lose power during an outage (which in this region, often occurs due to a storm or bushfire), residents have no way of communicating with each other or emergency services. Mobile Network Operators send technicians to affected towers, but the restoration process can take days.

Hardening the Kalorama mobile tower would dramatically improve the safety of the community during a disaster, allowing residents to have access to mobile coverage while waiting for power to be restored. It would also ensure businesses don’t miss out on sales due to their EFTPOS services no longer working – this happened during the Kalorama Chestnut Festival in 2024 and was covered by local news.

Telecommunications towers are critical pieces of infrastructure that allow communities to connect to work, education, friends and family, and perhaps most critically, emergency information.

At present, telecommunications services are not reliable in many parts of the Yarra Ranges, with significant sections of land receiving ‘unusable’ service coverage, including Silvan. The lack of coverage poses a particular danger to the approximately 1,300 residents of this area which is particularly prone to bushfires. A lack of mobile coverage in an environmental disaster could lead to a loss of life.

Another safety issue that arises is from Silvan’s status as a key agriculture area, as coverage is required to ensure occupational safety. Additionally, without adequate coverage, smart farming technologies cannot be utilised, stymying business innovation in the region.

When mobile towers lose power during an outage (which in this region, often occurs due to a storm or bushfire), residents have no way of communicating with each other or emergency services. Mobile Network Operators send technicians to affected towers, but the restoration process can take days. Hardening the Silvan mobile tower would dramatically improve the safety of the community during a disaster, allowing residents to have access to mobile coverage while waiting for power to be restored.

Telecommunications towers are critical pieces of infrastructure that allow communities to connect to work, education, friends and family, and perhaps most critically, emergency information.

At present, telecommunications services are not reliable in many parts of the Yarra Ranges, with significant sections of land receiving ‘unusable’ service coverage, including Belgrave. The lack of coverage poses a particular danger to the approximately 3,900 residents of this area which is particularly prone to bushfires. A lack of mobile coverage in an environmental disaster could lead to a loss of life.

When mobile towers lose power during an outage (which in this region, often occurs due to a storm or bushfire), residents have no way of communicating with each other or emergency services. Mobile Network Operators send technicians to affected towers, but the restoration process can take days. Hardening the Belgrave mobile tower would dramatically improve the safety of the community during a disaster, allowing residents to have access to mobile coverage while waiting for power to be restored.

Donnybrook, Kalkallo, Beveridge Peri-Urban Mobile Network Upgrade

Objective: Enhance mobile network coverage and resilience in the peri-urban areas of Whittlesea.

Peri-urban areas of Donnybrook, Kalkallo, Beveridge face connectivity issues, especially during natural disasters like the Donnybrook Rd Fire. Donnybrook like Kalkallo and Beveridge are now a fast-growing suburb in Melbourne Urban Growth boundary. The area is still susceptible to quick moving grass fires. In 2015 during such a fire there was a loss of communications and chaos with people trying to get home to family and others trying to leave the area with no way to communicate it put more pressure on emergency services. The existing infrastructure is insufficient to support the growing population and emergency needs. Reliable mobile coverage in peri-urban areas is vital.

There is a need for more towers right across these growing areas, install new mobile towers and upgrade existing ones to improve coverage and resilience.

By addressing these issues, the electorate of McEwen can significantly improve its mobile network resilience and coverage, ensuring better preparedness and response during natural disasters.