THE completion of an important mobile base station in Dereel could take place sooner than expected.
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Telstra has applied to place the station at the site of an existing National Broadband Network tower, however, the move hinges on approval from the NBN.
The site of the NBN tower on the Colac-Ballarat Road was fiercely opposed to by local residents on safety grounds before objections were quashed in a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing in 2013.
An NBN spokesperson did not indicate if or when the station, which is part of the federal government’s mobile black spot program, would be approved.
“In regard to this application from Telstra, it will go through the usual assessment process,” they said.
Telstra Area General Manager Steve Tinker said space requirements, engineering assessments and other external factors have to be considered for the move.
“We continue to work on how we can deliver the Dereel site earlier than what is in plan right now,” he said.
“We have requested co-location on the NBN site in Dereel and the decision is currently with NBN Co to determine whether this is possible.”
The Telstra website lists the station’s planning as complete, with the target construction and completion dates set for 2018.
It’s unknown how quickly the base station could be completed, with the time frame to be dictated by the NBN’s approval process.