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The Labor government has announced plans for a major telecommunications reform to bring phone reception to almost every square kilometre of the country.
Ahead of the upcoming federal election, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland today revealed Labor's Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO), which would require mobile providers to offer better access to SMS and calls across Australia.
The proposal would ensure there is outdoor mobile coverage across an extra five million square kilometres of Australia including regional parks and hiking trails – essentially anywhere you can see the sky.
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If passed, it would also give coverage to over 37,000km of regional and rural roads.
Some of Australia's worst phone reception "black spots" will be improved under the proposal, including adding over one million square kilometres of extra coverage for the Northern Territory and Queensland.
It would also improve phone coverage across major highways such as NSW's Barrier Highway and the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia.
This is made possible due to global innovations in low earth orbit satellites (LEOSats) and direct-to-device (D2D) technology, which can send signals from space directly to mobile devices.
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Rowland said UOMO aims to ensure there is adequate triple zero access across Australia, to patch up phone black spots and improve phone signal during disasters and power outages.
Around 78 per cent of calls to triple zero originate from a mobile phone in Australia.
The proposal would ensure 100 per cent of those calls get through.
Labor said it would introduce the legislation to parliament in 2025 to expand the universal service framework to include mobile coverage for the first time.
If passed, the outdoor SMS and voice will be expected by late 2027.
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"The 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," Rowland said.
"The experience will be different to land mobile networks, but the benefits [are] transformative, particularly for a large continent such as ours.
"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."
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