In one of the most remote regions of Australia, residents in the Gulf of Carpentaria have long suffered the consequences of poor internet services.
"We're so remote, we rely on telehealth. But what good is that when you lose your connection in the middle of a chat with your doctor," the region's mayor Jack Bawden said.
"Our businesses can't do transactions because the EFTPOS machines are always down, you can't do remote learning, run meetings, because online connections are always dropping out.
He's hoping a $750 million investment from the federal government and NBN into rural and remote internet services will catapult the region into the digital age.
The upgrade promises to deliver faster internet speeds to bush communities, expand access to the NBN's fixed wireless service and provide unmetered data allowances to Sky Muster customers, who rely on two geostationary communications satellites operated by NBN.
Residents and leaders in rural communities have welcomed the investment, saying it will have "transformative" effects.
But others say throwing money at the problem isn't enough to bridge an outback digital divide that has been years in the making.
Years of lobbying
Kristy Sparrow lives in the rural town of Alpha, in Queensland's west.
She heads up the Better Internet for Rural, Regional & Remote Australia (BIRRR) group which has been lobbying the federal government for the past eight years.
She said the $750 million cash injection was a long time coming and will help provide more transparent, effective internet plans for regional and remote families.
"We're particularly excited to hear about the Sky Muster Plus changes.
"For the very first time since Sky Muster was launched, people will be able to use their connection freely during the most part of the day," she said.
While sceptics have questioned the timing of the funding so close to an election, Ms Sparrow thinks the investment was hard won.
"We've had years of being promised game-changing internet connections, we've been guinea pigs throughout different technology trials," she said.
William Harrington is a grazier at the Olga Downs cattle station, north of Richmond in Queensland's west.
He's also a PhD student investigating how farmers use the Internet.
The lack of a reliable internet service in his region was so bad, Mr Harrington started his own business providing broadband connection to remote residents.
He said the $750 million investment showed the government recognised how crippling the impact of poor connectivity was for people in the bush.
"This is really exciting. Any investment in telecommunications in regional Australia is really, really important. And this is going to make a big difference.
'Not enough' to fix black spots, literacy issues
Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde said the funding was an "excellent development" but more needed to be done to address rural internet black spots.
"Once we have such a map we can link to the usage patterns in these areas and as a result, much better target upgrades where they are needed."
Ms Sparrow said there were steps to be made in improving telecommunications literacy in the bush.
She believes a lack of knowledge meant families often signed up for plans that weren't right for them.
"Often people are connected to a service that can't meet their needs, they aren't aware that they can access Sky Muster, or they're not on the right plan and that becomes a financial drain, or they might be with a bit of a dodgy provider.
"There's definitely space for improvements in that area," she said.
Mr Harrington wanted to see better communication and planning between industry and government.
"Now that it's been recognised as a problem by the government, we need collaboration with industry bodies to try to find the right solution for everyone in rural, remote and regional areas," he said.
For Mr Bawden, and the isolated towns he represents, any improvement is welcome.
