The hidden danger that stopped ‘horrifically’ injured farmer from getting help
A woman has made an urgent plea for better mobile service in rural areas of Australia after her fiancé lay injured on a property, unable to make an emergency call.
Lucy McCourt-Pearce, from Avenue Range in South Australia, says her soon-to-be husband Jon Paul Paenga was working on a farm on Wednesday when he accidentally tipped a hay truck.
In an emotional Facebook post, Ms McCourt-Pearce detailed how Mr Paenga lay injured “for who knows how long”, unable to reach the radio to let his co-workers know.
“But he had his phone in his back pocket. Do you think that helped him? No. There was no phone service. Not even to make an EMERGENCY phone call. We are only about 20 minutes from the nearest town,” she wrote.
She said Mr Paenga’s boss eventually found him and was able to get help.
“While the cities are getting 5G, we don’t even have enough service to make an emergency call,” she said.
“So he laid there. He laid there in horrific pain and thankfully his boss found him.
“So what if his boss was at one of the other properties? What if he was away?”
‘Blood on your hands’
Imploring politicians and Telstra to address the problem, Ms McCourt-Pearce created a petition for improved mobile phone services in rural areas.
By Thursday afternoon, it had garnered more than 5,300 signatures.
“Accidents HAPPEN. They are bound to happen. Especially on farms. Every farmer you meet can tell you the dangers,” she said.
“So politicians, Telstra, anyone, I ask you to give us phone towers in rural areas.
“It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity.
“I hate to say it, but there will be a horrific accident, and because someone cannot make one single, simple phone call there will be blood on your hands.”
The couple are planning to host their engagement party next week, a celebration Ms McCourt-Pearce said she feared her partner would miss.
“Imagine losing someone so close to the important events because they couldn’t get help? It nearly happened. It’s scary how easily it could have happened,” she said.
Mobile Black Spot Program
In 2015, the Australian government rolled out the Mobile Black Spot Program, investing $380million into improving telecommunications infrastructure across the country.
The program has been rolled out over six rounds, with 748 base stations activated by October 4 this year.
No South Australian areas are listed on the government’s priority list of 125 black spots.
Telstra provides 3G and 4G coverage to parts of Avenue Range, but not the majority.
A macrocell base station has been installed near Mundulla, 100kms away from Avenue Range, according to a national map detailing the new coverage.
The new station is too far away to provide coverage for Ms McCourt-Pearce and her fiance, according to a Telstra spokesperson.
Mark Bolton, regional general manager for Telstra in SA, told Yahoo News Australia the state’s south-east “is in most cases well serviced by Telstra mobile coverage.”
“Near Avenue Range we have mobile base stations providing coverage from sites based in Naracoorte, Lucindale, Biscuit Flat and Robe,” he said.
“In SA we have more than 700 mobile base stations and Telstra provides mobile coverage to over 99.6% of the population. However, given our large land mass, we acknowledge there are many places across the state where there may be limited or no mobile coverage.”
Mr Bolton said Telstra will contact Ms McCourt-Pearce “to understand the situation and discuss options that may assist with mobile coverage on their property.”
A spokesperson with the Department of Communications and the Arts told Yahoo News Australia they are “sorry to hear about the recent farming accident involving Ms Lucy McCourt-Pearce’s fiancé Jon, and wishes him a quick recovery.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that due to the distance between Avenue Range and the new base stations installed at Mundulla West and Kybybolite, Avenue Range will not receive improved coverage from these sites.
Optus has funded 65 mobile base stations and the deployment of 49 satellite small cells.
A map provided by an Optus spokesperson to Yahoo News Australia shows the company provides 4G and 3G coverage to the Avenue Range area.
“We also recommend that customers travelling in remote areas of Australia with limited, or no mobile coverage utilise our Thuraya SatSleeve+. The Thuraya SatSleeve+ transforms a compatible smartphone into a satellite device, enabling mobile coverage anywhere in Australia with line of sight to the sky,” the spokesperson said.
They later invested further funds to install 61 new mobile sites.
Vodafone has funded 75 new sites, none of which are located in South Australia.
Public demand
Ms McCourt-Pearce’s Facebook post attracted a lot of attention, especially for those who have found themselves in a similar situation.
“We have no service on many places on the farm. It’s a big worry, when you know that sometimes, the first you would know of something going wrong, is your loved one not coming home on time,” one woman wrote.
“You are so so right though, the big Telco’s need to hear us from the bush and realise just how important mobile service is to us,” a man urged.
Another woman said she worried about the safety of her children while they play on their property.
“It’s terrible isn’t it, the little service we receive living remotely on the farm goes down when it’s harvest or seeding time with extras in the area working, she said.
“This concerns me greatly if the kids happen to get bitten by a snake, or myself stung by a bee being highly anaphylactic to bee venom, and over an hour away from our closest nursing post & ambulance,” she said.
Others told Ms McCourt-Pearce to call 112 instead of 000 when having an emergency.
Ms Ms McCourt-Pearce said the 112 number still doesn’t work in their remote area.
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Vodafone for comment.
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