I've been doing a bit of planning for my photographic trip to Tasmania in February over the last few days including looking at Tasmanian photographers. One is Troy Ruffels and his exploration of landscapes in flux series.

One problem I've come across is that there is limited access to broadband whilst travelling in Tasmania. Tasmania is the most disconnected state in Australia and though Tasmania is not a small market, it's a market that has been neglected on many digital fronts for many years. That is why Tasmania is the starting point for building the national broadband network.

There is a paucity of free wireless hotspots on the island and my 3 mobile broadband is limited to Hobart. One option is to pay extra ($39 per month) to extend the coverage through Internode's 3G wireless broadband that utilizes the Optus 3G network. However, that is Hobart /Launceston only coverage although the network is in the proces sof being extended. It's not an option.


Troy Ruffels, Location 111, 2002

The reality is that Telstra dominates Tasmania and they have little competition in the state. The only realistic choice for acceptable mobile broadband coverage in Tasmania, outside of Hobart, Devonport, Burnie and Launceston is Telstra's Next G network. The downside is that Telstra's customer service is real lousy. Still, the only realistic option is to use Telstra's very expensive prepaid broadband for my photographic trips--$80 for 6 gig for one month with no carry over of unused gigs.

Update
At this stage we leave Adelaide on the 8th and arrive in Devonport on the 9th of February. We will spend some time in Strahan, Queenstown and then the Cradle Mountain Moe Creek region before dropping down to spend several days in the south around Dover/Recherche/South West National Park We will pass through Hobart in and around 21-23 February as we make our way back to Tunbridge in the Midlands and then explore the east coast from Evanston before returning to Adelaide via the ferry to Melbourne on the 28th of February.