Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Julia Leu met with Telstra last week to discuss the poor internet connectivity in Port Douglas. 

Chamber of Commerce (DCC) provided feedback from many businesses ranging from Real Estate Agents, Tour Operators, Solicitors and Accommodation including smaller Holiday Letting businesses to QT and Sheraton Mirage. Council gave this information directly to Telstra’s Area and Business Managers who were very thorough reading each response.

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NBN and Telstra are separate businesses and NBN is not due to be rolled out in Port Douglas until 2018.  Chamber of Commerce is following up interim solutions with Marcello Massi from NBN who is on leave until late January.

“Whilst we are hoping there may be a solution available, options we have requested may not be viable,” said DCC President, Helen De Ross.

DCC advised that Telstra has identified some key issues with our mobile and landline internet services.

It is evident that many businesses in Port Douglas, including the large accommodation premises are on ADSL2 which is designed for consumer or small business usage. This also comes with a consumer price tag of about $100-$200 per month.  Businesses requiring higher bandwidth and usage should ideally be on business tailored plans, such as Telstra Business’ Ethernet Lite, which is a direct line from business to internet that is not affected by traffic. This is particularly important now there are more devices and streaming such as Netflix. This comes with a higher price tag but may be more suitable for the end user. 

The upgrade of hardware, such as modems may be necessary. Many run on 2.5ghz but there is now 5ghz capability available which provides much higher speeds.

Contracts are generally two years and, if utilising Ethernet Lite service, it will be possible to change to NBN after this period upon business request.  This will also fit in with the current timeframe of NBN.  Ethernet Lite uses either copper or fibre optic cable and can be changed over when NBN is live. Both services will be available for businesses to choose from.

Telstra is aware of a mobile coverage issue in Four Mile and is working on a solution. There is 4G coverage in Mossman, Craiglie and Port Douglas. New, even faster technology called 4GX is being scoped out for the area. To best utilise this service and experience faster data on you mobile phone, you may need to upgrade your handset, for example, it requires mobile phones to be 2015 plus for example an iphone 6.

There will also be Port Douglas & Mossman branded free Community Wifi.  Telstra is currently speaking to Council about the service. This will be the same as Cairns Community Wifi and provided by Telstra.  This will be supported by Chamber of Commerce as it promotes local businesses that are searched by industry.

“Telstra, Chamber of Commerce and Council will be holding an Information Session in coming weeks, in the morning and afternoon, to discuss these issues and options available to our businesses.  This should be well attended, hence both sessions in order to have quality personalised information,” said Ms De Ross.

“In between sessions there will also be a booking allocation for businesses to have a one-on-one session with a Telstra Business Manager to go through their individual needs.

“There will also be a special offer to Chamber of Commerce members and whilst the details are still to be confirmed, it will include an “Internet Health Check”.  This will ensure the business is on the correct connection for their requirements, modem is suitable, cables are in order and other hardware is current,” advised Ms De Ross.

The Telstra Information Sessions will be advertised shortly with all relevant details included.