Sarah Oliver
Melton has been identified as an area in desperate need of better connectivity, with Moorabool not far ahead, according to new data.
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.
Additionally, more than 110 formal submissions were considered and about 300 people also attended 13 roundtables held across the state.
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.
A visualisation of the data showed Melton and Moorabool LGAs were an outlier for the number of reports of poor mobile and broadband connectivity challenges.
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 nearby 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.”
In a statement, the government said it will take into account insights from those who contributed to the engagement process and use it to form part of the decision making process for which locations will be upgraded in future.
The Commonwealth and telecommunications providers will also be encouraged to co-invest in the delivery of new infrastructure.
Locations to receive upgrades or new infrastructure will be announced throughout this year.
