By Parker McKenzie
The Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley have received a huge boost to telecommunications infrastructure through Connecting Victoria, with more than 20 new mobile towers announced throughout the hills.
The $255 million project will see two mobile towers built in each of Cockatoo, Selby, Tremont and Mount Dandenong and one mobile tower in each of Avonsleigh, Clematis, Menzies Creek, Belgrave South, Belgrave, Tecoma, Upwey, Ferntree Gully, Boronia, Kalorama, Olinda and Monbulk.
Dr Peter Brennan, who has advocated for telecommunications resilience in the hills and previously worked with Connecting Victoria to identify mobile black spots, said the announced mobile towers would help alleviate issues plaguing the area.
“It’s a triad of approaches, there are three things that need to be done and are in a sense connected necessities: our telecommunications, internet/NBN and the stability of the electricity supply,” he said.
“This is a big step forward for the telecommunications coverage; it may not be 100 per cent coverage but let’s hope it will get a lot better.”
Loss of power to mobile base stations and pre-existing mobile black spots were highlighted as two key vulnerabilities during the 2019-2020 bushfires by an independent review of telecommunications infrastructure resilience by the Inspector General for Emergency Management, while the June 2021 storm weather event created the largest power outage in Victorian history, with 3000 people in the Dandenong Ranges losing power for three weeks according to a report by Emergency Management Victoria.
Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford said the investment will help local businesses create the jobs and industries of the future.
“This massive program will make Victoria the best-connected state,” she said.
“Over two million households will have faster speeds for healthcare, school, work and staying in touch with loved ones.”
The Victorian government plans to build 309 new mobile towers, upgrade 492 existing towers to 5G, adapt 170 towers to be used by multiple telco providers and make 137 towers more resilient during natural disasters by 2026 by working with telecommunication companies Axicom, ENE.HUB, Optus, Telstra and TPG Telecom.
Dr Brennan said he was first approached by businesses in early 2021 about the internet and mobile issues in the Dandenong Ranges.
“Restaurants that can’t take bookings because people couldn’t get through, local pharmacists who couldn’t call out and couldn’t get people calling in, just shop owners who can’t process things because the card machines wouldn’t work without connectivity,” he said.
“If it saves one life, then I will count it as a success. We won’t know whether it’s saved one or 1000 lives for years.
It creates new business opportunities for the writers, the artists, the editors and all those people that work up in the hills who like that creative retreat side of working.”
Monbulk MP James Merlino said the investment will help more Monbulk businesses succeed and the local community thrive.
“Locals in Monbulk deserve to have reliable mobile coverage, which the Victorian Government is delivering. It helps connect residents, support businesses and attract tourists, allowing local economies to thrive,” he said.
“This will be a game-changer for many people in Monbulk, supporting the area’s growth by ensuring everyone can access mobile connectivity that is on par with what’s on offer in Melbourne’s CBD.”
For more information, visit djpr.vic.gov.au/connecting-victoria
