Phone coverage concerns to the fore
By Rachel Williams
The dangers and disincentives stemming from inadequate and intermittent mobile coverage across the North East will soon be thrust into the spotlight by local leaders who say the region is not being treated adequately.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s announcement of an inquiry into regional mobile coverage across Australia has been welcomed by key Dorset leaders.
Blackspots across the region are frequently criticised, with complaints ranging from simple frustration, to being an economic handbrake and a serious safety issue.
North East Tasmania Chamber of Commerce Chair Fiona Auton said reliable mobile coverage shouldn’t be considered a luxury in the North East.
“It’s essential infrastructure,” Ms Auton said.
“Our businesses, farmers, tourism operators and tradies rely on connectivity to operate, communicate with customers, process payments and increasingly use digital technology. Yet there are still too many black spots across our region.
“The ACCC has previously found ‘clear demand in regional, rural and remote areas for better mobile coverage and more choice of network operator’ while also recognising that operators can have limited incentive to invest in regional coverage where it doesn’t increase market share or profitability.
“That’s why the Chamber believes connectivity needs to be treated as essential regional infrastructure. Better mobile coverage will directly support business growth, agriculture, tourism and the safety and sustainability of our communities.
“We welcome the ACCC’s inquiry and hope it leads to meaningful investment and better coverage across regional Australia, including the North East.”
An ACCC spokesperson said an official call for submissions and dates for public hearings were yet to be announced but will be undertaken as part of the process.
One Scottsdale community group has been championing the issue for months and will welcome the opportunity to be heard.
Rotary Club of Scottsdale wrote to the Federal Communications Minister Annika Wells in February about ineffective communications across the North East.
Rotary Service Projects Director Robin Thompson said the current situation with intermittent connectivity was essentially neglecting the needs of an important economic area encompassing around 3000 square kilometres.
“Sadly, the Telstra mobile network is not effective or available throughout much of this important region of Tasmania which is a significant contributor to Tasmanian agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism industries.
“The community regularly experiences the rhetoric of Telstra representatives explaining the poor service is a product of increased demand especially from tourists and that investment in improved infrastructure is coming.
“Rotary Club members and the general Dorset community do not accept this as an excuse for the poor service they are receiving…(and) implore Telstra to recognise the inadequacy of its service currently provided.”
Dorset Mayor Rhys Beattie said Council was continually advocating for connectivity in Dorset.
“We have had recent meetings with both Telstra and NBN and they are aware of poor coverage areas in our region. They actively engage with us to determine priorities.”
A Telstra spokesperson said the company was continuing to strengthen the network across the North East.
“We’ve recently upgraded our mobile sites at Pipers Brook, Mt George and Mt Horror to add more capacity, and we’ll be upgrading Derby soon too,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re focused on delivering better connectivity outcomes for regional communities, both through ongoing investment in our network and emerging technologies such as satellite-to-mobile services, which have the potential to extend coverage into more remote parts of Tasmania.
“As the ACCC’s regional communications inquiry gets underway, we welcome a discussion about the investments, technologies and policy settings that will help improve coverage, resilience and connectivity for regional Australians.”
The ACCC’s inquiry will run for 12 months with a strong focus on the importance of mobile coverage, provider choice and network reliability, particularly for people living, working and travelling in regional areas.
The ACCC will consider the case to regulate wholesale mobile services to ensure improved outcomes for customers in the regions.
It will also examine whether to mandate access to mobile infrastructure and domestic mobile roaming, which would allow customers with no mobile connectivity to ‘roam’ onto another carrier’s network.
Other matters to be investigated include how mobile coverage and consumer needs are changing, particularly in regional and remote areas, the current state of competition in the supply of mobile services and how the proposals may affect competition as well as how regulation could affect investment in mobile networks.