Litchfield leads the way for better connections
Litchfield Council is advocating on behalf of all Territorians to promote better connectivity, through a motion that will be put to the National General Assembly of Local Government to be held in Canberra in June 2019.
The Australian Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program identifies Priority Locations across Australia and assist with funding to improve these locations, with the Northern Territory being absent from the priority list.
Litchfield Council Mayor Maree Bredhauer said it is unfair and un-Australian that the Northern Territory is missing out on coverage, while the rest of Australia is attended to. We know how important mobile coverage is to communities, especially rural communities, it is essentially for safety and contributes to economic development and community wellbeing.
“One of the common comments I hear about is poor or non-existent mobile service in the Litchfield Municipality and although Litchfield Council has 26 identified mobile black spots on the Federal Map, we have once again been left off the Priority List.
Council is committed to advocating for new and upgraded mobile base stations to ensure all Litchfield residents and businesses have access to efficient telecommunications, and we are doing this by raising it at a National level” the Mayor said.
The Australian Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program aims to improve mobile coverage and competition in regional and remote Australia and has allocated $25 million of funding for Round 4 of the Program but no NT locations are on the Priority List.
The Government has committed $220 million to the Program which has seen 765 sites funded Nationally with only 20 in the Northern Territory to date.