Government to scope emergency mobile roaming capability during natural disasters

Joint Media Release from the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Minister for Communications and Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Emergency Management

MEDIA RELEASE | 20 October 2023

The Albanese Government will work with industry to scope an emergency mobile roaming capability to keep Australians connected during natural disasters, following a new report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released today.
 The ACCC’s Regional Mobile Infrastructure Inquiry final report outlines key challenges when it comes to providing reliable, accessible and resilience communications in regional Australia.
 
Importantly, the report examined the feasibility of temporary roaming services to enable Australians to connect to any available mobile network during natural disasters and other emergencies.
 
The ACCC found that temporary emergency roaming was technically feasible, but further work was needed to design and develop the capability. Ensuring coordination between government and mobile network operators would also help mitigate risks such as network congestion.
 
Ministers have tasked the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with progressing this next step in collaboration with mobile carriers and to report back to Government by March next year.
 
The report makes the case for a review of existing regulation that governs access to mobile towers and associated infrastructure in regional areas to deliver better outcomes for consumers.
 
It highlights that encouraging carriers to deploy mobile infrastructure in areas without a commercial incentive through current grant programs is a significant challenge, and industry collaboration through infrastructure sharing may be the key to coverage improvements in these areas.
 
It found that infrastructure sharing can reduce costs to deploy new mobile sites and that the public benefits flowing from these grant programs would outweigh possible competition concerns. 
 
The report will help inform the Government as it considers next steps to address these challenges, building on the work already underway as part of its $1.1 billion Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia.
 
The Government also recently launched a new Public Safety Mobile Broadband Taskforce to help deliver fast, secure voice, video and data communications specifically for emergency services.
 
The Regional Mobile Infrastructure Inquiry final report can be accessed at www.accc.gov.au/inquiries-and-consultations/regional-mobile-infrastructure-inquiry-2022-23