Ballarat commuters can expect to see improvements to mobile signal along the line by the end of the year as the first stages of the Regional Rail Connectivity Project begin to roll out.
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The $18 million project which was officially launched on Wednesday aims to give commuters along the five busiest V/Line route near-complete mobile reception, with Australia’s three largest telecommunications companies in Telstra, Optus and Vodafone acting as co-investors.
Regular commuters spend up to 20 hours per week on regional trains and we need to keep them connected.
- Philip Dalidakis - Small Business, Trade and Innovation Minister
Service will be boosted via a series of new base stations as well as the introduction of Australia-first in-train technology, which strengthens signal in the carriage.
The in-train technology is currently being trialed in some VLocity trains and if successful will be rolled out across the entire fleet in 2018.
Ballarat commuters however will experience the benefits of additional base stations which will start to be built later this year.
Small Business, Trade and Innovation Minister Philip Dalidakis said the project would ensure commuters on all mobile networks enjoyed the benefits.