Mystery Bay residents turn out for a drop-in session to get an update on Telstra’s progress to improve their mobile phone coverage. Photos: Marion Williams.
Mystery Bay residents are relieved to hear Telstra has made some progress to improve the village’s mobile phone coverage.
Telstra has proposed small cells technology to deliver on Federal Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain’s 2022 election promise to address Mystery Bay’s “black spot”.
On August 27, Telstra representatives Chris Taylor and Christina Cawkell held a drop-in session at Mystery Bay to discuss the proposed solution.
It consists of a 20-metre pole in Negus Drive and a 10-metre tower on the corner of Lamont Young Drive and Casey Crescent. Each steel pole has a range of 200 to 400 metres.
Telstra reiterated the priority was residential properties having an outdoor signal.
But coverage at the beach and camping ground is not assured.
One resident said he had recently met a woman in Tilba whose husband had drowned at Mystery Bay. Another resident said many people did not seem to realise the Telstra public phone near the beach was free and wondered if children would think to use it in an emergency.
Residents of Poole Parade and other areas in the village’s lower part may not get coverage because of the terrain.
One Poole Parade resident was philosophical on hearing the news. “It is an improvement,” he said. “It is going to be better than it is.”
His partner said they had given up on their landline. “We now have a mobile with Starlink internet for Wi-Fi calling,” she said. “We are in a black spot.”
Telstra shows Mystery Bay residents an aerial photograph with the location of the two poles.
The big question at the drop-in was when the solution would be operational.
Residents were told community feedback would be compiled over the next four to five weeks and the design finalised.
Telstra would then submit a development application (DA) to Eurobodalla Shire Council who would exhibit the final plans publicly.
A representative from Downer, which Telstra has engaged as a consultant, said those two steps could take up to eight months.
Materials would then be ordered and geotechnical work finalised, pushing the timeframe out to 12 to 18 months. A few weeks of testing would follow installation.
So residents may be waiting until late 2026 or the first half of 2027 for better mobile phone reception.
One resident had anticipated to see the final design at the drop-in session.
“I was expecting Telstra to be a few steps down the track and thought we would see exactly what they were putting in as the design for the DA, but obviously not,” she said.
Residents living near the two poles were told there would be no humming and minimal noise. Each would include an air conditioning unit.
The Downer representative said the system would not be in operation at all times given the shady location and temperature drop at night.
Ms Cawkell said visitors during the first two hours of the drop-in session had been “overwhelmingly positive” about the small cells solution.
One resident said of course the response would be positive because “people want better mobile reception”.
“There are little bits like what it looks like and it isn’t going to reach everyone,” she said. “But overwhelmingly everyone wants change.”
Another resident said “we are coming from a very low base”.
“I don’t think what Telstra is proposing is going to work for everyone in the community,” he said. “The range of the towers is 200 to 400 metres and the poles are only a couple of hundred metres apart.”
Resident David Connor said the general sentiment among those he spoke with was “feeling sorry for the poor woman who will have the enormous pole in front of her house and how many years this will go on for”.
Federal Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain and Telstra representatives Christina Cawkell and Chris Taylor address a community forum in Narooma in February 2025.
Mr Connor’s quest for reliable mobile phone and internet services started 13 years ago when his landline worked except when it rained. His internet speed was 1 megabit per second, impossibly slow for his work as an engineer.
He discovered the problem was the connection between Tilba’s exchange and Sydney.
After two unsuccessful attempts with Sky Muster, he spent $2000 on a Yagi antenna for his roof which enabled him to pick up Telstra from Narooma.
“Then I bought a home mobile broadband unit for $600 that transmits Wi-Fi through the house using the 4G network and that worked really well until the tourists arrived and it stopped completely.”
He finally found a solution with Starlink, Yagi and Wi-Fi.
Other residents relying on 4G for the internet said it disappeared after school and during school holidays.
“It doesn’t matter what the speed or capacity is when there is nothing during the summer,” Mr Connor said.
