Better cell coverage sought for suburb
A CELLULAR black spot enshrouding one Dunedin coastal suburb is stifling growth and putting residents at risk.
Cellphone coverage in Tomahawk/Ocean Grove is at best patchy and at worst nonexistent, and the Otago Peninsula Community Board is calling on the Government to do something about it.
Community board chairman Paul Pope has written to Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi, asking the area to be brought into the 21st century.
Coverage in the area had long been a concern of residents and the community board, Mr Pope said.
‘‘The community is suffering from technological poverty, which is made worse by its low lying costal position and inclusion in a predicted tsunami zone.’’
In a tsunami many residents would not be able to receive the text alerts from Civil Defence, putting them at risk, he said.
Local business was also stymied and it was almost impossible for people to work from home.
‘‘I know of one resident who ran his business from his home in Tomahawk, and he could read his emails fine, but every hour or so he had to drive to the top of the hill and check his texts and make sure he hadn’t missed any calls.’’
Many residents in Oregon St had given up owning cellphones all together because they could not use phones in their homes at all.
‘‘In this day and age to have a suburb located so close to the centre of the city but still not have cell access just seems crazy.’’
Mr Pope hoped the letter would at least prompt the Government to look at the issue and figure out a way it could be improved.
Mr Faafoi’s office directed questions about the cellphone coverage to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), but said he had received the letter and would respond in due course.
In an emailed statement, a MBIE spokesman said while the Ocean Grove/Tomahawk was not covered by the Government’s mobile black spot fund programme, Crown Infrastructure Partners advised coverage maps showed there was relatively good coverage in the area.
Commercial options were available for residents contracted to certain telecommunications companies if their coverage was poor, the spokesman said.