Optus will finally build a mobile phone tower in a remote area of north-west Victoria - more than a decade after it was first recommended by the Bushfires Royal Commission in July, 2010.
Joe Fedele and wife Monica, run Three Rivers Angus at Running Creek, north-east Victoria, near Kancoona, in the Kiewa Valley.
"After the Black Saturday bushfires and the Royal Commission they promised a tower - that was more than 10 years ago," Mr Fedele said.
"There is still talk of an Optus tower going up."
He says he runs a 400-breeder beef operation, over several blocks in the area, and he was concerned about the health and safety of his staff..
"I have two part-time staff and I just can't get hold of them - in this day and age, that's bizarre."
Mr Fedele said there was a hill, in front of his place but building a tower appeared to come down to cost.
"It's a deflected signal we get from Tawonga so I've spent $5000 on Telstra boosters to try and improve it, to no avail."
He said it was very hard to do business.
"We've got satellite broadband and that can sometimes get us out of trouble through Wi-Fi calling, but that cuts in and out during storms.
"When you are in trouble, the Wi-Fi cuts out and there is no reception."
He says he has to drive a kilometre and a half down the road, to try and get reception.
'I have travelled in America, in Utah, I was in a place called Goblin Valley,, in the middle of nowhere, and I had four bars of reception.
"I don't know what the issue is in rural Victoria.
"It's very difficult to do business on-farm, so I do my business on the road, when I am a regional centre or Melbourne."
An Optus spokeswoman said Kancoona was successful in being awarded funding, several years ago, under round two of the federal government's Mobile Blackspot Program.
"We originally planned to locate this tower on VicParks property, however the process of land acquisition protracted and this no longer became a viable option," the spokesperson said.
"We have now sourced a new location and the site acquisition process is underway, with the build expected to be complete in early 2023."
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
