Fed up with black spots

Farmers also say blackspots and “grey areas” persist across the district and even on the Riverina Highway.

Mulwala Water Ski Club water ski coordinator Pete O’Neill said problems with coverage at the ski park, 10km northeast of the town centre, were frustrating and dangerous.

“If we need an ambulance it can take two minutes to find a place to make a call,” he said.

“We had a girl break her femur once so we sent three people to three different spots to make the call, just to make sure.

“We’ve never had anything go catastrophically wrong, but that said, there are a lot of safety things that could have gone worse.

“Beyond that, the way the world’s going, so much is done online, such as the transmission of scores from judges and live-streaming of events but we don’t have a good way to solve these problems. We’re completely disconnected from society for a day.”

The park will host a world ‘ski show’ event next year, expected to attract 3000 people a day, followed by the disabled world ski championships.

The facility is also on track to secure the 2026 World Water Ski Championships.

But Mr O’Neill said future bids for big events could be lost due to the communications problems.

“If we don’t have a solution to this problem in the next five years, I don’t think we’ll be up to managing worlds (events) any more,” he said.

Addressing the concern about mobile coverage during a visit to Mulwala last week, Member for Farrer Sussan Ley said no new towers had been proposed for the electorate during the latest round of federal funding.

“I remain in contact with councils and individuals across Farrer experiencing mobile reception problems … the Coalition will continue fighting for our fair share of funding to fix mobile blackspots,” she said.

Mr O’Neill said the ski park was uniquely disadvantaged by a topographical ‘fresnel zone’, which saw the park in a low-lying area and separated by a hilly area between it and the nearest towers.

“The signal just washes right over us,” he said.

Further afield, Savernake farmer and Rural Fire Service group officer Greyd’n Davis said the number of blackspots and “grey areas” in the district had increased, with worries about how 5G upgrades affect service.

Mr Davis said coverage of the region’s towers - which included sites at Berrigan, Lowesdale and Savernake - diminished as each network upgrade tested capacity of the towers.

“What was good not so long ago, eight months ago, is now becoming more inconsistent with grey areas north of Savernake, between Oaklands and Berrigan and also along some areas of the Riverina Highway,” he said.

“We’ve noticed since 5G has come on it has been inconsistent with more grey areas.

“3G has a radius of about 20-30km, 4G about 15km and 5G seems about 5km.

“The worry is when they take 3G off we’ll see more dark spots.”

Mr Davis said a short-term fix could involve raising Telstra to the top of the Savernake tower ahead of Vodafone, as a vast majority of mobile users in the district used that network.

Neighbour Alex Sloane said service was scratchy east of Rennie, with Drain Lane a good site for a new tower.

The observation comes after Federation councillor Gail Law recently highlighted problems with phone reception in South Corowa, and particularly at the town’s golf club and racecourse.

“It not only affects the businesses but also their clientele,” Cr Law said.

Ski club chief executive Peter Duncan said there were ongoing discussions with government and telecommunications companies about addressing the communications problem.

“We’re trying but there’s nothing in the pipeline,” he said.

“We’ve had government grants to upgrade the facility and make it one of the best in Australia or the world, but we don’t have reliable communications.

“We’re just managing, it’s been really hit and miss, but it’s not ideal and it’s not up to standard.

“We’ve got to bid (for these big events), you don’t just get them, and it costs money.

“But what is really holding us back is the communications, or lack thereof.”