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THE ALPINE
BRIGHT - POREPUNKAH - MT BEAUTY - TAWONGA - TAWONGA SOUTH Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Phone: (03) 5752 1058
$1.50 (inc.GST)
www.alpineobserver.com.au
FEELING THE VIBES Pop superstar Jessica Mauboy wowed the crowds at Bright’s Pioneer Park on Saturday. More photos page 10. PHOTO: Brodie Everist
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2003 FIRES REMEMBERED THE ALPINE
Alpine
THINGS TO DO AND SEE
ACROSS THE ALPINE SHIRE,
HIGH COUNTRY AND RESORTS
Summer 2023
ON THE WAY UP
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PHOTO: Alpine Classic
Pages P ages 1 13-16 3-1 16
ALPINE ALIVE
Internet go slow BRIGHT’S mobile network has again come under strain as summer tourists boost the town’s population beyond the network capacity. Wayne Phillips, manager of a Bright gift shop, said they have been struggling to make transactions using EFTPOS due to the unreliable internet connection, and attributed it to a need for more network towers and nearby NBN network pits that had become wet in the rain. “We shouldn’t have to ask
Overloaded mobile network causes frustration as tourists flock to town BY BRODIE EVERIST beverist@ nemedia.com.au
people to run to an ATM,” he said. Two doors down at the Bright Newsagency, employee Jessica Dale said they are running their EFTPOS machine through their wi-fi, otherwise it wouldn’t work.
“Anything that runs on 3G is out,” she said. However, other businesses in Bright were not experiencing problems with their internet connection. Of the five outlets the Myrtleford Times/Alpine Observer talked to, only two had internet issues. “Ours has been fine,” Jenny Kozuharoff said, store manager for a clothing and homewares store. “I have heard other
people had problems and they’ve had to draw cash out and pay.” Bruce Hore, local IT expert and telecommunications spokesperson for the Bright and District Chamber of Commerce, said the variation was likely due to the technology used. “If they’re using NBN, more often than not they won’t have any problems,” he said. However, according to
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Mr Hore, local businesses and homes shouldn’t have to choose between a wireless or pay extra for a fixed wire connection. “If we were in the city it wouldn’t matter which technology was used - it would work,” he said. “Why are people here forced to incur a cost of $600 to $1000 a year for internet? “Out here during effectively all of January the mobile phone infrastructure
can’t be relied upon.” Holidaymakers have also struggled with slow internet - Manon Davies, a Mount Eliza resident, said the wi-fi had effectively stopped working at the caravan park they were staying at. ‘When you’re at a caravan park with six teenagers and you don’t have the wi-fi that you’re expecting, it can be very frustrating,” she said. “They get frustrated and they chew through their monthly data plan.”
166 Myrtle Street, Myrtleford
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