Regional politicians were in the news recently saying what we've all been saying for at least 10 years - telcos need to share the love in regional/rural areas.
Nationals leader David Littleproud is among those who want regulatory guidelines to make sure they could be used by all Australians, no matter what telco they were with.
"[These decision makers] need to get out of their capital city offices with a mobile phone in hand and see what we go through," Mr Littleproud said.
"In 2023, communication has never been more important. It's critical as a safety and emergency response, enabling better commerce, business and social interaction in areas of limited network coverage."
In 2017, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruled against mandated mobile roaming. Mr Littleproud said it was clear the ACCC got the decision wrong.
I have to agree with him.
I spent the first 10 years of adulthood living in regional Queensland and nothing encapsulates the issue of phone service more than the 1800 kilometre drive from Mount Isa to Brisbane.
My phone is with Telstra, my partner's phone is with Optus and more often than not on the drive only one of us has service.
It's downright dangerous, knowing that my partner could go five hours without service, only for them to get service and me to lose it.
For more than a year we were long distance - driving back and forth from Emerald or Longreach to Mount Isa. I had service some of the way, but my partner had a stretch of five hours without a single bar.
The old argument of 'just change carriers' doesn't really sit well now - not when you can get Optus for a few hours, then Telstra, then nothing.
The infrastructure is sitting there, tied up in commercial - privatised - arrangements which rely on who collects your monthly bill.
Every month we hear of people stranded in remote areas of Australia, unable to make a call or send a text.
Anyone who has drive around the north west knows the second you see the Telstra tower (only 5-10 minutes from Mount Isa) you'll hear your phone start buzzing around on the floor of your bag.
You know to watch the town sign markers, holding your breath between them hoping you don't come across a crash - or worse, be involved in one.
Blackspots are talked about often, but how often do we discuss the little sister of the blackspot - the subscription service to a specific telco to make a call for help.
It's akin to having to have three different streaming services to watch all the shows you want - should we really have to have three phones with different carriers just to up our chances of making a call for help in an emergency?
The politicians are right (if 10 years too late). It's time to share.
The federal government has launched a parliamentary inquiry, investigating the potential for multi-carrier regional mobile phone towers
The ACCC has begun its own Regional Mobile Infrastructure Inquiry, which Mr Littleproud urged rural customers to share their experience with.
Both the ACCC and the parliamentary inquiry are due to release their final reports later this year.
- Talk of the Town is a weekly opinion piece written by ACM journalists. The thoughts expressed are their own.
Kelly Butterworth
Rockhampton-based journalist covering all things ag.
Rockhampton-based journalist covering all things ag.
