New Mobile Coverage Law Promises Better Service for Australians

A new law has been passed that will require telecommunications companies to provide a baseline level of mobile coverage across Australia. The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) bill aims to ensure that Australians have access to mobile coverage "nearly anywhere" outdoors.

The bill updates the existing Universal Service Obligation, which only mandates access to fixed lines and payphones. Mobile network operators, including Telstra, Optus, and TPG, will be required to provide baseline outdoor voice and text coverage throughout Australia.

How it works

The direct-to-device or direct-to-mobile technology will allow mobiles to connect directly to satellites, but only when outside. This technology is currently only provided by Starlink, but Communications Minister Anika Wells said the new law is about "getting ahead of the game".

"We're hoping to put in place the conditions through these laws that allow Australian entrepreneurship to create, innovate and come up with technology that we can select over things like Starlink," she said.

However, industry and consumer advocates have welcomed the bill, but also raised concerns. Luke Coleman, chief executive of the Australian Telecommunications Alliance, said the technology needed to meet the expectations of the bill is still in its infancy.

"Direct-to-device technology is a very new technology, it has not been widely tested or commercialised," Mr Coleman said.

Carol Bennett, chief executive of the Australian Communications Consumer Advocacy Network (ACCAN), argued that the technology to meet basic mobile access already exists, but was worried about the cost for consumers.

"[The satellite technology] is already being used around the world," she said.

What's still to be worked out

There is a lot of ministerial discretion in this bill, with the minister for communications to have the power to determine what the baseline will be in terms of quality of calls and texts, where it will reach, what it will cost, how it is funded, and when it will be delivered.

Ms Wells said she wanted to consult industry and stakeholders before setting those standards, but pointed to a separate bill passed last week that increased penalties for telco breaches.

"I don't want to promise things we can't deliver," she said.

When will it start?

The default start date in the bill is December 31, 2027, but there is discretion for the minister to delay that until the end of 2030. Ms Wells said she was "ambitious" and wanted it in place by December 1 next year.