Telstra have won $39.2 million of funding from the Western Australian government under its Regional Mobile Communications Project.

The goal will be to expand Western Australia's regional mobile coverage by 22% over the next three years. Telstra will build 113 new mobile sites along 8300 kilometres of highways across the state.

Telstra won the funding after a competitive tender process that went over the past eight months, and may be granted up to $80 million more through the WA government's Royalty for Regions program.

Once built, Telstra will have ownership of the infrastructure for five years, with a possible extension for five years following that. However, Telstra will most likely not be the only carrier available in the newly covered areas.

A spokesman for WA's science and innovation minister John Day said: "The establishment of new towers and backhaul links provides other mobile carriers with the option to co-locate transmission equipment at these sites subject to Telstra's normal facilities access terms."

It has been confirmed that Vodafone and Optus will be able to install equipment at the new sites under the standard wholesale and reselling conditions Telstra offers. New customers will be able to take advantage of some of the carriers' great deals.

Telstra have also agreed in liaison with the government that emergency service organisations will have access to each site in order to build their own radio communications infrastructure. Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls said that this move would "[boost public safety with enhanced emergency radio and mobile telecommunications coverage... a great outcome for regional WA."

The infrastructure will be of particular use for firefighters and emergency medical services to access and transmit online information while out in the field.