A re-elected Turnbull Government will deliver coverage to more mobile black spots across Australia as part of an additional $60 million commitment to extend the successful Mobile Black Spot Programme, Member for Farrer, Sussan Ley MP announced today.
“More new mobile base stations will bring a much-needed boost to mobile coverage, providing benefits to emergency service operators, businesses, and residents,” Ms Ley said.
“The Turnbull Government understands the importance of mobile coverage in regional and remote areas of Australia. That is why we are committing an additional $60 million on top of the $160 million already invested in mobile black spots, bringing the Coalition’s total investment to $220 million.
“The active cooperation of mobile network operators in the Mobile Black Spot Programme has been strong, with 499 new or upgraded base stations covering around 3,000 black spots nation-wide already being rolled out under the Coalition Government.
“Following the success of the initial $100 million investment, another $60 million funding round is already under way, with successful locations to be announced by the end of 2016. This means there are further opportunities to improve mobile coverage in Farrer.
“The previous Labor government did not spend one dollar on fixing mobile black spots in regional and remote Australia.
“The Coalition’s $220 million plan to address mobile black spots will ensure regional and remote communities have access to wider and more reliable mobile phone coverage.
“This is another example of the Coalition’s commitment to drive investment as part of our national economic plan for jobs and growth.”