Residents and businesses of Ballarat will now benefit from better mobile coverage and access to 4G and
5G services, thanks to a new mobile tower in Lucas.

Member for Ripon, Martha Haylett, today represented Minister for Government Services, Gabrielle
Williams at the launch of a new mobile tower that will transform mobile coverage for the community of
Lucas, making it easier to study, work, and stay in touch with loved ones.

The new tower is the first of six projects that the Victorian Government is delivering in partnership with
Telstra, TPG and Optus to improve mobile coverage across Lucas and surrounds.

Located on the corner of Finchs Road and Cuthberts Road, the tower provides over 18 square kilometres
of new mobile coverage. Cardigan and Alfredton will also have completed Telstra towers in 2024, and
Mitchell Park will have completed Optus and TPG towers in 2026.

In the wider City of Ballarat area, there will be a total of 36 new mobile phone towers built, 16 upgraded
to provide improved 5G services and four towers made more resilient to natural disasters. Four mobile
upgrades from 4G to 5G have already been completed and the remaining will be progressively delivered
by 2026.

There will also be seven projects bringing higher quality broadband to homes and businesses in the City
of Ballarat. Four of these projects have been completed in Buninyong, Alfredton, Delacombe and
Wendouree resulting in access to faster broadband speeds for these locations.

Through Connecting Victoria, the Victorian Government is fast-tracking connectivity improvements with
more than 1200 mobile projects and 180 broadband projects across the state. All projects will be
completed by mid-2026, with many completed much sooner.

Find out more about Connecting Victoria at vic.gov.au/connectingvictoria

Quotes attributable to Member for Ripon Martha Haylett

"The lack of mobile reception is the number one issue for Lucas residents. I’m so pleased that this new
mobile tower and others to come will fix this issue and bring the community closer together.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Government Services Gabrielle Williams

"Lucas is one of many communities across the state where the people who live, work and visit there have
told us that better reception would significantly improve their everyday lives. We’re pleased to have been
able to deliver this tower more than one year ahead schedule.”

"We know connectivity is important – for business, jobs, leisure or wellbeing – which is why we’re fasttracking
better mobile and broadband in as many places as possible through the $540 million Connecting
Victoria program."

Quotes attributable to Regional General Manager for Telstra in Victoria, Steve Tinker

“This new Telstra base station in Lucas and the future sites in Cardigan and Alfredton will bring improved
connectivity to the region, and also deliver additional Triple Zero coverage for mobile users on any
network.

“This is a great example of what carriers like Telstra and the Victorian Government can achieve by
working together to bring new connectivity to regional locations. We congratulate the Victorian
Government for taking this initiative.”

Quotes attributable to Manager, Own Your Game Fitness, Melinda Sands

"In the past we’ve had to rely on landline and internet for managing our day-to-day business, so better
mobile coverage would give us more flexibility in communicating effectively with our clients. Our members
will also be able to use our free wi-fi, which has been difficult before.”

“Good coverage makes life easier for the Lucas community too – wellbeing isn’t just being fit and active,
it’s also about social connection and being able to pick up the phone and call a friend easily."