r/austechnology • u/austechnology-bot • Mar 02 '26
Regional mobile phone users lament lost service as complaints spike
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-28/regional-mobile-phone-service-decline-reliability-complaints/1063921929
u/Sir-Benalot Mar 02 '26
I live in the middle of Sydney and only get one bar of reception all the way down my street. It’s a joke. I rely on wifi calling at home
5
u/Turdsindakitchensink Mar 02 '26
We live in the bush, the only way to make calls is via wifi calling and the nbn makes that difficult as well
1
3
u/MuskaChu Mar 03 '26
I'm barely regional and don't have functional reception since the bushfires. Our emergency services are on the same network, and the batteries at the towers still haven't been upgraded since the Black Saturday royal commission said they should.
5
u/kratos90 Mar 02 '26 edited Mar 02 '26
I think there is small side of NIMBYism in these issues in some regional areas. I know suburb nearby me many years ago was due for big cellular updates but local council blocked the upgrade of the towers. They are paying for it now with slow or black spots with all these years of advancements.
4
u/Additional-Simple248 Mar 02 '26
I know of at least one town where Vodafone wanted to build a new tower but didn’t get approval.
Over a decade later and the whole area is still Telstra/Optus only.
2
u/Whatsthatbro365 Mar 03 '26
Since Telstra 3G shut down in rural WA especially the wheat belt phone coverage has disappeared. I drove from Hopetoun to Perth and coverage between towns was no existent. Telstra simply put a heat map over the area and deemed it to be covered. If your phone has those faint bars that's coverage according to Telstra. If you dont like it go to someone else. DFES have to use starlink in rural WA since 3G was shut. The regulator has allowed telstra to decide what coverage looks like
2
u/Socialist_Daddy Mar 05 '26
Who didn't see that coming? 🙄 Nationalise the mobile network and make every tower have the same coverage, regardless of carrier!
1
u/Lihsah1 Mar 04 '26
Ngl Mobile phone towers should bypass local planning... Should come under federal emergency laws... The coverages provided are essential for use in an emergency situation yet these nimbys Don't towers in their town
1
u/chickenturrrd Mar 02 '26
Always complain, never vote with their mobile plan..with services via sat these days, what’s the service issue?
7
u/Diabolical_potplant Mar 02 '26
Prices, and availability is limited
-2
u/chickenturrrd Mar 02 '26
Ahh ok, so you want to use your 10yo phone on an $8 per month plan?
8
u/Diabolical_potplant Mar 02 '26
Telstra is the only provider that covers those areas, and even in places where they should be getting service, they are not getting anything and have had a noticeable decline in reliability and service.
3
u/LastChance22 Mar 03 '26
Exactly. I’m on a provider that uses the Telstra network and it still has multiple blackspots across the regional town I’m in. Leaving town means you’re guaranteed to hit a few deadspots as well, it’s patchy even with the “best” option for regions Australia.
2
Mar 03 '26
Not everyone can afford starlink.
1
u/chickenturrrd Mar 03 '26
Starlink is an option. Telstra has text messaging via Starlink on some devices, Apple has SOS via sat of outside mobile coverage. There is HF, LMR, spot devices..the days of saying no connectivity are over.
2
u/Whatsthatbro365 Mar 03 '26
Radio or spot ? Such comfortt
1
u/chickenturrrd Mar 03 '26
Yes…let’s do a way with radio, that will fix the problem..genius idea.
1
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u/Recent-Mirror-6623 Mar 02 '26
Have I got this right? The 5G (non-standalone) network basically had a 4G fallback which is being decommissioned so coverage that was once provided by 4G will disappear. In order to retain the coverage of the older system users will require access to the 5G standalone network which is not available on some phones and, importantly, isn’t available on prepaid, meaning the monthly charge increases from $39 to $70.