The Telstra Elliston Mobile Base Station which will bring reliable landline and 4G coverage to the town was launched on 4 October.  

The upgrade to the overloaded radio link between Elliston and Warramboo is great news for Elliston residents who can now receive high speed telecommunications services.

RDAWEP provided substantial assistance to the District Council of Elliston with a grant application and support documents for the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF), Infrastructure Stream.  This included ongoing liaison with Telstra, the major project partner and funder, to get activity project management and budget details.

District Council of Elliston has been a communications blackspot due to ageing and failing communications infrastructure at the limit of capacity.  While many regional areas are embracing digital-based economies and online service delivery, Elliston has been unable to do so.  Business sustainability has been retarded by the lack of online services; such as ongoing loss of EFTPOS connectivity for long periods.  There has been little or no SME growth in the district since 2009.  Tourism opportunities were being lost as most tourists do their bookings and itineraries online and rely on Wi-Fi, internet and social media platforms for personal communications.

Among those in attendance at the launch were Telstra’s Adam Oliver, Mark Bolton and Diana Azzam, as well as RDAWEP’s Economic Development Manager Peter Scott, Federal Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey and District Council of Elliston CEO Phil Cameron (pictured, not in order).