Digital Connectivity - Regional Telecommunications Project

Page last updated: Tuesday, 31 October 2023 - 2:16pm

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

In the modern digital economy, connectivity is essential for regional businesses and communities to build and maintain a sustainable future.

Since 2012, the Western Australian Government has invested $125 million to expand mobile broadband resulting in a 60 percent increase in WA’s mobile coverage area. To date, this investment has funded 460 new and improved mobile infrastructure sites across the State through the initial $40 million Regional Mobile Communications Program (RMCP) and the current $85 million Regional Telecommunications Project (RTP).

The Regional Telecommunications Project (RTP) focus is on:

  • Supplying both wide area coverage through macrocell towers and highly targeted, local area coverage through small cell installations, as well as upgrades to existing infrastructure.
  • Growing prosperity through access to new technologies that allow regional businesses to grow and compete in a globalised digital economy. 
  • Enhancing the appeal of regional communities as places to live, work and visit, through access to high-speed voice and data services, digital entertainment, and social media.
  • Improving amenity and public safety through faster emergency response times, and access to online networks, telehealth, distance education and other government services.

The current RTP in partnership with industry and the Commonwealth’s Mobile Black Spot Program (MBSP) and Regional Connectivity Program (RCP) is delivering 535 new and improved infrastructure solutions through the following projects:

New and Improved Mobile Coverage

Program Date

Sites

Partner Program

2015

23

RMCP Phase 2

2015

137

MBSP Round 1

2016

78

MBSP Round 2

2019

26

MBSP Round 4

2020

13

Optus Upgrades

2020

63

MBSP Round 5

2021

14

MBSP Round 5A

2021

9

Optus Upgrades

2021

1

Telstra Co-investment

2021

30

Regional Connectivity Program Round 1

2022

141 Mobile Network Hardening Program Round 2

In addition to co-funding the MBSP and RCP, the WA Government is investing in solutions across the State ranging from new and improved mobile voice and data coverage, fixed wireless and fibre broadband services, and improved microwave and fibre backhaul capacity to regional, rural, and remote locations.

Alternative Technology Solutions

Program Date

Sites

Solution

2019

1

Community Wi-Fi and telephone service

2021

1

Upgrade access technology from satellite to fibre to the premise.

2021

1

Fixed wireless network linking four remote Aboriginal Communities

2021

2

Community Wi-Fi and telephone service

Remote Community Wi-Fi

A pilot community Wi-Fi Project in Tjuntjuntjara, 686 kms northeast of Kalgoorlie has become a model for equitable, affordable, and convenient internet access to remote Aboriginal communities.  Completed in May 2019, the project delivers voice and data connectivity to the whole community, supporting business opportunities in the tourism sector and access to essential services such as telehealth, education, government services, and COVID and emergency response delivery. 

Two further Community Wi-Fi Projects are now being funded in the remote Aboriginal communities of Kalumburu and Jigalong.  These projects will deploy fully managed public satellite Wi-Fi and VoIP telephone solutions and pay-as-you-go data and voice connectivity.

Community Wi-Fi Projects are an important part of the WA Government’s “Closing the Gap” commitment to improving access to the internet for rural, regional and remote Western Australia.

Regional Connectivity Program 

The Regional Connectivity Program (RCP) aims to provide place-based solutions targeting telecommunications infrastructure investments and to deliver reliable, affordable and innovative digital services in regional and remote areas of Western Australia.  In April 2021 the Commonwealth awarded an initial 12 projects to WA, co-funded by the State and industry.  A further 22 projects were awarded in May 2021, delivering a total of 34 new projects to WA with a total State investment of $8.252 million under the Program.

On 2 December 2021, the Commonwealth opened applications for its $112 RCP Round 2, including $45 million of dedicated funding for projects in Northern Australia under the Connecting Northern Australia initiative. 

Applications for RCP Round 2 funding are now closed and currently being assessed.

For further information, please contact rcp@dpird.wa.gov.au

Mobile Network Hardening Program

This Mobile Network Hardening Program (MNHP) Stage 2 aims to assist carriers with the management and maintenance of their networks and to upgrade telecommunications infrastructure to improve the reliability of mobile voice and data services during a Natural Disaster event, in particular:

  • upgrades to prevent outages in the event of a Natural Disaster; and
  • upgrades to strengthen the resilience of telecommunications facilities to allow them to operate for longer during bushfires and other Natural Disasters.

One hundred and forty-one solutions were awarded to Western Australia under MNHP Stage 2 – 79 to Optus, 61 to Telstra and one to TPG.

The range of treatments includes battery and power system upgrades, permanent generators, 20 portable generators for positioning at regional towns, and supplementary battery modules at strategic Optus hubs. These can maintain transmission links to base stations downstream for up to 20 hours, even during power outages at the hub base station.

Additional Information and Resources

The map below shows coverage areas (click to view more detail): 

 

map of telstra mobile coverage 

Optus

Contact information

Regional Telecommunications