Sally Nevin stands on the footpath tapping her phone in frustration with unreliable mobile connectivity an ongoing problem for the Esperance gallery and gift shop owner.
Key points:
- Telstra says an influx of tourists puts its Esperance network under pressure
- It says the issue is not related to coverage and there have been inaccurate media reports about Esperance services
- Business owners say the community deserves better
“Trying to text customers, I have to stand out front of the shop and even then sometimes it doesn’t work,” she said.
“I try to text my customers every time their order comes in, or if I’ve got something ready for them … and yeah, it’s been impossible.
“I’m right in the middle of town and can’t send a text message. It’s just ridiculous.”
Ms Nevin is not alone. In recent weeks, dozens of Esperance residents, business owners, farmers, and tourists have aired concerns over the region’s erratic mobile service — and the lack of answers from Telstra.
‘Slows down the whole process’
Esperance plumber Karl Czaplinski uses a mobile app for job scheduling and invoicing.
“[But] the very poor service and lack of data makes this very difficult and slows down the whole process,” he said.
He was not confident that the issue would be resolved anytime soon.
“I’m not holding my breath,” he said.
“I can’t see how they [Telstra] can charge full price for a sub-standard service.”
Telstra has apologised to customers, saying that an influx of tourists to the south coast town has put more pressure on the network, impacting data speeds.
But the telco insisted there should be no impact to voice calls and SMS.
“The issue is not related to coverage, it’s happening due to short-term demand exceeding the capacity we currently have available in our network around the township,” a Telstra spokesperson said.
The company said recent media reports that there had been an ongoing issue with the Esperance mobile network since 2020 were “inaccurate”.
“Unfortunately, the information provided to the customer and subsequently provided to a media outlet was incorrect,” the spokesperson said.
“The comment related to an issue that occurred when we were upgrading one of our sites in June 2020 and was resolved a couple of months after.
“In recent years, Telstra has made significant upgrades to mobile connectivity in the Esperance Shire but we know this work will be ongoing.”
Connectivity crucial for farming, firefighting
Agriculture underpins the Esperance economy, which is believed to be worth more than $2.5 billion annually.
But many of the region’s farmers are also frustrated by substandard mobile coverage.
“There are some massive areas now where … even in this day and age, people have got to tell people that they’re going down to the back paddocks or whatever else because there’s no internet coverage or any phone connection in those particular areas,” Esperance Shire president Ron Chambers said.
“There just seems to be a lack of infrastructure to maintain that connectivity.”
Mr Chambers, who is also a rural firefighter, said mobile connectivity was important for firefighters.
“We use radios a lot for firefighting, but there are some requirements for phone conversations … it is important to have phone connection out there,” he said.
“We need to be able to let people know if they’re in danger.”
He said there were no significant communication issues during the recent Coomalbidgup fires.
