East Cabonne residents left frustrated by lack of mobile connection as project start date looms

But that's been the reality for Ophir Road resident Learne Spicer for 22 years, as she - along with many others in the area - say their community has been living without clear landline access, mobile coverage or internet service for decades now.

"As soon as I go outside of the house, even the satellite won't work and then we've got absolutely no reception, none at all," Mrs Spicer said.

"Some people might get one or two bars [of reception], but the majority of us have to drive to the top of the hill near Spring Glen and park on the side of the road just to phone out.

"It's getting a bit ridiculous now, especially as we're only 15 kilometres outside of Orange."

A mere 17-minute drive from the Orange central business district, Mrs Spicer's home sits on 100 acres and is surrounded by dense bushland and tall grass.

Outside the reach of all mobile phone coverage when on the land, she says that triple-zero calls also won't connect - even when "SOS" mode is activated.

"We had an old copper ADSL landline with Telstra, but when we'd get struck by lightning or hit by heavy rain, the lines would go out and it could take anywhere from one to eight weeks to get reconnected," she said.

"For sure it's a concern, because if our satellites are down and a fire happens, we're bitten by a snake or a car accident occurs ... there's no way to call out for help in emergencies, we can't."

With survey data collected from more than 500 residents in the East Cabonne area, former Cabonne council candidate Aaron Pearson continues a relentless pursuit in the battle for new mobile towers in the local government area.

Touching base with tech conglomerates and various government officials to take action, Mr Pearson recently received word back from the federal minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, confirming Telstra has been awarded funding for the Cabonne Shire towers to finally take shape.

The correspondence said the project will "deploy two new Telstra macro mobile base stations and one new small cell", providing new and improved handheld coverage along sections of Burrendong Way.

The project is also said to include dedicated coverage for Mullion Creek residents, which carries the support of local members Andrew Gee and Phillip Donato, as well as Labor candidate for Orange, Heather Dunn.

Having now requested a specific timeline for the project's start and completion dates, Mr Pearson says the battle won't be over for him until the towers are complete and he will continue to "go at it harder" until that day arrives.

"We now live in the digital age where basically everything requires you to have an internet connection or a mobile phone [which means] two things that were once a luxury, are now a necessity," he said.

"[Technology] is needed for communication with family, for businesses, employment and even emergency services and without adequate connectivity, it potentially places residents at risk and leaves them at a great disadvantage."

Also a soldier in the poor coverage battle, Member for Orange Phil Donato said the issue further disadvantages country-based business and education opportunities, and has been lobbying in parliament for better connectivity for several years.

He also reiterated the absurdity of Neil Armstrong being able to communicate directly from the moon with earth back in 1969, yet many residents are still living without reliable mobile services in 2023.

Another official to confirm the wait for specific project dates from Telstra, Member for Calare Andrew Gee said that "living west of the sandstone curtain" shouldn't mean a cut to connectivity.

"[And] unfortunately, the change of government put the brakes on the deployment process," Mr Gee said, "and eight months after the projects were given the green-light, they're still at a standstill."

Mrs Spicer says while many residents have felt frustrated and had, to a degree, "given up" after several attempts for improvements, having multiple advocates in their corner has been a welcome relief.

"It felt like no one was fighting for us on this side for many years, we've felt like 'the little people' without a voice for so long," she said.

"A lot of us had given up and so we needed that person, someone like Aaron [Pearson] and the members pushing for this issue, to really fight for our area."

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