The company said in a statement that more than half the money would be spent in regional areas, with $11 million reserved for 26 projects in the Bendigo region, including upgrades in Kangaroo Flat, Epsom and Eaglehawk.

During a visit to Ballarat, Telstra chief executive Andy Penn said the company would invest $20 million to complete 74 projects in and around Ballarat and South West and Western Victoria, with the federal electorates of Ballarat, Corangamite, Wannon and Mallee included.

“This investment will mean new mobile base station developments at Delacombe adding new mobile coverage, and upgrades at Sebastopol, Wendouree, Canadian, Alfredton and Redan that will mean increased capacity delivering faster and more reliable data speeds for customers using our network,” said Penn.

“Further south, this investment is also boosting our mobile network capacity in regional holiday hotspots on the coast in areas such as Ocean Grove and Torquay, as well as delivering improved coverage in Anglesea.

“As people are increasingly using mobile-connected devices for business and personal use, it’s more important than ever we bring the best possible network experience we can to regional areas.”

The company said it had constructed 128 mobile base stations in Victoria under the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program. Twenty-two more are slated to be finished in the coming months.