NSW gov promises $250m for regional mobile services

Regional NSW communities with little or no mobile coverage will be the focus of $250 million promised by the Coalition government as part of its campaign for the upcoming state election.

The funds will also support key transport coverage, and visitor economies that need occasional support for large crowds.

Deputy premier and minister for regional NSW Paul Toole said “events like the Mundi Mundi Bash at Broken Hill and Deni Ute Muster attract thousands of visitors – and we want to ensure those visitors stay connected and can share their experiences with friends all over the world in real-time.”

Toole said the government wants to focus on shared infrastructure in this round of funding under the regional digital connectivity program.

He said the funding “shifts away from traditional ‘one tower, one provider’ model thinking in favour of a nation-leading approach to deliver shared infrastructure available for use by all carriers."

“That means not just better coverage but the change to drive better competition and better choices for consumers," Toole said.

The promise came as OneWiFi and Pivotel announced they'd deployed neutral host towers in the remote NSW communities of Brewarrina and Wilcania.

The NSW government kicked off a program in April 2022 to support the development of neutral host models with $50 million in funding.

Pivotel was one of the eight companies selected to develop shared infrastructure models; the others were Optus, Telstra, TPG Telecom, BAI Communications, Field Solutions Group (FSG), Infrastructure Logic, and NEC.