The Western Australian state government has invested $39.2 million through the Royalties for Regions programme with Telstra to deliver a total return of $106 million in value to Western Australia, made up of direct capital expenditure and access rights to the company’s infrastructure.
Benefits of the project will include enhanced voice and data services to regional and rural areas, and increased geographical and highway coverage of mobile voice and mobile broadband wireless telecommunications infrastructure.
Construction of mobile sites has already begun, with 113 sites expected to be built over the next three years, increasing coverage in regional and rural areas of the state.
The project will result in a 22% increase in geographic coverage for Telstra in Western Australia, expanding from 430,000km2 to 525,000km2.
Telstra regional sales and service director central west, Richard Fink, said: “Keeping people connected is a vision both Telstra and the State Government share and Telstra looks forward to providing a network that will benefit not just individuals but also business, government, indigenous communities and emergency services in WA.”
Upon the completion of the RMCP more than 8300km of the state’s highways will have near-continuous car-kit coverage, improving mobile coverage along all the major highways throughout Western Australia.
