Australian telcos increasing their coverage footprint: report

Consumers are the biggest winners from Australian telcos delivering more mobile coverage and greater competition, according to the ACCC’s newly released Mobile Infrastructure Report.

“Australians have more mobile coverage and greater competition than ever before, with telcos investing in hundreds of new mobile towers and thousands of upgraded 5G sites over the past year,” said Luke Coleman, CEO of the Australian Telecommunications Alliance (ATA).

According to the report, all three national mobile networks have increased their coverage footprint and bolstered the availability of 5G over the last 12 months. In the last year Optus added 190 new mobile sites, Telstra has added another 60, and TPG Telecom had access to an additional 1938 sites under its Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) agreement with Optus — including 1590 in regional Australia and a further 284 in remote areas.

In total, Telstra was reported as having 11,767 mobile sites, Optus 9391, and TPG 5207 (increasing to 7650 under the MOCN agreement) — meaning there are more than 26,000 mobile sites in Australia.

“Mobile operators have been investing heavily in new coverage and capacity — since 2021 both Optus and Telstra have each added more than 1000 new sites to their networks, while TPG’s network sharing agreement with Optus has more than doubled its coverage footprint,” Coleman said.

“5G coverage is increasing at pace. Telstra, Optus and TPG combined have added nearly 3000 new 5G mobile sites in the past year alone — meaning Australians have access to faster mobile broadband speeds and greater network capacity than ever before. Since 2021, the three mobile carriers have added more than 11,000 5G sites to their networks.”

Coleman went on to state that Australia’s mobile networks are ranked eighth in the world for network excellence, referring to research by global analyst firm OpenSignal which measures 4G/5G availability, download speeds, and consistent service quality. “Outside of Europe, Australia ranks second in the world — after only South Korea, a global technology leader,” he said.

According to the ATA, the significant increase in mobile coverage and competition reiterates the need for expiring spectrum licences to be renewed. Coleman noted, “Such a high global ranking is no accident — it’s the result of decades of investment in infrastructure, network equipment, and spectrum. The result is that Australians benefit from a competitive market of three national mobile networks and a range of mobile virtual network operators.

“A stable and well-managed spectrum renewal process will deliver the best outcomes for Australian consumers. Enabling mobile operators to maintain consistent access to their existing spectrum rights will mean telcos can keep prices low, enable more investment, and deliver the greatest network stability at a time when consumers need reliable connectivity more than ever before.”

Image credit: iStock.com/pixdeluxe