Transgrid says it is installing telecommunications boosters on high-voltage transmission towers as part of its 365km HumeLink project in New South Wales, aiming to improve mobile and internet coverage in regional areas without building new telecommunications towers.
The initiative, delivered in partnership with Lumea, places boosters on transmission towers along the HumeLink alignment. According to Transgrid, the equipment captures mobile signals from up to 20km away and rebroadcasts them within a radius of up to three kilometres, depending on terrain.
Three boosters are already operating at Myrtleville and Chatsbury in the Upper Lachlan Shire, and Wyangle in the Snowy Valleys Council area. Transgrid says early testing at the first sites has recorded mobile download speeds of around 30Mbps in locations that previously had no reception.
HumeLink will fund up to 10 boosters across five local government areas: Cootamundra-Gundagai, Wagga Wagga, Snowy Valleys, Upper Lachlan Shire and Yass Valley. Transgrid said additional boosters will be rolled out this year, with locations selected based on known telecommunications blackspots, community feedback and areas where improved coverage could support residents, motorists and emergency services.
Lumea’s Head of Telecommunications Tim Stone said the project could demonstrate a broader role for electricity networks in addressing regional connectivity gaps, citing the scale of Transgrid’s transmission network of more than 11,500km across NSW and the ACT.
HumeLink Project Director Jeremy Roberts said the project had received consistent feedback from landholders and communities about poor mobile reception, and that the project’s towers provide “the height, power supply and geographic reach” to support telecommunications equipment.
Upper Lachlan Mayor Paul Culhane said the boosters were a “practical improvement” for residents and travellers, and could support safety and day-to-day life in the region.
Transgrid described HumeLink as a major transmission project intended to connect Snowy 2.0 and other new renewable energy generation to the grid.
