NEW TV AND MOBILE PHONE SERVICES FOR QUEENSLAND COAST

9 June 2004
79/04

New television and mobile phone services have brought the residents of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy on the Queensland coast a lot closer to the rest of Australia and the world.

Two new mobile phone towers at Agnes Waters, funded through the Howard Government's Networking the Nation program, will significantly improve mobile phone coverage in this area.

As part of this program, the Government has committed more than $130 million to upgrade mobile telephone services throughout Australia, in and around 232 regional and rural towns and along stretches of 34 regional highways.

In addition to better mobile phone coverage, all homes in Agnes Water and many in Seventeen Seventy are also set to receive broadcasts of all five free-to-air television stations for the first time.

A new self-help television retransmission facility has been installed as part of the Howard Government's $35 million Television Black Spots program, which aims to fix between 200 and 250 analog black spot areas in regional, rural and remote areas.

More than 62,000 households around Australia are to benefit from improved television services under this program, with many receiving services for the first time.

These and other initiatives demonstrate the Government's commitment to improve services in regional, rural and remote Australia.


Media Contact: Carina Tan-Van Baren (02) 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373