VANESSA MILLS, HOST: Do you have to drive into town to use your mobile phone? Would you like better mobile coverage? New phone laws went (into) federal parliament yesterday that will force telcos from December 2027 to provide coverage, basically wherever you can see the sky, for text and voice calls as a minimum. Communications Minister Anika Wells says the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will improve connectivity in rural and remote areas.

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MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS ANIKA WELLS: These laws are a huge step forward for regional and rural Australia because it will make mobile connectivity accessible almost everywhere you can look up and see the sky. So it's a big step forward and it's putting the framework in place as this LEO satellite technology grows and continues to grow.

MILLS: These low earth orbit satellites, the LEOSats as they're nicknamed, are you expecting Australian telcos to start launching those, or are we going to be reliant on Elon Musk's Starlink?

WELLS: Well, the direct-to-device technology, the three major telcos in Australia have indicated that they're pursuing that. Telstra has direct-to-device SMS service available. Optus and TPG have announced plans to introduce it, and all of them anticipate introducing both SMS and voice services. I think our announcement of the UOMO signals to LEOSat providers, that Australia wants them to deliver D2D services in Australia. Obviously, we will work with industry to make sure that security and data and privacy considerations continue to be a priority for everybody under the laws that already exist in that space here in Australia.

MILLS: Will the telcos have to share the low Earth orbit satellites like they do phone towers?

WELLS: I think at the moment they are working with providers of LEOSat technology, you know, in their own contracts. I think Optus has said they're going to explore doing it themselves. But certainly because this is also emerging, that particular problem is a fair way away from happening.

MILLS: Will it matter what provider they're using?

WELLS: While obviously no infrastructure is 100 per cent resilient, UOMO is going to provide vital SMS and voice mobile connectivity in 70 per cent of the continent where there previously was none at all. So that's a huge step forward for your listeners, I imagine. And it's about not just having to rely on existing terrestrial tower networks, but like you say, roaming LEOSats that will significantly extend coverage for people so that it shouldn't matter which particular telco they are with. But we're going to make sure that providers offer a quality service. That's part of what these laws are doing. They're creating powers to set standards, for me as the minister and ACMA as the regulator, to set standards, to set rules, to set benchmarks for mobile services. So hopefully it isn't a case of having to try and pick a winner.

MILLS: What does the UOMO mean for the future of new mobile towers?

WELLS: Well, I think we've written these laws so that they are technology agnostic. We expect that providers will use a mixture of the existing towers and the new technology of LEOSats. I think it gives everybody options moving forward. If the LEOSat technology is better, more effective, cheaper to implement, cheaper to monitor and to maintain, that means that ultimately rural and remote Australians will receive more coverage, better service, hopefully better rates. Those are the things that are possible. This is the laws that set in place the framework for all of that work.

MILLS: What are your hopes now for regional Australians getting connected?

WELLS: Well, currently about 70 per cent of the Australian landmass has no mobile coverage. That's what you're talking about. That's what your listeners are experiencing. UOMO will help cover this. Whilst we're introducing these new laws, it isn't the only piece of the puzzle in improving regional connectivity. Obviously, your listeners would be aware we've been working on trying to improve Triple Zero but we also are investing in communications infrastructure, that $1.1 billion Better Connectivity Plan. Hopefully, your listeners have been benefiting from initiatives like Mobile Black Spot or the Mobile Network Hardening Program, On Farm Connectivity or Broadcast Resilience Program. We're obviously working with the NBN to try and upgrade fixed line areas, better fibre services, and we will keep doing all of that alongside our commitment to First Nations digital inclusion, which we announced recently has a new $68 million package of measures.

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MILLS: Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells on the new universal Mobile Coverage laws.