South West farmers say poor phone, internet coverage putting productivity at risk

Landowners in the Warner Glen and Scott River area are frustrated at changes to the region’s phone service that they say is leaving them high and dry.

Hobby farmer Peter Woods told the Times it was bad enough phone and internet reception had become far more difficult to access since a nearby 3G tower was switched off last year.

He and others had struggled to communicate their concerns to Telstra and get a proper fix to their problem.

“People are tearing out their hair,” Mr Woods said.

He said he now had to drive to the nearest hilltop just to call and send emails because the reception at his property near Patmore Road was too poor.

That was despite installing costly antennae for 3G and 4G services on his house and engaging contractors to act on solutions Telstra had suggested.

Many of his neighbours had given up in frustration and turned to the Starlink satellite service despite the costs involved.

He said they were worried about emergency alert coverage and working farms losing productivity.

Dairy farmer Ross Woodhouse also reported fresh challenges with mobile communication.

“The last three months in particular have been very erratic service,” he said.

Apart from standard phone and internet service, his farm technology also relies on good reception because its irrigation controls are also linked to the internet.

“The ability to use apps to start and stop irrigation is worse this year than any other, particularly in Scott River,” Mr Woodhouse said.

Mr Woods said attempts to discuss the issue with Telstra had fallen flat, while a response to his concerns from the office of Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland was also disappointing.

The farmer believed the coverage decline was due to Telstra’s change to the new 4G tower in Karridale, but a spokesperson for the agency said there were no changes to the network during the past year.

“They may be located in an area of fortuitous coverage or at the extremes of where our coverage extends to,” they said.

“Mobile coverage can be impacted by a range of factors: distance from a tower, the type of device used, if they are using a booster or external antenna, terrain, tall trees or new structures blocking mobile signals.

“Our networks coverage map show these areas do have limited or no mobile coverage in some places.”

Telstra told the Times they would approach landowners to work out a solution now the provider was aware of the concerns.