List of recommendations

2.50The Committee recommends the Australian Government review the implications of the current framework for the allocation, management, and use of spectrum for the provision of regional telecommunications services, giving consideration to issues such as non-use and area-wide licensing. The review should identify policy or regulatory changes to support increased coverage and competition in regional, remote and First Nations Australian communities.

2.137The Committee recommends the Australian Government review current licensing arrangements to consider 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 in defined circumstances and or geographic locations.

2.138The Committee recommends the Australian Government review the policy intent, objectives, and guidelines of the Mobile Black Spot Program to ensure it remains fit for purpose. The review should be completed within 12 months and have regard to other relevant recommendations made in this report.

3.165The Committee recommends the Australian Government establish a working group involving mobile network operators, infrastructure providers, regulatory bodies, and relevant government agencies to address technical, regulatory, and policy barriers to the adoption and deployment of multi-carrier mobile network infrastructure across regional and remote Australia, and to provide input on future funding and co-investment programs that allow for innovation and focus on outcomes.

3.168The Committee recommends the Australian Government establish a trialprogram 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.

3.170The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with the New South Wales Government to develop more extensive trials of active infrastructure sharing solutions in regional New South Wales, including along road corridors and in remote Indigenous communities.

3.172The Committee recommends the Australian Government consider allocating dedicated funding through programs such as the Mobile Black Spot Program and the Regional Connectivity Program for co-investment in trial sites to demonstrate the feasibility of technical and commercial models for multi-carrier mobile network sharing.

3.174The Committee recommends the Australian Government establish a trialprogram to fund infrastructure to support multi-carrier mobile network sharing models at locations on major roads in regional and remote areas with limited or no contiguous network coverage.

4.131The Committee recommends the Australian Government conducts and publishes the results of a government-led region‑by‑region mobile coverage audit, with analysis of coverage gaps across regional, rural and remote Australia. The audit would benchmark metrics on connection, data capacity and latency and should commence before the next Regional Telecommunications Independent Review commences under Part 9B of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (Cth); and biennially thereafter.

4.132The Committee recommends the Australian Government lead development of a Regional Australia Mobile Telecommunications Strategy to consider the trends and demands of regional growth and identify regions and growth corridors where synergies can occur in the planning and construction of transport routes, energy, water and telecommunications connections.

The strategy should be developed and agreed in consultation with state and territory governments and the Australian Local Government Association.

The results of mobile coverage audits and key data on regional growth, industry, employment and tourism drivers would inform the Strategy.

4.133The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory governments and relevant stakeholders to develop agreed guidelines for considering telecommunications infrastructure needs in early planning phases of road and rail construction and energy infrastructure rollouts.

4.134The Committee recommends the Australian Government reform the powers and immunities in Commonwealth legislation, such as the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) to enable mobile infrastructure to be deployed in regional, rural and peri-urban areas more swiftly.

4.135The Committee recommends the Australian Government prohibit its agencies from charging additional co-user rental fees above the rent a principal tenant pays to lease Commonwealth crown land for the purpose of providing telecommunications services.

4.136The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory governments and industry to negotiate smaller minimum lot sizes that can safely host new mobile infrastructure.

4.137The Committee recommends the Australian Government facilitate the harmonisation of planning and environmental regulations for new mobile infrastructure across regional, rural and remote Australia.

4.138The Committee recommends the Australian Government develop and implement a practical universal service obligation for mobile telecommunications service providers.

4.139The Committee recommends the Australian Government facilitate early 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.

4.140The Committee recommends the Australian Government encourage investment in ‘smart’ mobile infrastructure that incorporates renewable and decarbonised energy solutions.

4.141The Committee recommends the Australian Government commission and publish a government-led cost-benefit analysis of increased access to telecommunications infrastructure in under-serviced regional and remote communities to inform future policy and program development and funding decisions.

5.70The Committee recommends the Australian Government investigate and, where appropriate, fund targeted, place-based solutions for providing 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.

5.72The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to identify new opportunities and new partners for co-investments in mobile and digital infrastructure in very remote communities that have limited or no existing telecommunications services.

5.73The Committee recommends the Australian Government provide additional funding for government-led collection of data relating to mobile and digital connectivity, and digital inclusion more generally, in regional and remote Indigenous Australian communities.

6.61The Committee recommends the Australian Government establish a workinggroup involving stateand territory governments, emergency services agencies, and mobile network operators to develop protocols for temporary roaming arrangements in declared disasters and emergencies.