The council received a planning permit for the tower at Lower Norton in February and approved it in April. 

It has also approved planning permits for Optus towers at Vectis and Brimpaen, a Telstra tower at Wartook and a Vodafone tower at Pimpinio within the past year. 

EARLIER: OPTUS will build three new mobile phone towers in the Wimmera. 

The state government has announced a partnership with the telecommunications provider to build 25 new mobile towers throughout regional Victoria, providing 5000 households and businesses with new mobile coverage. 

New towers at Lower Norton, Brim and Pomonal are included in the plan. 

The tower sites were chosen to provide, when built, consistent mobile coverage to more than 800 premises that previously had poor or no mobile services.

Bushfire prone areas were also considered a priority.

Optus contributed a majority of the funds for the $16 million co-investment with the state government for new towers across Victoria.

Victorian Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Philip Dalidakis said the towers were due to be completed by the end of 2018.

“Those living in regional Victoria deserve better mobile coverage in their homes, workplaces and while they travel, and we thank Optus for helping us get on with the job of delivering it,” he said. 

Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford said the new towers would improve bushfire preparedness.

“Community safety is our number one priority. We’ve worked closely with Emergency Management Victoria to ensure our regional communities in these areas have mobile access,” she said.

“Mobile connectivity is vital for our regional economy – that’s why we’re working with industry to deliver projects that give regional Victorians access to the same technology as those in the city.”

Optus vice-president of regulatory and public affairs Andrew Sheridan said the telecommunications company was committed to regional Australia and improving mobile coverage outside of metropolitan areas.

“This co-investment is a fantastic announcement for Victoria, and Optus is extremely proud to be working with the Victorian government on this project that will allow Optus to build an additional 25 mobile sites across regional Victoria,” Mr Sheridan said. 

“Earlier this year, Optus demonstrated its commitment to regional Australia announcing a $1 billion investment to improve mobile coverage in regional Australia. (The latest) announcement is further testament to this, and we look forward to continuing to expand our regional capabilities and bring first class mobile services and choice to regional communities.” 

The first tower at Nanneella, in the state’s north, is already up and running.

The announcement comes as Horsham Rural City Council approved planning permits for Optus towers at Vectis and Brimpaen and a Telstra tower at Wartook in recent months.