Milton's Grant Schultz claims mobile phone coverage in Gilmore is patchier than it was in war-torn East Timor nearly 20 years ago.
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"In 2001 in Dili, in a country that had been burnt to the ground, I got mobile phone coverage everywhere," the independent candidate for Gilmore said.
"The infrastructure had been reinstalled by Telstra. I could call home from anywhere in Dili for the cost of a local call in Australia. My wife, Beck, called Rosie from Triple J to request a song, and they had a chat on air about what Beck did in Timor. Yesterday, Beck couldn't get me on my mobile at Wandandian.
"Calls drop out in Milton in the middle of the main street."
Mr Schultz is calling on Labor candidate Fiona Phillips to make a serious commitment to mobile blackspot funding, following her pledge on Thursday.
Labor pledged to spend $2 million fixing three blackspots in Gilmore in the next term of government.
The priority spots are along the Princes Highway between Wandandian and Bewong, between Moruya and Batemans Bay and near Broulee Road.
"That's not good enough," Mr Schultz said.
"There are 117 blackspots in the electorate.
"The major parties have to put a plan in place to fix all of them. It’s major, critical infrastructure."
Mr Schultz said he did not expect it to happen overnight, but, he did expect a five or 10 year plan.
"It impacts on business - a lot of people run their business off their phones," he said.
"People are trying to work from home now more than ever, and in some areas it's not a possibility."
Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Stephen Jones trumpeted Labor's record on improving telecommunications networks in his visit to South Nowra on Thursday.
“Federal Labor has a strong track record of investment in regional communications focused on community needs," Mr Jones said.
“This includes Labor’s once in a generation nation-building investment to improve regional communications for every Australian through the establishment of a National Broadband Network.
“In government, Labor also invested in the $250 million Regional Backbone Blackspots Program (RBBP), which is providing the essential backhaul needed for mobile base stations."
