The Hon Michelle Rowland MP

Minister for Communications

The Hon Kristy McBain MP

Member for Eden-Monaro

The Albanese Government has announced a major world first reform to provide basic universal outdoor mobile coverage across Australia – benefiting communities in Eden-Monaro in existing black spot areas, and during disaster and emergency events.

The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) will require mobile carriers to provide access to mobile voice and SMS almost everywhere across Australia.  

UOMO will support up to 5 million square kilometres of new competitive outdoor mobile coverage across Australia, almost anywhere where Australians can see the sky.

This includes up to 347,000 square kilometres of new outdoor coverage across NSW, with over 5,000 square kilometres of major regional and remote roads.

The aim of this policy is to:

• expand Triple Zero access for Australians across the nation; 
• expand outdoor voice and SMS coverage into existing mobile black spots; and
• improve the availability of mobile signals during disasters and power outages.

This reform is only possible due to the transformative Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEOSats), and the arrival of Direct to Device (D2D) technology, which enables signals from space direct to mobile devices.

A re-elected Albanese Government will consult and introduce legislation in 2025 to expand the universal service framework to incorporate mobile coverage for the first time.

Implementation of outdoor SMS and voice will be expected by late 2027, with many Australians likely to obtain access before then.

Basic mobile data will be considered in the future as technology roadmaps and capacity considerations develop.

The Government remains committed and will continue to evolve its existing co-investment programs like the Mobile Black Spot Program and Mobile Network Hardening Program to expand terrestrial mobile coverage, resilience and capacity.

In Eden-Monaro, the Albanese Government is investing more than $8.5 million towards 13 new mobile base stations, delivering improved coverage across our region.

This is in addition to 27 projects being supported across Eden-Monaro under Rounds 2 and 3 of the Mobile Network Hardening Program, to keep telecommunications online for longer during disasters.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP:

“Labor governments have a proven record of expanding universal access to essential services, and the Albanese Government is forging another step forward.

“Our Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation will improve public safety, increase resilience during natural disasters, and provide an extra layer of coverage in areas previously thought too difficult or costly to reach.

“Building our mobile future with the latest technology is a vital element of Labor's plan to make Australia the most connected continent by 2030.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Eden-Monaro, Kristy McBain:

“You should be able to access Triple Zero when you need to – something people across Eden-Monaro know all too well after the multiple natural disasters we’ve experienced in recent years.

“That’s why the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation is great news for our community, because it will provide another layer of outdoor coverage during emergencies – whether that’s in our national parks, on our hiking trails, or out on the farm.

“This expanded coverage will build on our existing work to reduce black spots and to boost the resilience of telecommunications in our region, including our investment of over $8.5 million for new base stations across Eden-Monaro.”