CALL OF THE WILD
WORDS : MAX TAYLOR
THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WHEN YOU HAVE NO MOBILE PHONE COVERAGE IS CRUCIAL . SO WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS ?
I ’ ve never experienced an emergency situation in the outback that would warrant the use of a satellite phone or any other communication device . I consider myself lucky . In late 2018 , the bodies of two young adults and two kids were found 4.5km from their broken-down vehicle near Willowra , about 300km north-west of Alice Springs .
The fact is , this sort of thing happens far too often . But with better preparation and , specifically , a means to communicate with family or emergency services , it could be avoided .
Outside of our major capital and regional centres , standard mobile phones are little more than expensive paperweights . Most mobile networks cover 98 to 99 per cent of the population , which is great ; however , in land mass , this equates to only about 20 per cent of Australia having mobile coverage .
In the remaining 80 per cent – the parts that many of us want to explore – you won ’ t get a bar of mobile reception for love or money .
There are plenty of options when it comes to communicating with friends , family and emergency services when you don ’ t have mobile reception . Let ’ s take a look …
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