Minister for Regional Communications, Senator Bridget McKenzie, and Ross Vasta have announced the outcomes in the Bonner electorate from the Priority Locations round of the Coalition Government’s $220 million Mobile Black Spot Program.

This announcement delivers on the Coalition’s commitment to address the coverage issues identified at Belmont, Burbank, Gumdale and Moreton Island in the Bonner electorate.

106 priority locations across Australia will benefit from improved mobile phone coverage. Optus, Telstra and Vodafone will build 102 new base stations under the Priority Location round. In addition, the carriers have commercial plans for new base stations that will further address mobile black spot issues in a number of the identified locations.

Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said the new coverage would open new doors for local businesses and the community, enabling them to access the same mobile services as those in major cities.

“Residents and business owners in Belmont, Burbank, Moreton Island, and Gumdale have already told me that the coalition’s investment in delivering improved coverage will make a huge impact upon the local community,” Ross Vasta said.

Owner of Burstall Avenue Newsangent, Greg Ziegenfuz said Belmont desperately needs this black spot funding.

“I hear customers all the time talking about the poor coverage in the suburb. There’s whole parts of Belmont that doesn’t get any reception at all.”

Minister for Regional Communications, Bridget McKenzie said construction of the new mobile phone towers will get underway soon.

“We’ve committed $220 million to improve mobile black spots across our vast country. $60 million of this funding is targetting priority black spot areas with poor or no mobile coverage, like in Bonner” Minister McKenzie said.

“Only the Coalition understands the importance of modern telecommunications for our regional communities, and has implemented a plan to deliver. I’m excited to reach this next milestone of the Mobile Black Spot Program and look forward to seeing the first base stations under this round completed later this year.”

The Coalition Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program is improving mobile coverage across Australia including along major regional transport routes, in small communities and at identified priority locations. More than 456 locations across Australia have already received new or improved coverage through rounds 1 and 2 of the program.

The base station rollout schedules for all three rounds of the program will be available on the Telstra, Optus and Vodafone websites.

More information about the program and a list of the priority locations is available at: communications.gov.au/mbsp