SOMERVILLE residents and business owners have been left disappointed yet again after its bid for federal government funding to help improve mobile phone coverage in the area was rejected.
Despite their persistent fight for better connectivity, particularly in the east Somerville area for the past ten years, the federal government did not include the suburb in its second round of funding through the peri-urban mobile program.
Funding of $40.9 million was allocated to the program which aims to improve mobile connectivity in bushfire and other natural disaster-prone areas.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced on October 3 that the program had approved 47 mobile tower infrastructure projects across the country – however Somerville was notably absent. Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie, who has been advocating to seek much-needed funding to address the mobile black spot, expressed her disappointment. “Despite long standing issues with connectivity in Somerville, the Albanese Government has failed to allocate a single dollar to addressing the lack of reception in the area,” she said. “With residents unable to access internet banking, phone calls dropping out multiple times in a single call, and employees unable to work from home, the lack of reception in Somerville is profoundly affecting the lives of the 18,000 residents. “I have met with all the major Telcos and written to the Minister for Communications, asking them to address the lack of reception in Somerville.”
Somerville Business Group secretary David Livingstone said it was a huge blow for the community. “Small businesses in Somerville, many of which operate from home, are suffering from the dire lack of reception,” he said. Mr Livingstone said mobile phone reception was “extremely poor” in southeast Somerville, extending south of Eramosa Rd East and east of Jones Rd, down to Western Port Bay. “It’s been an ongoing issue for ten years,” he said, adding he would not give up in seeking better mobile phone coverage to help small businesses.
As reported last month in The News, residents said a lack of a reliable service was more than just an inconvenience; it also posed a safety risk if people had difficulty contacting emergency services (Stranded … Somerville residents face mobile phone woes, The News 25/09/24).
In the latest round of government funding, Ms McKenzie observed that of the 16 sites in Victoria granted approval, more than 80 per cent, fell within Labor-held seats. “This compares to round one of the program which came out in 2022 under the previous Coalition Government, and included multiple sites on the Peninsula, in Rosebud, Rye, Merricks, Mt Martha, Main Ridge, Tuerong, Tootgarook, Sorrento, and St Andrews Beach.” The second round of funding did not include any sites along the Mornington Peninsula. The closest sites approved funding were Pearcedale south and Tooradin north west.
In September, Telstra told The News that it was aware of some indoor coverage challenges in some parts of Somerville. A Telstra spokesperson said in a statement that it was committed to building a new site in southeast Somerville “to uplift coverage in the area and have a project underway to locate the land required to build a new mobile site”. The statement added there were “some differences in coverage for mobile virtual network operators, which use the Telstra wholesale network, and the main Telstra network”. “The coverage you receive on these networks depends on your location, the specifications or the capabilities of the mobile device you’re using and how you are using it,” it said.
Optus confirmed two new mobile sites were being planned to go online next year to provide further connectivity with one next to Bungower Rd. An existing Optus phone tower is located near Eramosa Rd East and Lower Somerville Rd. A proposed 35-metre mobile phone tower in Webbs Lane, Somerville, was rejected in the past year after it was vehemently opposed by residents who did not want it on green wedge land, as well as citing visual and health impacts.
First published in the Mornington News – 22 October 2024
