Mobile reception in Port Fairy could be about to step into the future as Telstra lodges plans to upgrade the town to 5G.
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It comes as some traders say phone reception can be patchy, especially when holidaymakers surge into the town in summer.
Telstra has submitted plans to Moyne Shire Council to upgrade its Bank Street telecommunications site with six antennas to bring the town onto the 5G network and improve 4G coverage.
"Investigations have found that mobile traffic in Port Fairy is greater than the service capacity," the plans say.
Port Fairy NewsXpress owner Robert Kuprynsky said the business experienced trouble with its phone service regularly.
"We have customers coming in and saying they are trying to ring us and it doesn't even ring at this end," he said.
"It just makes our business look tardy because people are trying to ring and they can't get through."
It follows upgrades to Warrnambool's telecommunications services 18 months ago that switched the city over to 5G services.
But Mr Kuprynsky said of bigger concern to some Port Fairy traders was EFTPOS services, which could go down during busy periods.
"It comes it waves, it happens two or three times a week, and then we have a week and it doesn't happen," he said.
"Most people will walk to the bank and get money. But there must be times when people don't come back."
Telstra says it does not operate the EFTPOS network and retailers should speak to their banks about issues. It said many EFTPOS terminals could connect using nbn or fixed line technology as a backup option in case 3G or 4G networks were impacted.
Pharmacy NEO Port Fairy owner Jeng Lim said the businesses' EFTPOS did occasionally have issues during peak tourist season, but it used a sim card and an internet connection in case of poor coverage.
"We have a backup plan," Mr Lim said.
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