Travelling the Great Central Road - Phone/Internet access?

Hi Simonp,
Can only comment on mobile phone coverage on the Great Central Road, you will have it around Laverton then nothing until you get to Ayers Rock, best is on Telstra.

Cheers,
Dennis.

Simon

Mobile phone coverage in Outback Australia will only be within 40km of populated areas such as larger towns. So from Laverton to Uluru there will be no coverage. There will be limited coverage between Uluru and Alice Springs (I think there is coverage at Erldunda RH) and only coverage at Marla, Coober Pedy, Pimba and then from Port Augusta you should have continuous coverage to Melbourne and Sydney.

So if you need to speak with someone whilst travelling outside mobile phone coverage areas you will need to Hire a Satellite phone. You are able to access the internet via these phones but I understand that it is costly.

Cheers

Simon,

Laverton will be your last mobile coverage and I don't recall there being coverage there 2 years back. It should have 3G tho. From there east you won't have mobile reception until Yulara. There is nothing at Warburton, Warakurna or Docker. You nay be able to get internet access at Warburton via a shire facility or library but I doubt it. There is such a thing as satellite internet access but the kits are very expensive as are Sat phones. You may well be able to hire a Sat phone as a cost efficient alternative but buying one is prohibitively expensive (Don't touch Globalstar-Pivotel).

After you hit he Stuart Hwy south, You'll have reception at Coober Pedy and then good Coverage from Port Augusta onwards. You may wish to consider a 3G internet connection but it's only good for the more populated areas where mobile coverage exists.

The GCR is a fairly pedestrian route these days travelled by a good deal of people and usually maintained in good order. It can get a bit corrugated at times and rain is the main nemesis. The roughest section by far is the last 200 km from the WA border to Yulara. If you and your care are prepared, do you think the expense of a sat phone is warranted?

Cheers Mick

Hi simonp

Once you start on the Great Central Road you are on your own as far as communications goes apart from the fuel stops or settlements where you can access land line if necessary

Satellite phone or HF radio is the only way you are going to contact the "outside" world. Once you reach Ayres Rock you have mobile coverage but from memory you lose it again as you head East.

there is satellite internet access but at a cost.

It can be an interesting and enjoyable drive but can range from a breeze to some difficulty depending upon the weather and current state of the roads.

Not a sensible journey to undertake without some form of communication and a well prepared vehicle....and telling people of your movements..........having said that if you saw what the "locals" travel in and the way they are not prepared you would be staggered who gets away with what at times ..but then every now and again you read about them in the paper

plan well, go prepared and be aware of the weather / temperature in March......

Thanks folks,

I'll do some more research on sat phones with internet access I guess.

Unfortunately, although I will be on holiday, I can never really be too far away from the Internet (for work) :( ho hum!

Hope you don't mind if I jump on the tail end of this post. I'm going on a trip myself, in a few months. Maybe I can get some help that may also be useful to Simon.

My daughter-in-law has a wireless modem. She can use it on the desktop computer or else on the lap top.

As I understand her, she can use it with the lap top anywhere. I understand it works with satellite signals, not tower signals.

However, if I've got it wrong and it works off the tower, it may still be suitable for my travels.

It may be that she has it subsidized because they live a bit out of town.

Any knowledge of these things?

Thanks,
Laurie.

We have the capability of 2 way internet access via our Globalstar sat phone, but it is VERY slow (slower than dial up) and costs $1 per minute.
A satelite telephone call is cheaper and more effective, and incoming calls are free for us and the same cost as any other mobile phone for the caller.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

to Bega Photographer

u could do as I have done and buy a USB 3G modem ($199) from Telstra and go on a Casual Data Pack.
This gives u 1 gig for $59 5gig for $89 and on and up

It also allows you to reduce it to $5 a month if you were back home and didnt really need it for a while.
This is much cheaper than using your mobile as a modem and more variable as well.
This I found is by far the cheapest way of doing it and I looked at ALL options.

Cheers

Hi - Check telstra website for next G coverage map - not a lot the route you are going.
Good Luck

The Missus and I were just settling with a fire and quite drink when two techs appeared on foot over the dune from the air strip at Old Andado. Their lift had left them there as the pilot was not certified for night flying. We were surprised that they were left with only half a litre of water each.

