South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann has called on telecommunications companies to step up to the plate and put an end to the region’s mobile phone black spots.
The Mayor was speaking at today’s monthly Council meeting, where Councillors approved an application by NBNCo to erect a tower at Hospital Terrace in Nanango.
The new tower will be located approximately 130 metres from Nanango Hospital and is being built as part of the National Broadband Network roll-out across the region.
Mayor Kratzmann noted that telecommunications in the South Burnett were “still atrocious”.
“In this day and age when we’re just a few hundred kilometres from Brisbane, this isn’t good enough,” he said.
“Poor telecommunications are hampering our economic development and they also pose a safety issue for our region’s residents.”
He hoped NBNCo would work with telecommunications companies by allowing them to co-locate equipment on NBN towers to improve mobile coverage.
“It’s about time competitors worked together to give consumers a better service.”
He said telecom companies had told Council the cost of erecting towers was a major factor holding them back from investing in the area.
“Since NBNCo has paid the cost of the towers, I hope this matter gets addressed.”
