Under plans on exhibition with Lake Macquarie council, the mobile base station would be built at 51 Lees Street on a parcel of undeveloped Crown Land that borders the Pacific Highway.

The proposed facility includes a 34-metre monopole and nine antennas, some of which would extend to 37.6 metres above the ground.

Ancillary equipment associated with the facility's operation and fencing would be installed at ground level.

In documents provided as part of the development application, Optus said the facility was "necessary to provide wireless telecommunications services" in the surrounding area.

The facility would support Optus' 3G and 4G mobile networks.

"Optus has undertaken an analysis of [its] mobile network within Charlestown, Gateshead and the surrounding suburbs, identifying areas where coverage and network quality needs to be improved," it said.

"If these investments are not made ... users may have difficulty connecting to the mobile network or the call may drop out.

"Users may experience reduced data speeds, longer download times and poor network performance at busy times of the day with data intensive and time sensitive applications (e.g. social media) due to the available capacity being shared across too many customers."

The company said optimising its existing facilities or using those of other mobile providers in the local area was not possible.

Six other sites were considered for the new infrastructure, but Lees Street was deemed the "most appropriate candidate for the purposes of minimising visual impact and minimising the impact on the current and future uses of the property and surrounding area".

There are a number of residential properties within a 100-metre radius of the tower, which documents provided with the development application said Optus had approached as part of its early consultation.

The company lodged plans with council for the project on November 30.

Public feedback can be provided via submissions until January 21.