They were to be picked up and taken to a drill site 3 hrs east. As they had been waiting for over 4 hours for their lift, I got on the HF radio and phoned their boss in Perth via Radtel. The tech gave him the rounds of the kitchen that their lift was not there to greet them. Anyway two calls later another vehicle was sent out. It arrived at speed 3 hours later, in where the driver got out with a sat phone called it everything under the sun and threw it into the back of the ute. Neither his or the other driver who turned the wrong way sat phone worked due to no signal. The station manager's missus from Andado turned up with a station hand as the boss in Perth phoned them thinking both stations were the same. She was very interested in the HF as they experienced the same drop outs with their Sat phones.

I have always been able to contact either by HF radio or Radtel anyone I want to talk to when ever I want. Sometimes the signal is not great but you always get through.

I don't have much experience with a sat phone as being the cheap skate I am I have only used the HF as it is more economical.


Cheers

Steve

Simon

Bigpond wireless broadband coverage make that next G coverage




you can check it out at Bigpond.com

Cheers

Richard

Here is Telstras NextG coverage, either mobile or wireless internet. If you are not in the brown bits there is zip.
If you are in light brown, you may need an external antennae.



Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

get a satellite dish with a internet setup and use skype.
there is a new mob advertising in the Wanderer (forgot the name). I had a chat to the owner a few weeks ago and it sounds ok. they require a 90cm (or was it 105cm .. sorry forgot) and the whole system inclucing modem retails at $3200 now. plans are cheaper than bigpond.. 49$ a month will give you decent download. They also offer higher speed and custom connections. I do not recall all the details but it is the way to go for me when I go bush and want the connection .. not sure about that though :)) .. at the moment I use that pathetic big pond USB modem with 1.5MB/512MB plan and use it for the convenience (no dish setup) .. at $105 a month the download volume is pathetic and I do hope that sooner or later we get some decent competition to blow this pathetic mob (Telstra that is) out of the water.

good luck
gmd

Thanks Fellas. That's all great info for me and no doubt for Simon also.

The setup costs for that prohibit the use unless you are going to use it verrrrrry long term.
Likewise Bigpond Their contracts are 24 or 36 months and are not variable.
Like I said the TELSTRA CASUAL DATA PACK is variable in that should u come home for a couple of months you can cut it back to $5 a month then when u go travelling put it back up to whatever you want.
Also it is a 12 month plan
I went thru this very carefully before taking this option so am fairly sure of my facts.

Thanks everyone for your valuable feedback. I've definately stumbled upon a great forum here ;)

I'm planning to be in Australia for just under a month but less than a week will be in the 'outback' so hiring will be much wiser than buying I feel.

It's also quite obvious that mobile broadband/3G will be neither use nor ornament along the Great Central Road!

Will keep researching.

Simon, as said, nothing between Laverton and Yulara (the strongest NextG signal of anywhere). No reception at all at King's Canyon Resort.

We travelled with NextG mobile internet, and used it when we stayed in a reception area. Family at home knew roughly where we were travelling, and we made contact when we had good internet cover.

When looking at the Telstra coverage map (there is also a similar map for GSM cover), a lot of the dots in the remote areas are at Aboriginal communities that are generally not accessed by the travelling public.

We paid $2,000 for the sat phone, just as insurance in case of emergencies - and the insurance worked. We were not eligible for the Govt subsidy, which needs to be pre-arranged and can take some time. Like a home phone, the higher monthly fee paid the lower the call costs - we chose $30 per month and higher call costs. When we did have a potential breakdown, just knowing that we had the sat phone saved a lot of stress. The cost of hiring was not viable for a period of months. We purchased the phone and on return home 'suspended' the monthly payments. We purchased it on this condition, and on our return, Telstra said they don't do this, but acknowledged we had been told we could suspend. A few phone calls to the same person and they agreed. We will see what happens when we ask to activate it next holiday, then suspend again.

Motherhen

Simon

Apparently, from what I have been told, you can get a signal from the top Ayres Rock ( Uluru ), apart from that, just try turning your mobile on, at each town or settlement.

You may get a surprise and it will work. !

If you are in the middle of nowhere, and you get a signal, then chances are that there is a nearby mine, that have hooked up a mobile network..

Not too sure if there will be internet access at all Settlements, but just ask ?

Cheers
Bucky