OPTUS COMMITS $6.5 MILLION TO UPGRADE MOBILE COVERAGE IN THE HUNTER VALLEY

Optus today announced work has been completed on the first stage of a $6.5 million investment to improve 3G and 4G mobile coverage and performance in the Lower and Upper Hunter region, including along the New England and Golden Highways.

Optus Network Manager, Vin Mullins said this investment is great news for residents, businesses and visitors to the Hunter.

“The completion of the first stage will deliver the significant coverage and service improvements residents and businesses have been waiting for,” said Mr Mullins.

“We’re committed to improving coverage in the Hunter. In the past 12 months we have invested more than $5 million to build 10 new sites and upgrade 14 existing sites so customers can enjoy faster and more reliable coverage,” Mr Mullins said.

“We have switched on new sites at Scone Racecourse, Millfield, Singleton CBD, Singleton North, Muswellbrook CBD, Muswellbrook South, Mount Thorley, Weston and Jerrys Plains, with more to sites to come online later this year. Most recently, we have switched on a site in Singleton South which has boosted coverage along the New England Highway and increased network capacity for this part of town.”

“We’ve also upgraded a number of existing locations to boost 4G coverage in Branxton, Denman and Pokolbin. This is great news for local customers and visitors to the region, who like to stream music, browse the web and video chat with friends on their compatible device.

“This work has provided a significant boost for local coverage, including improved indoor coverage and performance whilst also providing greater stability to the Optus Network,” Mr Mullins said. Work has started on the $1.5 million second stage to identify sites that will boost coverage and capacity in Branxton, Aberdeen and along the New England Highway and build further resiliency into the network.

As part of this investment, Optus is particularly focused on adding additional capacity to the network to support local businesses.

“Reliable telecommunications services are vital to a number of local sectors including agribusiness, resources and tourism. Our investment demonstrates our commitment to providing real choice and competition for business and industry in the Hunter,” Mr Mullins said.

The Optus mobile network handles over 45 million calls and 80 million SMS messages each day and carries 6,000 terabytes of data each week. This growing demand for mobile services is why Optus is continuously investing to improve mobile coverage in regional Australia.

 The Hunter Valley region is enjoying the benefits of Optus’ superfast 4G Plus network, which now reaches 96.1% of Australians.

Media enquiries:

Candice Lester

Optus Corporate Affairs T: (02) 8082 7850

E: media@optus.com.au