Sarah Oliver
Melton council have acknowledged the challenges the city faces with poor broadband and mobile connectivity after the release of a report which revealed resident’s frustrations.
The Connecting Victoria Engagement Report, released on February 1, drew on more than 11,000 responses from across the state to determine the areas facing the most problems with mobile and broadband connectivity.
Star Weekly reported on February 15 that Melton council is an outlier for the number of reports of poor mobile and broadband connectivity challenges.
Melton mayor Goran Kesic responded to the report and resident feedback.
“We know there are some mobile and broadband issues in the city of Melton which is why council actively participated in the consultation process and advocated for better connectivity across the city of Melton,” he said.
“We will continue to seek better mobile and broadband connectivity in areas such as the Melton township, Eynesbury and Caroline Springs, as well as growth areas.”
The engagement report shows connectivity challenges exist across the state, including the need to better support those working and studying remotely, telehealth and improving service quality.
An anonymous resident from neighbouring suburb Riddells Creek who responded to the survey said: “Working from home is near impossible and kids online learning is a nightmare.
“We have three kids trying to home-school and with internet that continues to drop out they miss so much information and interaction. In terms of recreational streaming, we can’t download pictures on Facebook let alone stream a movie.”
Another resident in Woodend said they couldn’t get a mobile connection at their house.
“The antenna on my roof connecting to a mobile tower is my only connection with the outside world. I run internet and WiFi from this, including all mobile calls. It’s expensive and when it goes down, I have no communication with the outside world. I am in a high bushfire risk area and find this very scary.”
