There is mounting pressure on Telstra and Federal Government to allow other carriers to use Telstra mobile phone towners as the full extent of poor coverage in regional NSW is being revealed. 

A Federal Government inquiry is currently putting together a report on the experience, opportunities and challenges for co-investment in multi-carrier regional mobile infrastructure and has received a number of submissions reminding them of the extent of mobile blackspots in rural Australia. 

The NSW Government wrote in its submission to the inquiry that there was a “growing digital divide” between metropolitan Sydney and rural Australia which recent natural disasters had shown improvements were necessary for both “public safety and economic inclusion”.

Their submission also revealed Department of Regional NSW research which identified 849 small town populations, 402 main or road corridors, and 72 visitor economy locations "with little or no mobile phone coverage”. 

The Regional, Remote and Rural Communication Coalition told the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and Arts inquiry there were a need for “Equitable voice and data services that meet minimum standards and reliability” in rural and remote Australia. 

Calls for Mandated Roaming 

Mobile phone towers are locked to specific telecommunication companies, meaning only customers with that provider, in our case Telstra, can use the service. 

Mandatory roaming, which is being pushed by Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud would force Telstra to let other carriers use the service. 

Walgett Shire Council General Manager Michael Urquhart told the Western Plains App he supports mandatory roaming.

“Yes I think that would be a great idea. Because we have many people coming here as tourists and they don't get any service at all in parts of the shire. 

"For many people coming from Sydney who are with Optus they may as well bring a brick with them the coverage is so bad". 

“Mandatory roaming would make our region far more liveable” he said. 

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network told the inquiry that many regions across Australia are only served by one carrier, typically Telstra, although these mobile towers are built by the Government. 

Telstra currently has the most mobile sites covering 1 million square kilometres more than any other mobile network.

Yet Telstra currently has the lowest percentage of co-location amongst Mobile Network Operators (MNO), with only 35% of its sites co-located with another MNO”. 

Associate Professor Mark Gregory from the School of Engineering RMIT told the Western Plains App “The government has heavily invested in building out the network. What has really happened is that it is just cementing a monopoly for Telstra in regional and rural Australia”. 

RMIT's Mark Gregory. Image: Pixabay. 

However, Telstra opposes mandatory roaming and instead supports commercially negotiated roaming. Mandatory roaming it wrote in its submission to the review “harms consumers by killing mobile network operators' incentive to invest, innovate and competitively differentiate”. 

It says that operators will not invest in new infrastructure and thereby expand coverage if they know competitors will be allowed to use the same infrastructure. 

Michal Urquhart told the Western Plains App there are large patches between Lightning Ridge and Walgett, as well between Walgett and Collarenebri which have no mobile coverage at all. 

“There is no doubt we also need far more mobile network towers all over Australia, including in your region,” Associate Professor Gregory told the Western Plains App

“But allowing multiple carriers to use the same tower means that money can be saved because you don't have five sets of towers and five sets of antennas. 

"The fact that Telstra opposes it is really unremarkable. In New Zealand mandatory roaming was introduced a decade ago to vehement opposition by telcos. Today it is a highly competitive, highly successful marketplace," he said.

"Mandatory roaming is also used right across Europe and it has not any less investment or infrastructure”.