Dereel has finally secured its own mobile black spot tower in time for the 2017/18 fire season after more than a decade of campaigning by residents.
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Telstra completed the jointly funded project with the state and federal governments in late November as part of the Mobile Black Spot Program.
Residents of the Golden Plains Shire town first began lobbying for improved mobile phone coverage in 2016 and delivered Telstra a 2500-signature petition in 2012.
Dereel resident Julie Donaghy, who was one of the driving forces behind the petition, said the installment was already making a big difference for Telstra customers in the area.
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“If there’s a fire a lot of people don’t have home phones anymore so mobile service is so important,” Ms Donaghy said.
The installment came just weeks before a fire six kilometres south of the township burnt through about 30 hectares of farmland.
Dereel was the site of a devastating blaze in March 2013 where 1300 hectares of land was razed, destroying 12 homes.
Telstra district area manager Steve Tinker said the tower would deliver 3G and 4GX mobile data services to the region for the first time.
“It also comes at a time where the community is on heightened alert for the risk of bushfire or other natural disasters that may occur,” Mr Tinker said.
The tower was originally set to be built in 2018 but was fast tracked due to the region’s fire risk, however its completion was delayed for a year in December 2016 after an engineering assessment concluded the planned location for the tower was unsuitable. Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson blasted Telstra for the delay.