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Lingara flicks the switch on mobile and internet coverage

20 July 2022
Grants and Funding
The new satellite small cell at Lingara.

Residents of Lingara can access phone and internet reception for the first time, thanks to the successful installation of a satellite small cell on Friday. The installation of the small cell is part of a wider Homelands Project, supported by the Aboriginal Benefits Account (ABA).

Located 30 kilometres from Yarralin, the only way residents could previously reach family, friends, or essential services outside of the community was via the community's one Wi-Fi public phone. 

This connectivity is particularly important for Lingara, which during the wet season becomes completely isolated due to flooding of the four surrounding creeks. 

Victoria Daly Regional Council Mayor, Brian Pedwell, said the successful installation would mean a better quality of life for people in the homeland. 

“When you can’t make or receive a phone call or get onto the internet, it means you’re cut off from family and essential food and health services,” he said. 

Mayor Pedwell thanked the ABA for its financial support in the project, and said he was looking forward to working with the agency in the future.

“For the people of Lingara, this is going to be life-changing,” Mayor Pedwell said.

The $277,404 in grant funding provided from ABA also covers upgrades to sewerage systems in the community and the installation of a common effluent drain and connections up to 30 metres per house, to service community homes.