Telstra say they will indeed be providing the Splendour In The Grass 2014 site with expanded mobile coverage. Earlier this week, festival organisers announced that the telco had reneged on a promise to provide Splendour 2014 with free portable cell towers.
However, General Manager of Media at Telstra Steven Carey has told FasterLouder that the company will provide Splendour with two Cell on Wheels (COW) towers, meaning punters with Telstra will have 3G mobile coverage – voice and data – at the event.
According to a statement, Telstra have “reviewed the availability of some of our temporary COWs normally used for emergency responses” to provide the satellites. However, “these temporary facilities may not provide capacity to support the busiest periods during the festival, so we ask our customers to be patient during these times, wait a few minutes and try again.”
Readers with Telstra service who are heading to Splendour may still find it best to take on the advice of Splendour organisers and print their event ticket to bring with them to the venue, instead of relying on mobile coverage.
UPDATE 12:00pm 03/07/14: Splendour In The Grass have issued a statement commending Telstra on their decision to deploy two COWs for Splendour 2014. The facilities are expected to improve Telstra coverage both at Splendour and the areas immediately surrounding the event site.
Organisers also addressed a “permanent solution,” that Gizmodo previously wrote refers to a deal that was being worked on by Splendour organisers and the telco to install permanent mobile coverage facilities at the North Byron Parklands, which would include free Wi-Fi across the site.
“With regard to Telstra’s permanent solution, North Byron Parklands is still in a trial phase and not in a position to invest in permanent infrastructure,” write organisers, “but we look forward to working with Telstra on a mutually beneficial plan for the future.”
