Poor cellphone coverage a worry
A South Canterbury woman whose son suffers seizures from a traumatic brain injury worries a lack of cellphone coverage could have dire consequences in an emergency.
Amanda Taylor is calling for better connectivity along a stretch of State Highway 8, between Pleasant Point and Albury, not just out of concern for her 28-year-old son, Marcus, who sustained brain damage when a tree branch fell on his head at age 4, but for other residents and even passing motorists.
Taylor, who lives near Cave with her five children and a grandson, said the landline and internet were their only ways of communicating.
‘‘We’ve learned to adapt but it’s really hard,’’ she said.
However, Rural Connectivity Group, appointed by the Government to bring mobile and wireless broadband coverage to rural New Zealand, had plans to introduce four cell towers to the Mackenzie District by mid-2021, a spokesperson said.
‘‘The sites will be located to provide 4G service to users in parts of the Kimbell, Albury, Cave, and Cave South area, and 3G service covering some of SH8 from Kimbell to Cave South.
Taylor said while she had
noticed the lack of coverage more as she had a son with special needs, there was a range of things to consider.
Taylor said the increasing wallaby population meant more collisions between vehicles and the pests, often requiring the driver to find the closest town or house to call for help – while the Ministry of Justice was unable to set up electronically-monitored bail and sentences in the area,
which ‘‘splits up families’’.
‘‘There are others in the community as well who have health or injury-related issues,’’ she said.
‘‘Farm accidents are very common and without cellphone service, it’s minutes between an accident happening and calling for help.’’
Taylor said it was concerning such a ‘‘huge stretch’’ of a busy highway had limited coverage.
‘‘When the internet is playing up or the landline, we don’t have any other means of communication and that’s vital in today’s world.’’
Taylor said she called a doctor or Healthline up to two times a week for advice about Marcus, who suffers about 30 absence seizures a day and tonic-clonic seizures as well.
‘‘People might say we should move but it’s best to keep his life as smooth and rigid as possible.’’
Meanwhile, last year Taylor had to call emergency services when her 9-year-old son came off his bike and the handlebar impaled his leg.
‘‘I couldn’t sit with him because I had to run back into the house to use the landline, and I was going back and forth with their advice,’’ she said.
‘‘It was such a debacle, I ended up removing the handle and taking him straight to the hospital.’’
The Rural Connectivity Group spokesperson said once all sites were live, it was hoped that more than 300 rural homes and businesses and nearly 25 kilometres of state highway will benefit from the high-speed wireless broadband and mobile service the sites will offer.
The spokesperson said a site had been live in the Albury area since June.
‘‘The site is delivering 4G broadband and mobile services to users and 3G mobile coverage to approximately 11.5km of SH8.’’
A spokesman for Crown Infrastructure Partners, a government entity which distributes funding to the Rural Connectivity Group, said the live tower covered 164 rural homes and businesses for broadband and 10km of SH8 for mobile calling.
Another tower set to be built at Cave would cover 79 rural homes and businesses, and 12km of the highway.