PHONE calls dropping out, poor reception and worries about getting help in an emergency were among key issues raised by residents at a telecommunications forum in Medowie last week.
Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson hosted the forum at Pacific Dunes, with representatives from Telstra, Optus, TPG Telecom, and NBN answering questions.
A Sunrise resident told the room she sometimes could not reach her husband, who is in assisted care at Shoal Bay.
“Frequently, he cannot ring me, and I cannot get through to him, which causes him great distress,” she said.
This happened on two days the previous week. The couple had been Telstra customers for 54 years.
Others said wi-fi calling helped at home, but questioned what happened when they stepped outside its range.
Several residents asked why they struggled to get reception near towers, why calls failed during busy holiday periods, and how services would hold up during storms.
One resident described staff going from door to door checking on residents after a power outage left a Medowie village without internet or mobile communication.
Ms Swanson acknowledged the worry that came with unreliable services.
“You just want to know that you’ve got the coverage,” she said.
“There is fear around it, and I think that’s completely real – I want to acknowledge that.”
Providers said terrain, building materials and increasing demand affected coverage. They offered to follow up individual cases and help residents set up wi-fi calling.
Optus representative Glenn Hamilton said he would investigate reception problems raised by residents of The Cove.
“I can’t sit here and promise we’re going to put a new tower in straight away,” Mr Hamilton said.
“Where we do have towers, we want to make sure they’re working as they should be.”
The forum also heard that a mobile phone could take time to find another network when calling Triple Zero.
If the first attempt did not connect within around five seconds, his advice was to hang up and try again immediately. On subsequent attempts, he said to stay on the line for up to 60 seconds.
That relied on another mobile network being available.
Ms Swanson said she had not known about the wait and wanted the advice shared more widely.
Telstra said it was reviewing holiday hotspots for ways to increase capacity.
By Althea GUINSBERG
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