Bushfire prone areas with poor or patchy phone reception in the Perth Hills will be better connected through the Morrison Government’s new $16.4 million Peri-Urban Mobile Program (PUMP).

Through PUMP, the Government will provide grants to mobile network operators like Telstra to deploy new mobile coverage infrastructure to improve their networks in peri-urban areas.

Federal Member for Canning Andrew Hastie said that many community members in the Perth Hills had raised their concerns about the reliability of local mobile coverage.

“Reliable telecommunications are essential in bushfire prone areas like the Perth Hills,” Mr Hastie said.

“Communities like Roleystone are less than an hour from the Perth CBD, but many residents do not have adequate reception.”

“The problem was that these areas didn’t meet the criteria for support from the Mobile Black Spot Program as they aren’t classified as regional or remote areas, to which that program was targeted.”

“So MPs with outer-urban seats like Canning lobbied for a more tailored solution. In response, the Morrison Government has introduced this new program, which will give network providers an incentive to build more mobile towers in areas on the outskirts of major cities, like the Perth Hills.”

“This will mean a big improvement to the lives of people living and working in the Hills, and will help provide access to vital information in the event of an emergency.”

“I’ll be working to ensure the Perth Hills benefit from the PUMP program.”