Can you get 5G?

Did you experience what Jan and Chris did? ...
5G Frustration

On the 9th of January we lost Telstra 4GX mobile internet service to our home in Coal Point Rd which we have had since moving back to Coal Point in 2016. We also noticed a deterioration in signal strength on our 4G mobile phones. This continues to be the case.

Successive chased up contacts and misinformation from Telstra over the next week eventually put us in phone contact with Telstra's Antenna division. They initially advised that they had recently made a 5G upgrade to the telecommunication tower in the Ridge reserve near Whitelocke Street and this had caused the interference and loss of our 4GX signal. They advised that they would investigate resolving the problem, possibly by the installation of an external antenna on our roof. Final contact revealed that they were not prepared to do anything to resolve the problem and advised us to seek our internet services elsewhere as we are assessed as being in a "4G no-go site". We are currently using the internet via hot spotting through our mobile phones. It also means that the upgraded 4GX mobile broadband equipment we purchased from Telstra less than 12 month ago is now redundant and worthless.

We immediately filed a formal complaint to Telstra about this "unplanned" disconnection of our internet service and the Antenna division's response to which the Complaints department is yet to reply to. We have also prepared detailed advice on Telstra's lack of action and responses for the presentation to the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman in the probable eventuality of being unsuccessful with Telstra.

Hence we are wondering if any other residents of this area who receive their telecommunication services from Telstra via the West Ridge tower have recently experienced similar problems with a view to possible discussion of a plan to tackle this problem.

As a matter of interest, in relation to the implementation of Telstra's 5G services to our area, Telstra claims on their relevant website and directly to us from their Antenna Division that they now have complete 5G coverage over the entire Coal Point Peninsula. But if you are interested in updating to the 5G mobile internet plan currently on offer by Telstra, reference to the relevant website will reveal that unless you live in the immediate vicinity and in direct, uninterrupted line of sight of the West Ridge tower, you will not be able to implement such a plan due to the non-availability of minimum download speed of 50Mb per second required for 5G Home Internet to work.

If you’ve experienced a similar issue please contact Telstra’s Complaint department m.ackland@team.telstra.com.