Kybybolite residents call for change

Those in the productive South East rural community say patchy service is costing their farming businesses money, putting families at risk in medical emergencies and affecting their chances of hosting regional sporting events.

The federal government has committed $100 million to the delivery of the Mobile Black Spot Programme - an initiative to extend mobile phone coverage and competition in regional Australia.

During the consultation period, it received more than 4000 nominations Australia-wide, including Kybybolite, but residents wanted to make sure they remained front of mind ahead of the announcement of successful base stations sometime before June 30.

On Friday, the Kybybolite Action Group held a public meeting to reiterate its concerns with Federal Member for Barker Tony Pasin.

The group's immediate past president David Laurie said mobile phone coverage was not a convenience but a necessity.

He was frustrated that more isolated areas had better coverage.

They were pleased Mr Pasin had identified the town, along with Karoonda and Kalangadoo, as priorities within his electorate for the Mobile Black Spot Programme - with the three towns the most populated areas without good mobile coverage.

"We know now we aren't being pushed to the side," Mr Laurie said.

"We are very hopeful something will happen, it is just a matter of when, with the government short of money."

Mr Laurie said a "common sense" approach would be to add the necessary infrastructure to the National Broadband tower erected nearly a year ago, rather than build a new tower, but it remained to be seen if this collaboration would occur.

New president Andrew Shepherd said one of the biggest problems was convincing the government and telecommunications industry that the settlement was not a "tin pot town".

"More is going on than we have been given credit for, employing many people and putting large amounts of money into the economy," he said.

"It is one of the most diverse agricultural areas in the region with apples, cropping, lucerne, horticulture and is a large small-seed growing area."

Mr Shepherd was faced with a difficult decision earlier this year when his son came off a motorbike on their farm which had no mobile phone service.

"It was either leaving him and going for help to ring an ambulance, or risking further injury and picking him up and taking him to hospital," he said.

"I wasn't going to leave him. In the end he was flown to Adelaide with a collapsed lung but we were lucky."

Mark Kester - who runs Kesters Apples and is a small-seeds producer - said constant communication with staff and customers was vital to his business.

"It is a competitive world. If you don't answer your phone when a buyer rings they will try someone else even if you are their best supplier," he said.

Mr Pasin said he had received wide ranging responses during the consultation period but Kybybolite was one of the recurring areas named.

"It was good to be able to update them and tell them we have put the area in the best possible circumstances for being a priority to get a tower," he said.

"Ultimately it is out of the government's hands where service providers decide to invest, but I am hopeful that the community of Kybybolite will soon see mobile phone coverage and have one of the successful base stations."

He said the programme was also encouraging co-contribution from other levels of government.

The only state to not make a contribution so far was SA, but Mr Pasin said he had been in discussion with his state colleagues.

Vic recently announced its decision to support a bid for funding, while WA committed $35m and NSW $25m. Tas had also committed funds.