Foreword

At first glance this inquiry’s story appears to be simply one of urban versus country disparity in Australian mobile telecommunications services; coupled with encouraging more competition between mobile phone carriers operating in regional, rural and remote Australia. However, as the Committee’s inquiry progressed and members heard from many people impacted by poor to no mobile coverage during the public hearings across Australia, the story was revealed to be more complex.

The Committee heard of the many and varied challenges of providing reliable mobile telecommunications coverage across such a vast sparsely populated and geographically diverse land as Australia.

It is clear, therefore, that extending mobile services and improving reliability of delivery into a country with enormous areas of isolated country, often with entrenched socio-economic disadvantage in some secluded communities, is a huge challenge for governments.

Added to the tyranny of distance is the very low regional and remote population density which has deterred new mobile network operators (MNOs) entering these markets given the thin or non-existent long-term profit margins from so few customers for their shareholders. But for these people and their communities to obtain something of the benefits of the digital age enjoyed by many Australians in cities and towns, they need reliable connectivity that interacts with government support services for their families in health, education, business and employment.

The Committee wanted to investigate why the majority of mobile infrastructure was not co-located, especially in regional areas, despite many years of significant government investment, and how this was impacting on competition and service delivery.

Committee members heard a wide range of evidence from state and territory governments, Indigenous communities and First Nations media, business chambers, councils, health services, mining companies, tourism operators, farmers and agri-business, fire, police and emergency services and community groups on how essential mobile coverage is. We were also told how detrimental a lack of coverage can be for day to day life and operations. The Committee heard how perilous mobile black spots can be during emergencies, police operations or road accidents in regional areas.

The Committee held roundtable discussions with Australians living and working in or near mobile black spots to better understand why rates of co-location for Australia’s major mobile providers decline so dramatically as Australians move from urban to regional and remote areas.

Despite the challenges, the Committee believes promoting co-investment remains a worthwhile tool to encourage industry players to invest in and share ‘multi-carrier’ infrastructure to improve the range and reliability of services in regional and remote areas. But in this increasingly digital age it is important the Australian Government continue to develop alternative strategies that attract mobile network operators and infrastructure providers to invest in regional, remote and fast-growing peri-urban areas, where many people continue to experience limited access to telecommunication services.

The focus of the Committee’s recommendations to the Australian Government are on how to encourage more co-investment by mobile network operators and sharing of mobile towers to address the challenges of improving coverage and competition, including:

developing and implementing a practical universal service obligation for mobile telecommunications service providers;
facilitating roundtable meetings between NBN Co and mobile telecommunications industry representatives with Rewiring the Nation program planners to ascertain the potential to co locate telecommunications infrastructure along renewable electricity transmission routes planned for regional and remote Australia;
establishing a working group involving state and territory governments, emergency services agencies, and mobile network operators to develop protocols for temporary roaming arrangements in declared disasters and emergencies;
reviewing the implications of non-use and area-wide licensing for the allocation, management, and use of spectrum for the provision of regional telecommunications services;
assessing the merits of including licence conditions on mobile network owners and other spectrum licensees of terms and conditions that mandate open access and active sharing solutions;
establishing a trial program to fund mobile-carrier infrastructure in specific regional and remote geographical areas with a mandate for open access through active or passive sharing to any funded infrastructure;
facilitating the harmonisation of planning and environmental regulations for new mobile infrastructure across regional, rural and remote Australia.

The Committee also heard that First Nations communities in remote areas bear a disproportionate impact on living standards, in part from enduring scant or zero connectivity. The conventional mobile telecommunications market has struggled to deliver services to these sparsely populated and isolated parts of Australia. However, access to telecommunications services is essential for participation in modern Australian life, including access to government services, banking, health and education.

Therefore the Committee recommends the Australian Government investigate and fund targeted, place-based solutions for the provision of reliable and secure access to telecommunications services in remote Indigenous communities, including, but not limited to:

deployment of wi-fi mesh networks or wi-fi hotspots; and
use of Low Earth Orbit satellite services.

While the expected rapid growth of new satellite telecommunications service providers over coming years may help narrow the digital gap in remote and regional Australia, the Government will also need to continue investing in innovative ways to provide land-based mobile infrastructure for the foreseeable future.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the many people and organisations who took part in this inquiry via submissions and provision of evidence at hearings, my parliamentary colleagues on the Committee for their constructive input, and the Committee secretariat. Together, we have I think developed a report and a set of recommendations that provide a solid foundation for ongoing telecommunications infrastructure policy development.

Mr Brian Mitchell MP

Chair