{"id":4091,"date":"2019-11-01T22:25:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T22:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2019-11-01T22:25:58","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T22:25:58","slug":"mobile-black-spot-program-hits-750-base-stations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/11\/01\/mobile-black-spot-program-hits-750-base-stations\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Black Spot Program hits 750 base stations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mobile coverage continues to expand across regional Australia thanks to the Coalition Government\u2019s $380 million Mobile Black Spot Program, with 750 mobile base stations now providing connectivity to regional and rural Australian communities.
\nDeputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Liberal and Nationals Government is delivering more reliable services for regional communities though improved network infrastructure.
\n\u201cRegional communities rely on high quality mobile services to conduct their businesses and better connect with loved ones and this program is ensuring more people have efficient mobile phone access,\u201d Mr McCormack said.
\n\u201cPrograms such as this make a real difference for families, businesses and emergency services, living and working in remote communities have better connectivity where and when they need.\u201d
\nMinister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, and Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government, the Hon Mark Coulton MP, and Member for Mallee, Dr Anne Webster MP, today welcomed the milestone under the highly successful Program.
\nMinister Fletcher said more than 70 per cent of the 1047 base stations funded through the first four rounds of the Program are now complete, reflecting the Government\u2019s unwavering commitment to providing reliable connectivity in the regions.
\n\u201cThanks to our significant investment, people living, working and travelling in Nullawil in the Mallee \u2013 the location of our 750th<\/sup>\u00a0base station \u2013 will now have better mobile coverage. This is great news for local grain farmers and their families who can enjoy the benefits of improved mobile coverage,\u201d Minister Fletcher said.
\nMinister Coulton said the Mobile Black Spot Program is an example of what can be achieved when the mobile industry, state and local governments, local businesses and communities work together.
\n\u201cEach new mobile tower is connecting regional communities to online services, increasing productivity and generating economic growth, which is why we are continuing to invest in additional program rounds,\u201d Minister Coulton said.
\n\u201cCommunities across Mallee continue to benefit from the Federal Government\u2019s Mobile Blackspot Program, enabling them to connect to family, friends and markets more reliably than ever before,\u201d said Dr Webster.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s great that the people of Nullawil now have access to better mobile coverage, and I look forward to the continuing roll out of the project across Mallee.\u201d
\nUnder the first four rounds of the program, the Government\u2019s commitment has generated a total investment of more than $760 million in new mobile telecommunications infrastructure, with an additional $160 million in new Commonwealth funding for a fifth and sixth round of the program announced earlier this year.
\nThe application process for the Round 5 closed on 26 September 2019, with the outcomes of this process expected to be announced in early 2020.
\nFor more information about the program visit:\u00a0www.communications.gov.au\/mbsp<\/a>
\nQuotes attributable to Nikos Katinakis, Group Executive, Networks & IT, Telstra<\/strong>
\n\u201cReaching 750 sites in the Federal Government\u2019s Mobile Black Spot Program is a fantastic achievement, and a huge milestone in bringing connectivity to regional Australia.\u201d
\n\u201cUnder the Program Telstra has delivered connectivity stretching from Monkey Mia in Western Australia to Weipa in the Queensland Cape York Peninsula which has added another 185,000 square kilometres of new coverage to Australian communities.\u201d
\n\u201cTelstra has a long and proud history of investing in regional Australia \u2013 which includes more than $280 million dollars as part of the Program by the time Round Four of the program is complete.\u201d
\nQuotes attributable to Andrew Sheridan, Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs, Optus<\/strong>
\n“Optus is a strong supporter of the Commonwealth’s Mobile Black Spot Program, which is bringing coverage and competition to regional Australia, in many places for the first time.”
\n“We congratulate the Government on the success of the program and look forward to working closely together in current and future rounds to meet the needs of all regional Australians.”
\nQuote attributable to Kevin Millroy, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone<\/strong>
\n\u201cWe\u2019re pleased to be working as part of the Federal Government\u2019s Mobile Black Spot Program to deliver new mobile sites for communities in regional and remote areas.\u201d
\n\u201cTo date, Vodafone has delivered approximately 36,600 square kilometres of new external coverage to our customers; extended 4G services to more than 16,000 additional homes; and added more than 1,400 kilometres of 4G connectivity along major transport routes across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mobile coverage continues to expand across regional Australia thanks to the Coalition Government\u2019s $380 million Mobile Black Spot Program, with 750 mobile base stations now providing connectivity to regional and rural Australian communities. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Liberal and Nationals Government is delivering more … Continue reading “Mobile Black Spot Program hits 750 base stations”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}