Lib-Nats pledge boost to mobile coverage

REGIONAL and rural people with unreliable mobile phone and broadband coverage could become eligible for a support rebate if a Liberal-National State government is elected in November.

Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Regional Victoria Peter Walsh has pledged a subsidy which would be offered to those with poor signal to cover the installation of mobile boosters at home, in their vehicles, and at their business.

“Parts of regional Victoria has put up with second-class mobile coverage for too long, and more towers isn’t the only way to help solve this problem,” he said.

“We need innovative technology to deliver better coverage to country communities who rely on mobile services for everything from business to keeping in touch with their loved ones.

“It’s particularly important for smaller rural communities where we’ve seen banks and government services move to online-only. It leaves people who can’t get a signal behind.”

This rebate program comes under a $150 million Connecting Country Communities program which Mr Walsh said would also fund mobile tower strengthening works aiming to boost and secure coverage in preparation for the event of emergencies.

“Recently we saw Victorian communities left without mobile coverage in the Black Summer bushfires and the storms in June and October last year. This program will work to make the state’s mobile coverage more resilient,” he said.

“Regional Victorians have been short-changed through Labor’s Connecting Victoria program, with 28 of 88 current programs being within metropolitan Melbourne.”