Building Australia’s mobile future

Australians were transfixed by the disappearance of bush walker Hadi Nazari who got lost in Kosciuszko National Park this Summer.

The significant search and rescue operation included a dozen SES teams, 200 personnel, more than 4,000 volunteer hours and specialist aircraft.
 
Hadi’s location could have been known within minutes with a charged mobile phone, Direct 2 Device technology, and a clear view to the sky.
 
This is because the latest generation of Low Earth Orbit Satellites can communicate directly – by text – to mobile phones.
 
Which means people can seek help in emergencies in areas that don’t have mobile reception, and when networks are affected by power outages.
 
So, what we are seeing around the world that is giving us optimism and excitement for this transformative technology?
 
A recent example was during the highly-destructive and deadly Los Angeles wildfires.
 
In the first few days, more than 100,000 text messages were sent via D2D from tens of thousands of T-Mobile customers using standard 4G handsets.
 
People were texting loved ones, neighbours, and, importantly, emergency services.   
 
Just imagine how we could use that capability in Australia. The public safety implications cannot be underestimated.
 
This is why re-elected Albanese Government will introduce a major reform to ensure competitive universal outdoor mobile coverage across Australia.
 
Labor’s Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation - or UOMO – will cover the more than 70 per cent of our vast continent that does not have mobile connectivity.
 
We are filling the giant mobile black spot that could simply never be addressed through mobile tower deployment at this scale or speed.
 
Whether it’s in national parks, hiking trails or out on the farm, outdoor coverage will be accessible almost anywhere where Australians can see the sky.
 
Just think about what this means for the farmer out in the paddock, the injured hiker, or the distressed parent whose car has broken down.
 
The strong and immediate public safety interest is obvious.

The Albanese Government will introduce legislation in 2025. Implementation of outdoor SMS and voice will be expected by late 2027, with many Australians likely to obtain access before then.
 
Our initial focus is on the continent-wide emergency contact capability.
 
D2D is not a replacement for terrestrial mobile networks. It will complement them with a thin coverage layer.
 
Basic mobile data will be considered in the future as technology roadmaps and capacity considerations develop.
 
Labor’s longer-term interest is to help facilitate a competitive outdoor mobile coverage market for Australian consumers.
 
Our policy announcement is a demand signal to global low orbit providers – we want you to expand your capability in Australia.
 
Building Australia’s future demands forward-looking regulatory environments for the benefit of all.
 
Whether its Medicare or superannuation, childcare, bulk billed GPs or the National Broadband Network, Labor has a proud history of expanding universal access to essential services and enablers of prosperity.
 
UOMO is the next important piece of architecture that gives life to these values.
 
Australians are proud and early adopters of technology, and we are ambitious to leverage this advantage as part of building a better future.

There is tremendous activity and buzz in the communications space right now.
 
It’s a time of reform, in-sync with incredible innovation that is making once unviable goals a reality.
 
The biggest risk to this progress is a Liberal-National Coalition always inventing new ways to take Australia backward, as they did with copper broadband.
 
Australia can do much better than that.
 
Now is not a time for thinking small, looking back or aiming low. 
 
This is a time to lean-in to opportunities and forge ahead with Labor’s vision to make Australia the most connected continent.
 
The Albanese Government is doing this with one eye on the sky, and the other watching out for what’s best for all Australians - regardless of who – or where – they are.
 
Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP
This opinion piece was first published in The Canberra Times, 26 February 2025