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nghenvironmental have been working with Telstra in assisting in the development of Telstra infrastructure for almost 15 years; including over 7 years experience in mobile phone planning and development. We have prepared planning documents and related environmental and archaeological assessments for over 70 sites throughout southern and south western NSW, northern Victoria and the ACT (approximate development cost over $23 million).
These projects include the Federal Government funded rollout of mobile phone infrastructure based on the Besley and Estens Inquiries. The Besley Rollout, funded by the Federal Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts (DoCITA), required that Telstra provide new or improved mobile phone coverage to 132 designated towns with populations of more than 500 people, 55 towns with populations less than 500 people and along 34 regional highways of economic importance.
The Estens Inquiry recommended that the Government provide additional funding to support the capital costs of extending land-based mobile phone services to small population centres and key highways in regional Australia. The Government has already provided funding to build 915 mobile phone base stations and repeaters along Australia's national highways, on regional highways, and in regional towns, which will result in 98% of the population having land-based mobile phone coverage.
The management of mobile phone rollouts and other ongoing telecommunications projects involves a complex understanding of Federal, State and local environmental legislation and planning policies, as well as telecommunications legislation and a range of other related planning instruments.
As well as preparing environmental impact assessments, we have been required to produce a number of Environmental Management Plans (EMP’s) detailing how the potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed installations would be managed. EMP’s have been produced for sites in sensitive areas such as Kosciuszko National Park and areas containing ecologically endangered communities (EEC’s), as well as more populated areas.
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