Minister Mitch Fifield comes to town

Wanted: Reliable, dependable internet and mobile

By Greg Brown

It’s an information revolution we’re living through … or so we are told.

Faster internet speeds, more reliable mobile phone services, bigger data download capacities - it’s going to change the way we live and we better get ready.

But is that the reality we are experiencing here in the regions, or is it just city-centric marketing hype?

The $50 billion national broadband network (NBN) is being rolled out across our region, with some areas already connected.

But is it the razzamatazz answer to our problems as has been spruiked?

Mobile communication is the future, according to technology experts, with phone and device connectivity and applications evolving rapidly in recent years.

But do the local systems and networks meet the growing community demands and expectations?

Local federal Member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace, wants locals to tell their stories and has organised for the highest authority in the land to listen – Senator Mitch Fifield, the Minister for Communications. Mr Fisher will host a telecommunications forum at the Glasshouse Mountains Community Hall on November 8 from 3–4.15pm (see advert on page 11 for details).

We asked GC&M News readers for some of their stories … here’s a few of what they had to say:

“Don't have NBN or ADSL. Been told that we will only get satellite NBN, which is crap so I use mobile broadband and I live only five km out of the main part of town. Go figure the third world treatment we get.” Sara, Peachester

“We can't even get ADSL let alone NBN. We have to rely on a Yagi antenna on the roof plugged into a mobile WiFi unit which is completely unreliable and very expensive. I have regular issues with this system which generally turns into days and days of frustrating conversations with Telstra. If I have to work from home I can't – we use a VPN connection to log into our work system and we generally don't have a strong enough signal to get the connection or when we do it uses so much data my monthly usage can be used up in a day. Mobile reception is completely non-existent so we have the additional expense of having to have a landline installed to be able to communicate. I could go on and on with the Telstra issues I have had over the last few years but it just makes me so angry. Totally ridiculous for this day and age.” Kate, Glass House Mountains

“We had a very unreliable landline that Telstra would not fix, so we rely on our mobile phones. The issue is we have no mobile reception either, so we have had to install antennas and repeaters worth thousands of dollars to get Telstra reception. It was the only option for us when really it shouldn’t be!” Ryan, Diamond Valley

“We live and run a business on the western side of Old Gympie Road. Only available internet connection is via NBN satellite, resulting in expensive data that most of the time we can’t use due to very slow speeds and regular drop outs. Mobile phone coverage is non-existent. We have spent thousands on boosters and aerials with limited success. When you speak with Telstra they try to tell you that according to them we should have full strength 4G service. Extremely frustrating situation, which we cannot see an end to at this point – definitely not through lack of trying.” Lisa, Glass House Mountains

“Beerwah for shop and home ... both on NBN. Woodgrove fttn (fibre to the node) NBN OK but only about half the speed of NBN fttc (fibre to the curb) at the shop, which is fantastic. In-laws in Peachester on ADSL 2+ with very average speeds and no hope in sight of NBN.” Tara, Beerwah

Lorna Grayson can only check her facebook while sitting out on the naturestrip and 'enjoying' the mossies at her Glass House Mountains property

“We have lived here since 2005. We have NEVER in all that time had a reliable mobile phone service that actually worked inside the house. We even had an antenna on the roof that plugged into the ‘blue tick’ mobile to improve the reception. It wasn't very mobile then. We now have Telstra NBN that has a fall back to 4G mobile if the main feed drops out. What a joke, what mobile service is there to fall back to? Now if we have a power failure, which is almost guaranteed to happen around here, we don't even have a landline as that fails now when the power is interrupted. You can't help thinking that during a real emergency how many people are going to suffer injuries leading to fatalities because they couldn't call for help.” Richard, Mooloolah

“We can’t even get ADSL 2+ let alone NBN. We can only get ADSL which is hopeless. Only one person can be online at a time. So frustrating. Anybody would think we live in the never-never.” Taryn, Glass House Mountains

“We’ve had a terrible time and very angry customers and spent hours and hours on our mobiles trying to get something done!” Cheryl, Mooloolah Valley Country Club

“I work in Beerwah ADSL 2+ drops out continuously, and same at home – less than 300m from a tower and still have to go outside for clear mobile signals.” Andrew, Glass House Mountains

“My story is that at home I use a computer and with websites wanting to send you a SMS to confirm login this becomes quite difficult when you have to exit the house to receive a SMS. Forget about phone calls, they are not received at all, going straight to message bank.” Kirsty, Beerburrum

“We relocated here three years ago from the Hunter Valley. We had NBN there and had no dramas with anything. We have only been eligible for NBN since August 2018 in Glass House but since the work commenced around March this year we have had nothing but dramas with our previous ADSL internet and mobile phone coverage. Both our mobiles phones are with Telstra and earlier this year I was advised by Telstra that I needed to upgrade my phone to be able to receive the best coverage signal in our area. So out of frustration we both upgraded to the newest phone and still no phone reception - it cuts in and out regardless if you are inside or outside. The phone providers don’t care about the minimal service that we are paying for as long as they are still getting paid!” Nicole, Glass House Mountains

If you want to have the opportunity to let the Minister know your thoughts make sure you register to attend the telecommunications forum.