The Albanese Government has opened consultation on draft guidelines to deliver on its $40 million Federal Election commitment to address problem black spots in identified areas across the country.
Feedback from the telecommunications industry and local communities will inform the Grant Opportunity Guidelines for the $40 million Improving Mobile Coverage Round (IMCR) of the Mobile Black Spot Program (MBSP). The IMCR was funded in the 2022-23 Federal Budget.
The IMCR will provide grant funding to Mobile Network Operators and Infrastructure Providers to address identified mobile coverage and quality of service issues in 54 target locations.
In addition to regional communities, this dedicated round of the MBSP is targeting mobile coverage issues along a number of regional roads and highways to ensure motorists have access to essential mobile services in the event of an emergency.
The IMCR complements the Albanese Government's $2.2 billion investment in regional telecommunications over the next five years through the Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia. The Plan commits a further $1.1 billion to regional communication, including $656 million in new measures which will deliver on pre-election commitments. Other measures include:
- $400 million to improve coverage along regional highways, roads and in underserved communities.
- $200 million for additional rounds of the Regional Connectivity Program to fund a broad range of place-based communications solutions;
- $30 million to expand on-farm connectivity and drive productivity through machine to machine networks;
- $20 million to complete an independent audit of mobile coverage to identify black spots, and;
- $6 million to extend the Regional Tech Hub which provides expert advice to regional customers on how to connect and stay connected.
Interested parties are encouraged to have their say on the draft Guidelines by 5pm (AEDT), Monday, 28 November 2022 by visiting www.infrastructure.gov.au/have-your-say.
