November 2, 2023
Member for Maranoa David Littleproud has welcomed findings by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that allowing mobile phone “roaming” during emergencies and natural disasters is technically feasible.
The ACCC determined in its recently released Regional Mobile Infrastructure Inquiry final report that it was feasible to activate temporary mobile roaming – that is, allowing phones to connect to any network towers – however, the mobile network operators would need to make changes to their business processes, network and operational systems.
As a result, Telstra announced plans to conduct trials to develop a system to allow people to use any available mobile network during natural disasters if their own provider’s services were unavailable.
Mr Littleproud said the findings were a step in the right direction.
“From the time I entered Parliament, I have repeatedly called on Telstra to share their mobile towers through mandated roaming with other telcos so all users could have the same coverage in the bush,” Mr Littleproud said.
“These findings from the ACCC and subsequent trial from Telstra are a positive step, but more can be down to ensure people in rural Australia have access to mobile phone coverage, especially in times of emergency.
“It’s critical for safety and emergency responses, enabling better commerce, business and social interaction in areas of limited network coverage.”
- Related article: National Mobile Roaming ‘Inevitable’
