The Mobile Black Spot Program is an ongoing

Australian federal government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

funding program aimed at adding mobile phone reception to areas which do not have it, such as communities, transport routes and

tourist destinations A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

. As of October 2022, over 1,200 mobile base stations have been funded and a total of 1,047 constructed by

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

Optus Singtel Optus Pty Limited is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiar ...

TPG Telecom TPG Telecom Limited, formerly Vodafone Hutchison Australia and renamed following a merger with TPG, is an Australian telecommunications company. It is the second-largest telecommunications company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. ...

(formerly

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

), and Field Solutions Group (FSG). The need for a mobile black spot funding program was first identified in the government's 2011–12 Regional Telecommunications Review, with the first of the towers built under the program being switched on in December 2015. Mobile base stations built under the program are funded with contributions from the Commonwealth, the network operators themselves, and in some cases, state and local governments.

History

The program was established when the 2011–12 Regional Telecommunications Review found that the mobile coverage footprint in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

was approaching the limit of commercial viability and financial incentive for network operators to continue expansion, which would leave many areas to continue to lack phone reception as there would not be an incentive for mobile carriers to continue expanding themselves. Prior to the establishment of the program, the government took submissions from the public for black spots to be addressed, with over 6,000 black spots throughout the country being submitted by the public. The Mobile Black Spot Program was an election promise of

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

's election campaign in 2013, when he pledged $20 million of government funding specifically to the program, $80 million to improving coverage in areas such as major transport routes and stated intention to collaborate with

NBN Co NBN Co Limited, known simply as nbn, is a state-owned corporation of the Australian Government, tasked to design, build and operate Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) as the nation's wholesale broadband provider. NBN Co reports to tw ...

to co-locate black spot funded towers on existing NBN

fixed wireless Fixed wireless is the operation of wireless communication devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations (e.g., building to building or tower to building) with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless ...

towers.

Round 1

499 base stations were funded under the first round of the program, with $100 million of government money.

received funding to build 429 base stations, and

got 70.

was absent from this first round. The first tower out of this round to be commissioned was a

tower, at the White Rock Wind Farm near

Glen Innes, New South Wales Glen Innes is a parish and town on the Northern Tablelands, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the centre of the Glen Innes Severn Shire Council. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and ...

Round 2

266 base stations were funded under round 2 of the program, with $57.5 million of federal government money, and $54 million contributed from state and local governments. 146 sites were built by

, 113 were built by

, and

got funding for just 4, which they expressed disappointment about.

Round 3 (Priority Locations)

Round 3 of the program was focused on locations perceived to be of a high priority by the government. $60 million was allocated to 89 locations.

was allocated 12 sites,

got one, the remainder of the funding going to

. The first tower under this round was switched on in June 2018, at East Lynne, New South Wales.

Round 4

180 base stations were built from the $25 million allocated to this round of the program.

built 131 towers, and

49, with

absent from funding in this round.

Round 5

182 new base stations were funded under this round, funding for which

got 97 mobile sites,

83, and Field Solutions Group got 2, who also made their debut in the program in this round. $36.8 million of Commonwealth government money was used in this round.

Round 5A

Round 5A was established as a supplementary round to Round 5, as out of the $80 million allocated to the round initially, only $36.8 million was used. Under this round, there was a specific focus on major transport routes and disaster prone areas. Field Solutions Group received funding to trial their neutral host model, which would have the possibility of providing reception to customers of any mobile carrier. FSG built these towers along the Adventure Way in Queensland, in conjunction with Optus. 67 new base stations were funded under this round, with

getting funding for 48,

for 4, and the remainder going to FSG.

Round 6 (Improving Mobile Coverage)

Round 6 has been dubbed the "improving mobile coverage" round, set to target 54 locations, for which $80 million of funding has been committed.

Reception

From the telcos

, after receiving funding to build just 4 base stations in round 2 of the program, criticised

's dominant share in the program. After this, they attempted to convince the ACCC to declare domestic mobile

roaming Roaming is a wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or oth ...

, a policy which would allow all mobile network providers to roam on the infrastructure of any other provider, and thereby greatly increase the regional network footprint of

in particular. The ACCC launched an inquiry into domestic roaming but decided against it, declaring it would "harm the interests of

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

s by undermining the incentives of

mobile operators A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a mobile network provider, mobile network carrier, mobile , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, wireless operator, wireless telco, or cellular company, is a telecommunications provider of se ...

to make investments to compete with each other in regional areas".

later attempted to dispute the decision in the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

, but ultimately lost the case.

From the public

In multiple instances, the telecommunications company chosen to construct a phone tower has caused some controversy in the communities served, usually in cases where Optus was selected to build a phone tower in an area already dominated by

. Complaints were made that in order to make use of this tower, phone users would have to subscribe to the

network, which would only be usable in that given area, and not the other surrounding areas served exclusively by

. The Tjukayirla Roadhouse is an example of this situation, where

received funding as they were the only telco to apply for a tender at this location. In another instance, the owner of the

Archer River The Archer River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The headwaters of the river rise in the McIlwraith Range and it flows west, traversing tropical savanna plains and wetlands ...

Roadhouse in far north

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

described the decision to build an

site instead of

at that location as "ludicrous", as residents of the nearby area used exclusively

services. Telstra went on and built a base station at Archer River Roadhouse. Somewhat proving how the program stimulates competition between the carriers.

Australian National Audit Office

The

Australian National Audit Office The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is the supreme audit institution of Australia, functioning as the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to the Australian Parliament via the ...

(ANAO) criticised round 1 of the program, believing it provided taxpayers "poor value for money". A report from the auditor found that out of the 499 base stations built under round 1, 39 would have been built anyway by the network operators without needing public funding, and another 89 only provided minimal benefit to residents lacking coverage. In 2024, an ANAO probe found the $40 million of the Communications Department's spending in Round 6 to be "largely effective", amidst allegations of "pork barreling" project funds to districts based on their political leanings.

References

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