NATIONALS leader David Littleproud has called on the Federal Government to mandate mobile phone coverage across regional areas.
The party has been calling for reform to the universal service guarantee (USG), extending the guarantee from landlines to mobiles.
“In 2023, communication has never been more important,” Mr Littleproud said.
“It’s critical as a safety and emergency response, enabling better commerce, business and social interaction in areas of limited network coverage.
“In December, the competition watchdog struck down a 10-year mobile infrastructure sharing deal with Telstra and TPG Telecom, finding the arrangement would mean 700 towers would be lost.”
While the Nationals backed the ACCC decision, Mr Littleproud said mandating domestic roaming in regional and remote areas would see towers shared between telephone companies, meaning Australians could get service regardless of their providers.
The Coalition government replaced the universal service obligation (USO) with the new USG in 2020, relying on the national broadband network to deliver high-speed connectivity across the country.
However, as of October last year, 11 per cent of Australians were “highly excluded” from digital services, meaning they did not have access or didn’t know how to use online services.
In the October budget, the Federal Government committed $400 million to expand regional mobile coverage, including $200 million for rural and First Nations communities.
Mr Littleproud said the former government funded more than 1200 new or upgraded mobile base stations, and called on the Federal Government to implement guidelines for Australians to be able to access them.
Member for Mallee Anne Webster said extending and reforming the USG to mobile phones from landlines and introducing mandated mobile roaming in 2023 was essential to grow the regions and protect lives.
“The past few years have highlighted how important the ability to stay connected really is, particularly across an area as vast and isolated as Mallee,” she said.
“When in government the coalition funded more than 1200 new or upgraded mobile base stations under their Mobile Phone Black Spot Program, which residents had benefited from.
“There now needs to be regulatory guidelines to make sure mobile base stations can be used by all Australians, no matter what telco they are with.”
Dr Webster encouraged those living in rural and remote locations to complete the online survey: consultation.accc.gov.au/accc/regional-mobile-infrastructure-inquiry
The survey is open until February and precedes the Regional Mobile Infrastructure Inquiry draft report in April 2023.
