We welcome Senator Bridget McKensie’s announcement of an additional $25 million allocated to the Mobile Black Spot Program.
The latest round of funding will be used to improve phone coverage in regional and rural communities, along transport routes and in popular seasonal tourism destinations.
These upgrades will enable regional Australians to fully participate in the digital world and contribute to Australia’s growth in the e-commerce space.
Senator McKensie’s said this will be the fourth round of funding and will ensure regional Australians are able to benefit from mobile connectivity.
“The new round will call for applications from mobile carriers within the coming months, taking input from state, territory and local governments, as well as businesses, community organisations and emergency services,” said Minister McKensie.
“The rollout of base stations under previous rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Program is over halfway complete, delivering benefits to hundreds of communities throughout Australia, by connecting them to essential business, education and health services.”
The competitive selection process for this round of funding will commence in the second half of 2018, with the rollout expected to deliver 867 mobile base stations across the country by June 2019.