Being toward the end of the line of the Telstra microwave repeater network means that mobile and fixed line services can be impacted by a range of factors – heavy rainfall in the microwave repeater path, damage to fibre optic cable between Cairns and the top of Cape York, failure of any of the five microwave links leading to Erub, local exchange or transmission equipment faults, and local power ou. [...] Since the upgrade of Erub’s mobile service from 3G to 4G in 2018, and the regional network upgrade in 2021, the 4G bandwidth available has improved and the service become more reliable. [...] Due to Erub’s hilly terrain, there is little or no coverage to many of the other 16 villages on the island, the airport and north side of the island, and out to sea. [...] “We just wait for [Telstra to fix] wherever the place has that issue … the last one was on the mainland, in the Cape, and another one was in the western islands, so we just have to wait.” (John Armitage, Erub Divisional Manager, TSIRC, 2023) Several agencies urged the need for further upgrades to communications for Erub to address the speed, reliability and congestion issues described above. [...] TSIRC Councillor Jimmy Gela has long advocated for the mobile tower to be at the highest point of the island so the signal could cover all villages, reach the island’s north side, and extend out to sea.
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