April 8, 2014

A Telstra spokesperson confirmed today the company was aware of ongoing issues with mobile phone coverage in Kingaroy.

“We are aware of episodic interference in the Kingaroy area and are currently investigating the cause,” media relations spokesperson Jenni Barbour said.

“At this stage, as the interference is only present on rare occasions, we have not been able to identify the source of the interference and we are continuing to monitor the situation.”

This is the second time this year that southburnett.com.au has approached Telstra about mobile phone issues in the Kingaroy region after readers contacted us about lines dropping out or failing to connect.

There have also been complaints about no mobile phone service being available for short periods of time before suddenly cutting back in.

In February, Telstra admitted it was having “issues” with one of its base stations which had been affecting local mobile phone services.

At the time, the company said repairs were under way.

Meanwhile, interruptions to internet availability in the Murgon and Cherbourg area last month may have been linked to an upgrade project Telstra was carrying out at the Murgon exchange.

Ms Barbour said both Murgon and Cherbourg are served by the Murgon exchange.

“Customers based in Murgon receive their services directly from the exchange and Cherbourg-based customers receive their services from a local roadside cabinet that links back to the Murgon exchange,” she said.

“Across the towns there are over 400 vacant ADSL ports available for customers to connect to.

“Telstra completed a backhaul upgrade project in March 2014 which improved ADSL performance for current customers and allows for the connection of future customers with minimal impact to current customer services.”