The notorious mobile phone black spot across the top of Clyde Mountain is no more after Telstra commissioned a new base station.
The solar-powered base station will serve Telstra customers only but under a national telecommunications agreement, it will pick up and relay all emergency triple zero calls, regardless of provider.
The Clyde Mountain section of the Kings Highway, with its switchback bends, narrow roadway and occasional rockslides, has for years been a "black hole" for mobile users.
The new station at Buckenbowra is delivering 3G and 4GX mobile coverage, and will provide approximately 11 kilometres of new handheld Telstra coverage across the top of the mountain between Pooh Corner and Cabbage Tree Creek, more if you have an external antenna or booster.
This site proved challenging to construct due to its location within the Mongo National Park and the absence of a mains electricity supply to the site.
To support the power-hungry base station are 72 large batteries powered by 60 solar panels.
They are supported by a permanent generator, which kicks in to enable continuous coverage when the panels are unable to charge the batteries due to low sun levels.
The Clyde Mountain section is the slowest and most accident-prone section of the highway, which connects Canberra directly with the NSW South Coast. It was closed last October overnight for three weeks in both directions, Monday to Thursday, for remedial work to better protect against rockslides.
Eurobodalla Shire Mayor Liz Innes said the council had been lobbying for the tower for years and that it "would make a huge difference to the safety of our community".
