By Oliver Lees
Macedon Ranges council has acknowledged the significant challenges the shire faces relating to mobile and broadband connectivity, following the release of a report which detailed some resident’s dissatisfaction.
On February 1, the Connecting Victoria Engagement Report drew on more than 11,000 responses from across the state, to gauge the problem areas of Victoria’s network.
Star Weekly reported on February 3 that the Macedon Ranges council is an outlier for the number of reports of poor mobile and broadband connectivity challenges.
An anonymous resident from Riddells Creek was quoted in the report:
“Working from home is near impossible and kids’ online learning is a nightmare. We have three kids trying to home-school and with the internet that continues to drop out they miss so much information and interaction.
Macedon Ranges council acting planning and environment director Stephen Pykett said the report reinforced the knowledge council already had concerning poor connectivity.
“Inadequate connectivity, including via mobile phone, broadband and publicly available WiFi, has a negative impact across the shire,” Mr Pykett said.
He identified South Gisborne, Woodend and Kyneton as areas with significant challenges.
“Council is advocating for improvement on a range of fronts. This includes via direct interaction with service providers, NBNCo, Vodafone, Telstra and Optus. Interaction with Telstra also extends to collaboration in emergency preparation and response,” he said.
“Council also works with providers to identify locations and potential challenges when new infrastructure is being investigated.”
Following the release of the report the state government announced the Connecting Victoria program, with $550 million in grants available to improve services.
However a spokesperson from the Department of Jobs, precincts, and Regions told Star Weekly this funding is not directly available to local councils.
A more detailed description of council’s strategies relating to connectivity can be found on its website.
Details: www.mrsc.vic.gov.au
