Farmers have been left to cope with dangerous holes in mobile coverage as the federal government delivers a lacklustre response to a major telecommunications review.
On Thursday the federal government finally issued a response to the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Review, promising little to improve the rural connectivity divide after spending nine months reviewing the report.
NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee member Sarah Thompson said the lack of government action on the issue was bitterly disappointing as many farm communities continued to struggle with poor or non-existent mobile coverage.
"We know mobile coverage maps have not told the truth, and many farmers and communities were stripped of what little mobile coverage they had when the 3G networks were shut down last year," Mrs Thompson said.
"There's gaping holes in our connectivity, and nothing's been done to deliver the mobile service we need to stay safe, let alone connected."
Draft legislation to establish a Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) was released by the federal government this week - but farmers urged this must guarantee reliable and affordable mobile service, and complement other efforts in the space.
Work to expand mobile coverage, reduce blackspots, boost data capacity on networks and increase access to connectivity technologies was urgently needed to deliver acceptable connectivity in the regions, Mrs Thompson said.
"Both the Regional Telecommunications Review and a recent Senate inquiry told us plain and simple what work needs to be done to fix our connectivity crisis, and our governments must listen," Mrs Thompson said.
"Our federal government has promised us universal mobile coverage, so they must deliver it - alongside better oversight, strategy and competition in the telecommunications space.
"We can't continue with mobile coverage like this, and farmers, the people who literally feed the nation, deserve better than this."
