Why mobile phones are up a gum tree
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Australia's biggest phone company has come up with a novel excuse for abysmal mobile reception in the bush: the gum tree is to blame.
Telstra, often criticised for poor service in rural areas, said the large, fleshy leaves of eucalyptus trees absorbed mobile phone signals and disrupted conversations. The thick trunks and dense forests acted as shields, it said, sucking in radio frequency emissions.
The claims were greeted with scepticism by consumers, who find the signal disappears outside country towns, and conversations drop out with frustrating frequency.
But scientists cautiously backed the theory, although they said there was no evidence showing gum trees as the sole cause of the disruptions. Professor Alan Young, a government telecoms expert, said: "The signal goes into the trunk and the leaves and it dissipates. But the tree also reflects the signal, so it tends to scatter in other directions instead of coming to you."
Roger Bamber, of Telstra, said: "The gum trees absorb the signal, so if you are maybe 60km [37 miles] from a base station and you're relying on a very strong signal, it could be enough to cancel the signal."
The company says mobile reception should be good in one flat area near the Murray river in New South Wales and problems experienced there are caused by the thick covering of of red river gum trees that line the Murray.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments