The Mobile Network Hardening Program is an Australian Government initiative funding upgrades to improve the resilience of Australia’s mobile network telecommunications infrastructure in regional Australia to:
prevent outages during a natural disaster;
strengthen the resilience of telecommunications facilities to allow them to operate for longer during natural disasters; and
support the rapid restoration of services following an outage.
The Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia, announced in the 2022-23 Budget, provides funding for two further rounds of the Program. This new funding is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to increase telecommunications resilience in rural, regional and remote Australia.
The Government is providing up to $15 million (GST exclusive) in Round 2 for projects that improve the resilience of mobile network infrastructure in rural, regional and remote Australia, including First Nations communities.
Round 2 is now open for applications and the Program Guidelines and Application Pack can be found on Current Grant Opportunity View - GO6460: GrantConnect (grants.gov.au). Applications are open to Mobile Network Operators, Mobile Network Infrastructure Providers, or Network Management Providers.
Applications Close: Friday 17 November 2023.