The online petition through change.org, with 109 signatures, was brought to Alpine Council’s attention last week, but names were still being added to it at the weekend.

Applications for the two towers — one on the Mount Beauty golf course and the other behind Tawonga Primary School, in Cuthbert Street — are before the council, and objections closed last Tuesday.

But Tawonga resident Dave Partridge said many residents only found out about the proposed towers just days before submissions were due to close.

“We’re disappointed the council seems to be pushing these through without much community consultation,” he said.

“By the time we discovered it, it felt like there was not enough time to really put a an objection forward.”

The petition calls for “proper community consultation” with NBN Co and the council before any approval is granted to build the towers.

“We are asking at least for the same opportunity to engage with NBN Co. that has been offered to other Australian communities,” the petition reads.

“Many other communities are requesting towers be further from residences and particularly schools, and we believe the community of Mount Beauty and Tawonga deserve our voices heard too.”

Signatories to the petition say they want fibre-to-the-home or fibre-to-the-node in place of wireless towers, which “will also not match the internet speeds of fibre-optic in the ground, and wireless reliability is greatly reduced given our mountainous, stormy environment”.

Mr Partridge did not start the petition but took part in an information session on Thursday where he screened the documentary Resonance, which examines scientific research into wireless frequencies.

He said his main concern was that wireless towers presented a “lot more dangerous risk than standards proclaim — especially behind a school”.

Alpine Council planning and amenity manager Nick Vlahandreas told The Border Mail in May a tower on Mount Beauty golf course would provide coverage to all of Mount Beauty, parts of Tawonga South and up Simmonds Creek Road. At that stage, a planning application had not been submitted.