The government has been asked to compile and maintain an independent map of mobile and broadband service availability and providers, accurate to a “specific location” or “area” level.
The request for a “national telecommunications data platform” is one of the findings of a regional telecommunications review [pdf], held once every three years.
“The national platform should feature an interactive online tool that allows consumers to easily access detailed information on broadband and mobile service availability in their area, helping them make informed decisions about their connectivity options across Australia,” the committee wrote in a detailed report [pdf].
It would ideally be “mapped … onto a detailed geographic grid” that provided an accurate picture of service availability and performance.
A key finding of the committee this time around is a high level of confusion about the options available at an address.
This extended to even NBN services.
“The committee learned through consultations that significant numbers of people mistakenly believe they cannot access an NBN service,” it wrote.
“Often, this misconception arises because they have been informed by their retailer that satellite services are unavailable.
“Not all NBN providers offer the full range of NBN technologies, speed tiers, or plan options, creating potential biases in the services presented to consumers.”
For mobile, self-published maps by telcos “often fail[ed] to accurately reflect real-world experiences or on-the-ground coverage.”
It’s not clear how the data would be collected or sourced.
The government has made an attempt to collect some independent mobile signal strength data, through a national audit that uses sensors strapped to Australia Post vehicles. However, its findings would not be accurate enough for the use case described by the committee.
In addition to a public-facing aspect, the committee also suggested the “national telecommunications data platform” also have a restricted side for government use only.
This, the committee suggested, would show “real-time … operational status of mobile towers” in disaster areas, enabling governments to see the extent of telecommunications issues, and to act accordingly.
Other topline findings
The committee has asked for greater focus on the role that “low earth orbit (LEO) satellites with direct to handset (DTH) mobile services” could play in serving “the most remote areas” of Australia that lack even basic terrestrial mobile coverage.
It also identified a need for “connectivity literacy” to be championed in regional, rural and remote Australia, noting that some populations simply weren’t aware of what was available and what it might help them do.
The review also tackles current government funding arrangements for mobile networks, asking funds to mostly be retargeted at terrestrial mobile network capacity, service quality, and resilience, rather than further extending terrestrial coverage”.
The only exception to that is along key road corridors, which may lack coverage in the first instance.
The committee also wanted to see greater transparency of projects the government had part funded.
On resilience, the committee asked the government to consider regulating “minimum backup power periods” to keep critical telecommunications infrastructure online in the event of a mains failure.
More contentiously, it asked the federal government to “exercise its power to expedite planning approvals for large telecommunications infrastructure projects, such as tower installations in regional, rural and remote Australia and in instances where Australian government funding has contributed to projects.”
The location of towers in Australia has long been contentious, as have powers that seek to override local planning rules or community objections.