Rosewood RFS captain Bruce Hawkins raises safety concerns over communication disconnect after telco tower launch

Last week Optus announced a new tower is now up and running at Rosewood as part of the federal government's black spot program.

While the tower will provide better coverage to 171 premises in the local area, spanning over 97 square kilometres, Rosewood RFS captain Bruce Hawkins has raised concerns that it will not be of much help to his brigade.

"It was sort of disappointing to find out Telstra users don't get to use the tower, because [that means] they only get to use it in the event of an emergency call," Captain Hawkins said.

He said the RFS vehicles rely on the Telstra network and that he had understood Telstra customers would be granted access to the new tower, however that has not eventuated.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"The trucks can't run off the new Optus tower," he said.

"As a captain it's frustrating because the new tower should have covered a vast area [for us]."

Communication problems were exacerbated in the region during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/2020.

The NSW Bushfire Inquiry report released in August 2020 outlined improved telecommunications during bushfire emergencies among its key recommendations.

Captain Hawkins said the biggest problem when those fires tore through was the lack of communication in the area.

"I feel a bit let down by how things have turned out. It costs a lot of money to outlay this tower," he said.

Despite this, he still agrees the tower is a "good thing" for the community.

"It's just disappointing how it turned out," he said.

Snowy Valleys mayor Ian Chaffey welcomed the tower, but also raised concerns.

"I think it's great that Rosewood citizens [now] have access to a good mobile network," Cr Chaffey said.

But the long-time resident of nearby Tumbarumba also raised concerns about the fact Telstra users won't have access to the network.

"While it's fine to have Optus coming in and providing service at Rosewood, it means if you want to have good coverage there, you need to subscribe to that service," Cr Chaffey said.

"But if you want to have coverage in the southern part of the Snowy Valleys, for instance, you need to be a Telstra subscriber."

The mayor instead believes there needs to be a major overhaul of mobile communication infrastructure and how it is managed.

"We should have one network provider which builds the mobile phone [network] and then the option to take your pick about which service provider you want," Cr Chaffey said.

"That way, you have mobile coverage no matter where you go."

Optus North Victoria territory general manager Matt Connell said the "much-needed" tower would provide the local community with greater mobile competition and choice.

Responding to concerns about Telstra coverage at Rosewood, the telco's regional general manager Chris Taylor said the company already provides 4G and 3G coverage in and around the community and are planning to install another cell in nearby Carabost.

Mr Taylor said in some cases mobile coverage in the home or vehicle can be increased by fitting an external aerial or a phone booster.

The Rosewood project was jointly funded by Optus and the federal government, which has committed $380 million to the program to invest in telecommunications infrastructure to improve mobile coverage and competition across Australia.

The program is supported by co-contributions from state and local governments, mobile network operators, businesses, and local communities.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: