Telstra is ready to support communities in East Gippsland this summer with 52 upgraded payphones, recovery equipment on standby and extra mobile data for customers.
Telstra regional general manager for Eastern Victoria, Jenny Gray, said with extreme weather events becoming more common and harder to predict, Telstra spends months inspecting thousands of sites around the country to ensure its network is as resilient as possible.
“We know how critical it is for Australians to remain connected during a natural disaster and while we can’t predict what mother nature will throw at us, we’re as ready as we can be,” Ms Gray said.
“We have a long history of responding to extreme weather events and the Telstra Response Team are often first on the ground after emergency services to assess and help restore our network.
“While our network and other infrastructure like electricity can be affected during a natural disaster, we continually work to find better, faster ways to reconnect affected communities.”
Payphones in the region are among 1000 across the nation being upgraded with free Telstra Wi-Fi, USB charging ports and back-up power to help keep communities connected during a natural disaster.
Almost 800 payphones, 40 of which are in remote Indigenous communities have already been upgraded including 52 Gippsland locations such as Sale, Dargo, Golden Beach, Marlo, Lucknow and Woodside.
“If your mobile phone isn’t charged, or you’ve had to evacuate, a payphone might be the only way to contact family and friends to let them know you are ok,” Ms Gray said.
“Knowing where your nearest payphone can be a huge help in case the power goes out and you need to make a call, get online, or to charge your phone.”
Last disaster season, Telstra deployed 110 new trailer-mounted, high-powered generators across Australia with seven of them sent to the Gippsland area to help restore power to some of our mobile sites impacted by severe storms in 2023.
These generators are part of a multi-million-dollar co-investment under the Federal Government’s Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters (STAND) program.
“Extended power outages are often a major cause of network disruption, however the quicker our network sites are powered up, the quicker we can reconnect a community,” Ms Gray said.
“In preparation for this disaster season, we have proactively deployed 13 high-powered generators to at-risk areas across Victoria with three of them located in the Gippsland area, in case our network is impacted by a power outage.
“We have back up power systems built into many of our network sites, but these high-powered generators along with other infrastructure
such as temporary mobile towers known as Cells-on-Wheels can help with getting people back online faster.”
This year, Telstra has expanded the use of portable satellite technology with 28 Starlink satellite kits stationed across Victoria which can be assembled in under 10 minutes and help provide basic connectivity for teams.
