Telstra have donated T-Go Repeaters to emergency service crews throughout the Capes region so they have better connectivity when dealing with bushfire emergencies.
The timing of the donation could not come at a better time as emergency services throughout the region are put on standby ahead of this weekend's hot weather conditions.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services acting area officer for Leeuwin Mark Norris said the hot weather was with us and a hot weekend was coming.
"There are plans in place if we need it we have a backup and people on standby if we need them over the next hot phase," he said.
"We know it's coming."
Telstra Go Repeaters are an intelligent antenna designed to improve mobile coverage or provide coverage in most places where it's unavailable.
Developed as part of Telstra's investment in mobile coverage for regional customers, the device can help improve voice quality and data speeds.
Mr Norris said T-Go's would make it safer for firefighters who could be contacted by mobile phone in more locations where signals were weak.
"They will be able to communicate between brigades a bit easier and help our response," he said.
"If you cannot get the crews on mobile phone we do have our radio repeaters which we tend to fall back on, but the radio repeaters are more problematic.
"If we can talk to someone direct rather than going through radio, which sometimes means you have to relay messages on to anyone you can get hold of on the other end of the radio.
"It is always better these days if you can talk to someone on mobile phone, it is just more accurate."
Mr Norris said the T-Go's were plugged into emergency service vehicles through a 12 vault and attached to an aerial.
"The phone signal is picked up by this booster device and makes the signal stronger," he said.
"It won't work if there is no signal, but where there is the slightest bit of signal which might drop out all the time - the beauty of these boosters is - if you are trying to pass on a message or call for assistance they won't drop out and should stay connected.
"The big advantage for us is not wasting time redialing or possibly not getting a good enough signal to be able to communicate.
"We already have some fitted on our vehicles and they are definitely a good thing."
