Telstra says Beechworth's mobile data coverage set to improve

A Telstra spokesman, who likened covering regional areas to a game of whack-a-mole, said a new tower on Payne Street, Beechworth, should improve the service.

His comments followed about 50 posts on a Beechworth community website slamming the coverage as "dismal", with one suggesting visitors might get the impression the township was "primitive".

"In peak demand, it's like going to a footy game at the MCG, everybody's all in this one tight spot trying to use a network at the same time, and then you come back the next day when the game's over and you've got no worries at all," the Telstra spokesman told The Border Mail.

"Data usage on our network increases 30 per cent every year, so we're always having to upgrade because it's like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge - by the time you're finished, you start again.

"People are doing more things on mobile and less on fixed, people expect to go anywhere and be able to plug their tablet or phone in and you'll be away.

"Demand is always increasing and, you know, it's whack-a-mole, sometimes you're ahead, sometimes in front, sometimes behind."

Telstra regional general manager for Victoria, Jenny Gray, said mobile coverage could soon be improved.

"Telstra will soon be constructing a new 40-metre base station on Payne Road in Beechworth," she said.

"This will provide new 4G and 5G coverage. This site will also help add additional capacity to our local network and help boost mobile data speeds in the area.

"We are currently going through final stages of technical planning, approvals and permits but barring unforeseen issues, hope to begin construction within the next six months.

"Telstra currently has two mobile base stations providing a mix of 3G, 4G and 5G mobile coverage to the Beechworth area. We also have other base stations located nearby in Stanley, Everton, Leneva, Woolshed Valley and Yackandandah."

On the Beechworth community site, resident Ray Saunders was first past the post with his complaint.

"Data with Telstra is slow and at sometimes non-existent during peak tourist time and also at after school hours when extra data usage happens," Mr Saunders wrote.

"I was wondering if some of our visitors went away thinking how primitive we were because they couldn't access data."

Another poster, Alison J Williams, said her Telstra signal had been "dropping out for years".

"We used to have full signal, now we can barely make or receive calls and the internet is constantly dropping out," she wrote.

Poster Geoff Brown believed the problem was not confined to Beechworth.

"I'm a Telstra customer ... it's not truly bad, thank God," he wrote. "Australia in general is so far behind."

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