A Telstra survey conducted by the Douglas Chamber of Commerce focusing on Internet connection and mobile coverage, conclusively shows the dissatisfaction with the service in the shire, with some respondents referring to the coverage as third-world.

Reacting to the survey results, chamber president Helen De Ross said she was not surprised by the results.

“Considering the level of engagement the Chamber has had with its members and wider community, the results are as expected.

“There is a significant level of discourse and anger with our needs falling on deaf ears. We have continually engaged with NBN and Telstra and Mayor Julia Leu has spoken with both major Federal candidates about the issue,” said Ms De Ross.

Ms De Ross said she was reasonably happy with the response, but added you always want greater involvement.

“Although we would love to have had hundreds of responses due to the level of complaints and dependence on the network, 100 local businesses responded which is a good sample size to highlight the issues,” she said.

Some of the respondents not only complained about the coverage, but also directed their attacks at Telstra.

“Telstra is painful to deal with on all levels as well as billing. I've wasted so much time on the phone, having to call back numerous times, to try and resolve a simple issue. Telstra doesn't need to ‘up their game’ they need to change it completely ... and regardless of what that change is... it couldn't get worse!”

Another highlighted our Internet and mobile coverage could impact this area and impede our growth as a tourist destination.

“We cannot grow our destination if our guests cannot connect to family and their businesses while travelling. Many business people rely on internet connectivity to allow them to travel for both business and holidays.

“Guests have a right to expect better than what is being delivered – we are not a third-world destination.”

De Ross said she is quietly confident there could be some improvements.

“I am ‘hopeful’ we will get an upgrade to NBN with Fibre to Premises network.  The reason behind this is:

• Very highly dependent on tourism industry

• High growth in tourism industry and connectivity being a standard requirement

• NBN Fibre to Node network in Cairns over capacity and struggling

• Telstra cabling is aged and faulty. Cost of consistent repair would outweigh cost of full NBN connection

• Destination Marketing is paramount for a tourism dependent region with advocacy through social media and online mediums the most influential guerrilla marketing strategy. While tourists strive to do this, they are unable to do so due to the poor connectivity.”

Ms De Ross said after the election, the Douglas Chamber of Commerce and Douglas Shire Council will be in discussion with the Federal Government and seek to upgrade the proposed NBN to Fibre to Premises as Cairns is already struggling with Fibre to Node NBN.

“There is a well-documented growth in tourism and significant investment to attract visitors to the region, and we have to have suitable telecommunications infrastructure to meet this demand.

“As our network is sub-standard and struggling with current traffic, we have to upgrade to a network that can support our tourism industry,” she said.