Conargo residents and businesses will soon benefit from faster mobile speeds and improved connectivity as Telstra begins a major upgrade to its local mobile base station, bringing 5G coverage to the area for the first time.

The telecommunications giant announced the upgrade will commence next week, marking a significant milestone for the rural New South Wales community.

The project will enhance existing 4G capacity whilst introducing 5G technology to meet growing data demands in the region.

The comprehensive nature of the upgrade means mobile services will be temporarily affected during construction works. Telstra has scheduled two phases of disruption:

Phase One: The mobile base station will be completely offline from 7am Monday, 16 June until 7pm Tuesday, 24 June 2025 - a continuous eight-day period.

Phase Two: Daily outages will occur between 7am and 7pm on Wednesday, 25 June and Thursday, 26 June 2025.

Telstra Regional General Manager Chris Taylor acknowledged the inconvenience but emphasised the long-term benefits for the community.

"We know how important mobile connectivity is for Australians, whether you're in the city or the country," Mr Taylor said.

"As data use over our mobile network continues to grow, adding extra 4G capacity to our mobile site in the area and bringing 5G to the area is a major mobile milestone. It will deliver higher capacity to the region, meaning faster downloads, smoother streaming and less congestion."

The upgrade will only impact Telstra mobile services in the immediate area. Landline services, NBN internet connections, and mobile coverage from other telecommunications providers will remain unaffected during the works.

Telstra customers will receive text message notifications about the upcoming disruptions, with the company advising that some overlapping coverage from nearby base stations may still be available during the outage periods.

Telstra has provided several recommendations for maintaining connectivity during the upgrade period:

Wi-Fi Calling: Customers can continue making and receiving calls by enabling Wi-Fi Calling on their mobile devices. This free feature allows phones to use Wi-Fi networks for voice calls and text messages when mobile coverage is unavailable.

Business Preparations: Local business owners are encouraged to speak with their banks about connecting EFTPOS terminals to NBN or Wi-Fi networks rather than relying on mobile connections, preventing potential delays in processing customer transactions.

The upgrade represents part of Telstra's broader commitment to improving regional telecommunications infrastructure.

Once completed, Conargo residents will have access to 5G technology, which offers significantly faster download and upload speeds compared to existing 4G networks.

The enhanced capacity is expected to reduce network congestion during peak usage periods, providing more reliable connectivity for both residential and business users in the area.

Mr Taylor assured customers that while the disruption is necessary, the company aims to minimise downtime wherever possible.

"While disruption is required during the upgrade work, we'll only be switching off the site when we need to and will have it back online and working better than ever as quickly as possible," he said.

The completion of works is scheduled for late June, with full 5G services expected to be operational shortly thereafter.

For more information about the upgrade or technical support, Telstra customers can contact the company through their usual channels. Media enquiries can be directed to [email protected].