Telstra bumps up phone coverage for Byron festivals

PRESS RELEASE

After months of productive negotiation North Byron Parklands and the organisors of the Splendour in the Grass and the Falls Festivals are pleased to announce that Telstra will be providing superior connectivity to Telstra mobile users in and around the Parklands’ venue.

Telstra has agreed to supply 2 portable mobile base stations known as COWs or Cells on Wheels for future events held at North Byron Parklands and also install fibre optic cabling to the Parklands’ venue. The COW’s will be connected to this fibre optic cable so festival patrons, local residents and event management using the Telstra network will be able to access high quality service for mobile voice and 3G/4G data. The cabling installation by Telstra is almost complete and the COW’s will be put in place for the upcoming Falls Festival event.

Today, Splendour in the Grass co-producer Jessica Ducrou said, “After Splendour 2014 we had a very positive series of discussions and are pleased to have reached an agreement with Telstra that will benefit our festival patrons and the local community. It’s a fantastic result and we applaud Telstra for their genuine interest in working through a very complex set of constraints and finding a solution for both their customers and Parklands.”

Telstra Area General Manager Sue Passmore today said: “We’re thrilled to have come to an agreement with North Byron Parklands, Splendour in the Grass and the Falls Festival to boost mobile coverage during these popular events. With the increase in network capacity and coverage as a result of these works, we will make sure festival- goers and residents stay connected. It is important to note the increase in demand on the mobile network does not affect fixed landline services in the area. The fibre optic cable work has been installed specifically to provide additional support to our mobile services”

“This is a fabulous outcome for the venue. As with any outdoor events, whether they are metropolitan or regional, there can be a strain placed on mobile communication networks. Over the past 12 months we have been working with a range of carriers to improve network coverage in the area immediately surrounding Parklands. This outcome with Telstra strengthens the local mobile network and will bring a much greater level of connectivity for local community Telstra users,” added Mat Morris, General Manager of North Byron Parklands.

Image: Splendourinthegrass.com (Lachlan Johnston)