Community members were asked to contribute their experiences with mobile communication difficulties in the region.

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According to the meeting chair, Nambucca Valley Mayor Gary Lee, another 40 some emails were also received which added up to a list of the most urgent locations for attention from the communication giants.

A new small cell mobile phone tower will be installed at Burrapine, Telstra’s Northern NSW Regional Engagement Manager Joshua Fulwood told the meeting.

Investigations into connectivity issues in areas of Gumma are also to be investigated.

“Small cell towers are designed to provide coverage in smaller [areas] geographically difficult to service, like Burrapine which is quite hilly,” Mr Fulwood told NOTA.

“Work is currently underway on this tower and it should be completed mid-March,” he added.

However, this is being completed with previously allocated bushfire grant money and is unrelated to the $55 million funding opportunities which Mayor Lee and the meeting’s participants were chasing at last Wednesday’s workshop.

Mayor Lee is hopeful that more of the Valley’s communication problems can be solved under the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program, which invests in telecommunication coverage and competition across Australia.

“The community asked hard-hitting questions and treated everyone with respect,” Mayor Lee told NOTA.

“It was my pleasure to facilitate a discussion which demonstrated the way we can work together to understand and solve problems such as these.

“The submission should be ready in three weeks so that costs can be estimated with a shelf ready project to put forward from the region by the 30 April closing date.

“If the Nambucca Valley misses out on funding in this round, we hope the documents can be resubmitted for the next round as this is vital for our disaster management plan and to assist workers and volunteers who actively combat emergencies,” Mayor Lee added.

Mr Fulwood confirmed that the list of areas contributed by the community will be fed back into the business’ priority register but the selection (for funding) is up to the government.

Also in attendance at the meeting were Nambucca Valley Councillors Tamara McWilliam, Troy Vance and Ljubov Simson.

By Ned COWIE