The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts has published an open tender to procure an expert technical adviser to support the delivery of the Australian Government’s national audit of mobile coverage.
The October 2022-23 Budget confirmed $20 million funding over 5 years to conduct an audit of mobile coverage across the country, a key component of the Australian Government’s Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia. The Department is working with Australia Post on the delivery of a key component of the audit.
The Department is exploring the various approaches available to audit mobile coverage so the best possible audit is conducted. The technical adviser will assist the Department in this work.
The Government intends to use the findings of the mobile coverage audit itself to guide investment priorities and support policy and program development.
Ensuring the Department receives quality technical advice now will mean the coverage audit will deliver quality results, better positioning the Government to deliver better mobile coverage for rural, regional and remote Australians in the future.
Details of the tender are available on the Austender website:
Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
“This tender is another important step in delivering the mobile coverage audit in a way that best supports our Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia.
The Albanese Government’s Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia is providing more than $1.1 billion to rural and regional communities, including $656 million to improve mobile and broadband connectivity and resilience in rural and regional Australia.
“We’ve already got the ball rolling on fixing mobile coverage for those in rural Australia so they are better connected across the country through key grants programs. We recently launched new rounds of the Mobile Black Spot and Regional Connectivity Programs. We want to get a better picture of mobile coverage gaps nationwide so we can build on this initiative going forward. This tender and the mobile coverage audit will both help support our efforts in the longer term.”
