General News
25 July, 2022
Telcos failing to provide service, report finds
A new report into complaints about mobile service providers has found telcos are failing to provide adequate coverage and during emergencies, lost all communications. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert last week released the...
A new report into complaints about mobile service providers has found telcos are failing to provide adequate coverage and during emergencies, lost all communications.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert last week released the ‘Investigating complaintsabout essential mobile services' report, which shows the ombudsman’s office received over 63,000 complaints between July 2020 and March 2022.
Among the top complaints received were poor mobile coverage and no phone or internet service, with the report also highlighting issues around mobile service during natural disasters.
“Consumers who reported losing access to landline and internet services when their home lost power said mobile access was critical to receive emergency alerts and update family members about their movements,” Ms Gebert said.
“Local responders also told us they needed their mobile service to receive updates about where they needed to be to help.
“During our community outreach events, consumers living in rural areas told us there were extensive delays restoring their mobile service following a natural disaster.
“Some consumers said that even after these delays, their service was less reliable than before the disaster.”
Limited or poor mobile service is a story all too common for Lexton residents, who have worked with poor phone and internet service for years.
Just three years ago in 2019, the town was rocked by two major emergency incidents — when a bus carrying specialist students and staff collided with a tractor and the Lexton-Ben Major fire which burned through almost 3000 hectares, destroying farm, bushland and livestock while coming within kilometres of Lexton itself.
Emergency services working to control the blaze were forced to rely on landline phones to communicate due to the lack of mobile coverage, with residents unable to get updates on how far away the fire was or if they needed to evacuate.
Lifetime Lexton Fire Brigade member and Captain at the time of the incidents, Steve Wheeler said mobile service in the area had been the same for years.
“We’ve had boosters installed at home which does help with signal in the house most of the time but if you walk 30 metres away, you drop out,” he said.
“It’s been like this for years unfortunately, you should be able to make a phone call and they (telecommunications companies) should be able to make sure we’re connected.”
In 2016, three years prior to the incidents, an Optus tower had been promised under the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program.
In 2020 the Optus tower was switched on in the town, as well as a Telstra mobile small cell site providing signal around the centre of town.
Despite the changes, Mr Wheeler said he still can’t get service at home, despite living just three kilometres outside of Lexton.
“It probably has improved in the town since the fire but I’m only 3 km out of town and I still have no service,” he said.
“I don’t exactly know what you can do to fix it at this point, they’ve put in the Optus tower in Lexton and that’s working but it doesn’t reach my place.
“We actually bought an Optus phone just to see what it did and there was no difference for us, we still got no service.
“There are a lot of people who have changed from Telstra to Optus since the tower has gone up, but there are still plenty of people using Telstra and the tower doesn’t help them out.”
Central Goldfields Shire Council, residents and business owners have also previously spoken out about challenges in mobile service in the area, including in the centre of Maryborough’s largest housing development, Whirrakee Rise.
Member for Mallee Anne Webster said the ombudsman’s report confirmed issues faced by residents and that the Federal Government and telco companies needed to come to the table.
“Improving telecommunications will only come about when both government and the telcos come to the table with a genuine appetite to fix these issues,” she said.
“In my parliamentary maiden speech, I promised Mallee constituents that I would fight for more funding to alleviate these difficulties.
“In response to the 2021 Regional Telecommunications Review, I actively advocated for the coalition's $1.3 billion investment in rural connectivity which was budgeted in March this year.
“I’ve also supported bills that seek to hold telecommunication companies and their executives accountable for their poor coverage.
“I will continue to fight for this funding to be implemented. Labor talk a big game. They need to prove their commitment to regional communities.”