Powerlink’s controversial power lines in Gympie, South Burnett to host internet transmission
The company behind a controversial pumped hydro project says it could help deliver faster internet and better phone reception to areas notorious for black spots.
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Better mobile coverage and faster internet speeds is what the state government has put on offer as part of the digital infrastructure with the high-voltage transmission lines proposed for Gympie and South Burnett, as part of the Borumba pumped hydro project.
Powerlink on Wednesday said $500,000 had been committed to investigate and identify the need for more digital connectivity between Gympie and South Burnett as part of the SuperGrid Telecommunications Program.
While the proposed 2000MW, $14.2bn Borumba Pumped Hydro project has been greeted with mixed feelings, the two 70m wide corridors connecting the generated electricity to the grid - Woolooga to the north, and Halys to the west, has been met with resistance, with a number of landholders encouraging a ‘lock the gate’ approach.
In response to community feedback, Powerlink has extended deadlines and diverted lines to accommodate the backlash residents have retaliated with.
Better internet coverage could be a glimpse of a silver-lining for the transmission project, as the fibre optic cables would simply run alongside the top-most wires on the transmission lines, and where black spots exist, mobile towers can be bolted at the peak of the tower boosting the mobile coverage
The news of the lines bringing better internet connectivity comes as Powerlink prepares to announce its final alignment late next week and hits a spot that has long been an issue within the region.
Federal government data identifies 100 reception black spots across the Gympie region.
“Mobile blackspots and slow internet speeds has been a consistent theme we have heard from local landholders as part of our ongoing engagement on the project,” Powerlink CEO Paul Simshauser said.
“With new infrastructure being developed to connect the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project to the grid, we saw an opportunity for Powerlink, working with QCN, to enable vastly improved internet and mobile phone coverage to the region.”
In 2020, QCN was formed as a subsidiary of Powerlink and Energy Queensland and utilising the ability to use fibre optic cables alongside electricity infrastructure, such as high voltage transmission lines.
“The lack of consistent and fast connectivity and infrastructure in specific regional areas will always create a digital divide,” QCN CEO Derek Meredith said.
“Using Powerlink’s new tower infrastructure, QCN will seek to dramatically improve and expand telecommunications services to underserviced areas like these in regional Queensland.”
The statement from Powerlink said investigation works along the proposed transmission corridors will start in early 2024 and transmission line infrastructure in 2025.
It said research showed homes and businesses around Kilkivan, Jimna and Manumbar were most in need of such infrastructure and would benefit from the upgrades.
“The SuperGrid Telecommunications Program aims to boost internet speeds by up to 100 times in regional townships and provide vastly improved mobile phone coverage to homes and businesses in Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) areas, and across the footprint of Queensland’s SuperGrid,” it stated.
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