Telstra coverage in NT tourist areas
Submitted: Wednesday, Mar 01, 2017 at 13:01
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Member - Oxalater
Hi. Could anyone update me on Telstra mobile coverage in popular NT tourist areas please.
I'll be heading up through the Stuart Highway (detour to Uluru), into
Litchfield &
Kakadu... returning via Mt Isa into Central Qld in mid April.
Wondering if I really need a Sat Phone?
Thanks,
oxalater.
Reply By: TomH - Wednesday, Mar 01, 2017 at 13:48
Wednesday, Mar 01, 2017 at 13:48
If you are staying on the blacktop you wont need a satfone. However there are definitely blackspots all over the country and not only in the outback. We live near
Brisbane and our suburb has poor reception
Look at the Telstra coverage map and it will give a fairly good idea.
It depends on how much you NEED to be in touch 24/7 If you cant do without communication then the expense of a Satfone may be justified.
I worked on the theory that no matter what happened we were too far away to be able to do anything about it anyway so finding out when we got in coverage was good enough.
A very good friend died during our trip but due to where we were was almost impossible to even get to go to his funeral.
AnswerID:
609043
Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Mar 01, 2017 at 16:11
Wednesday, Mar 01, 2017 at 16:11
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As others have said, mobile phone reception in the zones you mention will be patchy.
But to answer your question of wondering if you "really need a Sat Phone?" then the answer could depend on why you feel that you need telephone connectivity. If you wish to keep in constant contact with family and friends then yes, but if it is only for emergencies then I wouldn't consider a satellite phone an essential as the
places you intend to visit have throngs of other tourists available to assist in an emergency.
Understand that I am not denigrating satphones. I carry one at all times...... but then I go into very remote areas.
AnswerID:
609053
Reply By: Motherhen - Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 01:14
Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 01:14
You will get reception at
Erldunda, and good reception and
Yulara. Nothing at Kings Canyon resort. Good around
Alice Springs. Most roadhouses and all towns along the Stuart Highway heading north have cover. We went to Douglass Hot Springs (near Hayes Creek), to the west of the Stuart Highway, and were surprised to get a signal in the national parks
campground there.
Check Baz's link to the Telstra cover map. We did not get cover where we stayed at
Litchfield (Safari
Camp on the western side). Through
Kakadu, we got reception at the
Mardugal campground (near Yellow Waters) and the Muirella
campground. I don't think I checked at Merl (Ubirr).
On the
Barkly Highway there is reception around Barkly Roadhouse, and again at
Camooweal. If travelling on the highways, you will only be a day or two without cover. If your vehicle is reliable and you have no health issues that could cause emergency situations, you will not need a satellite phone.
We travelled with a satellite phone, and needed it when we had a
breakdown 200 kilometres west of the Stuart Highway in the Davenport Ranges.
AnswerID:
609077
Reply By: Zippo - Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 11:47
Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 11:47
Refer to the coverage maps for "retail Telstra" (
Telstra and Boost) and for the MVNO's (resellers) who have only access to
Telstra Wholesale coverage.
By way of comparison, you can
check the Optus network coverage (
start here) and the Vodafone coverage (
start here) too.
Barkly Roadhouse is a prime example of a micro-cell, based on providing locality cover rather than any attempt at wider area cover. Range is limited to "a few km".
Telstra have held the lead in regional and remote coverage (*) since mobile phones first appeared here, but that grasp is fast slipping. For a couple of years Optus have been commissioning micro-cells in a number of remote localities. This is covered in
a thread on Whirlpool which also explains the Black Spot funding program. In a lot of those localities (
Oodnadatta is a prime example) Telstra is now having to play catch-up. The good news for travellers with a foot in each
camp (as we are) is that a LOT of one-horse-towns will have coverage going forward.
(*) Much of their remote coverage - while the brown spots on the map in the middle of nowhere look impressive on the map - were established under a govt program to service remote aboriginal communities rather than tourist traffic. The Black Spot programs are aimed at providing coverage at roadside facilities on tourist routes. If you
check the listed sites in that Whirlpool thread you will see it picks up spots like
William Creek (now operational) and
Marree (Trevor will be happy!) as
well as
Curtin Springs,
Wauchope, ... the list is too long.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: b1b - Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 16:33
Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 16:33
Trevor will be happy,................................... or will he ?
b1b
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Zippo - Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 16:39
Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 16:39
Well Trevor has been b1tching about the absence of cellphone coverage in the William Creek/
Marree area for yonks, to anyone who will listen.
Of course whether this will actually improve his outward disposition is another thing.
FollowupID:
878857
Follow Up By: b1b - Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 22:50
Thursday, Mar 02, 2017 at 22:50
He's actually not a bad bloke and does a lot of promotion for the area, but to be a wee tad cynical, it also raises his financial stocks. I haven't seen him for quite a while but he is still a business man. Even out there in some beautiful country, an entrepreneur will survive. And he does it
well, but what a backyard.........he might be (w)right............
b1b
FollowupID:
878882
Reply By: Top End Az - Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 17:23
Friday, Mar 03, 2017 at 17:23
We get Telstra coverage up to about 60km out of
Darwin, nothing much out at
Kakadu unless in the nearby Jabirun township, and nothing on the Stuart Highway unless passing through towns. Ulura has coverage but nothing much else between there are the Stuart Highway. I haven't been out to
Litchfield NP for a while so can't vouch for how reception is out there.
My wife has Telstra, I have Optus; usually when we are travelling back to
Darwin her phone will pick up coverage 5-10 minutes earlier or so than
mine does when on the highway
AnswerID:
609128