Fairer deal secured for mobile black spot funding

The McGowan Government has secured a fairer deal for regional Western Australian residents, with 26 new mobile base stations to be built across the State.

The Federal and State governments will contribute $4.3 million each to the Mobile Black Spot Round 4 program in WA, with a further $6 million from telecommunications companies.

The investment will expand mobile coverage in each of WA's nine regions. 

The McGowan Government has advocated strongly for a fairer share of Federal mobile black spot funding for Western Australia, after the State received funding for just seven towers in Round 3 of the program.

The State Government last year completed a Telecommunications Investment Prioritisation Study across regional WA, and provided a list of priority sites for investment to the Federal Government as part of consultation for this round of the program.

As noted by Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan:

"This joint investment from the McGowan Government and the Federal Government represents a real win for WA.

"After receiving just seven base towers in the last round of this program, announced with no consultation with the State Government, we've been working hard to secure a fairer deal for our regions - and one that reflects our State's needs.

"Our regional areas deserve the same access to telecommunications as people in Perth, and our investment will help to expand mobile coverage to those who need it most.

"This State investment is just one of a suite of McGowan Government programs to drive better connectivity in the bush - including our $5 million Digital Farm program which will bring enterprise-grade broadband to more than 1,200 WA farming businesses."

Mobile Black Spot Round 4 Sites