The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its first report on mobile infrastructure across the country, finding that telcos have focused on deploying 5G in major cities.
ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said the Mobile Infrastructure Report 2021 looked at the mobile infrastructure and coverage maps of Telstra Optus and TPG from 2018 to 2021 aiming to provide more transparency on how the operators’ mobile infrastructure had changed over time.
Ms Brakey said the Report would also enable the public to scrutinise changes in specific geographic areas; provide more accountability over investment claims from the operators; and provide useful information on the state of mobile networks for policymakers.
“It accompanies a package of mobile infrastructure data that the ACCC has made available at data.gov.au,” Ms Brakey said.
“The data can be used to assess where the mobile network operators have been deploying network infrastructure, which will provide more accountability over their investment claims in future years,” she said.
“The data shows that between January 2018 and January 2021, the mobile network operators continued to invest in network deployment, although in recent years their focus has shifted to the rollout of 5G technology.”
Ms Brakey said an assessment of coverage maps provided by the mobile network operators proved ‘challenging’.
She said many consumers in regional areas found it difficult to check what coverage was available in their area.
“Our own analysis shows that assessing geographic coverage with the network operators’ maps is difficult,” she said.
“The mobile network operators use predicted coverage as the basis for their coverage maps, and their input assumptions and metrics are different.”
Ms Brakey said operators could also change input assumptions from time to time, which made it difficult to accurately assess coverage changes.
“Comparable and accurate coverage information is important for all consumers in making informed choices about their mobile providers, but it is particularly critical for the safety of regional and remote communities,” she said.
She said the ACCC would continue to explore ways to improve the comparability and accuracy of coverage maps provided by the mobile network operators.
The Commission’s 23-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
