Telstra invests $160 million in Victorian mobile network

Telstra has announced that it will invest more than $160 million in 600 mobile network projects across Victoria over the remainder of this financial year.

The company says the effort will help eliminate mobile black spots, as well as improve data speeds and capacity.

More than half of the investment will be focused on regional areas, with $11 million alone for 26 mobile network projects in the Bendigo region.

Speaking in Ballarat, Telstra Chief Executive Officer Andy Penn said the company will spend more than $20 million to complete 74 mobile network projects in and around Ballarat and South West and Western Victoria.

“As people are increasingly using mobile-connected devices for business and personal use, it’s more important than ever we bring the best possible network experience we can to regional areas,” he said.

Telstra has so far installed 128 mobile base stations in Victoria as part of the federal government’s Mobile Black Spot Program, with 22 more to come in the next few months.

“The Mobile Black Spot Program demonstrates what can happen when business co-invests with communities and governments to expand coverage areas where it may otherwise be uneconomical,” Penn said.

“Nationally we have constructed more than 530 of over 650 mobile base stations committed.”

Telstra already has 2300 mobile network base stations in Victoria, covering 99.9% of the state’s population.

In August last year, Telstra announced it had started switching on 5G technology, with Penn saying the company now has “more than 200 5G-enabled sites in all major cities and some regional centres across the country — the first provider to do so”.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/R. Roth

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