ELECTRICIANS have installed a backup satellite service to protect Bendigo if bushfires obliterate other parts of the grid.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The new NBN Sky Muster technology has arisen at the Bendigo Showgrounds.
It could become critical in any natural disasters that unfold in times to come, federal member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said.
"Staying connected during a natural disaster can be the difference between life and death, whether that be receiving the latest information or contacting emergency services," she said.
The federal government is rolling out the satellite services and portable counterparts after 2020's summer of bushfires destroyed huge tracts of land and made communications incredibly difficult in many areas.
Ms Chesters said the communications devices would help family and friends keep in contact during crises, and help communities respond when the worst happened.
A total of 1039 of the satellite services and similar infrastructure have rolled out so far under the federal government program.
They are being deployed at emergency service depots and community evacuation centres across the country.
Bendigo has witnessed multiple disasters over its history including 2009's deadly Black Saturday bushfires, which killed one person, destroyed 58 houses and tore through 341 hectares.
The fire reached Eaglehawk Road in Long Gully, a suburb adjoining North Bendigo where the new satellite system has been installed.
Communications minister Michelle Rowland said no network would ever be 100 per cent disaster proof.
"[But] these these investments will go a long way towards ensuring local residents can stay connected in the most difficult times, especially to access potentially lifesaving information and advice," she said.
Government funded satellite equipment has proven useful for other communities when disasters have struck.
That included Queensand floods in June 2021, Cyclone Seroja, last January's Western Australian bushfires and recent NSW east coast floods.
Speak up now! Tell us what matters to you ahead of the Victorian election:
