The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched its consultation for the Mobile Services Inquiry, calling on Australian consumers, regional businesses, and community organisations to share their experiences with mobile network coverage, service quality, and retail pricing.
As mobile plans face steep, above-inflation price hikes, this timely inquiry will examine whether stronger regulatory intervention is needed to protect digital inclusion and promote fair competition across urban and regional Australia.
Why is the ACCC Investigating the Mobile Market Now?
For years, the Australian telecommunications industry has remained highly concentrated among the three major mobile network operators (MNOs) — Telstra, Optus, and TPG. The ACCC is launching this public inquiry to address critical, long-standing market vulnerabilities:
Skyrocketing Costs: Recent entry-level prepaid and postpaid plans have jumped significantly (some by up to 12 percent in a single year, and nearly 50 percent over three years).
Severe Regional Gaps: Despite network upgrades, approximately 72.2 percent of Australia’s landmass still lacks outdoor terrestrial mobile coverage from any provider.
The 3G Switch-Off Impact: The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has reported a surge in poor coverage complaints following the shutdown of legacy 3G networks.
Data Plan Mismatches: The average advertised mobile plan includes 69 GB of data, yet the average Australian only uses 14.5 GB per month — meaning consumers are frequently paying for data they do not utilise.
“We want to hear from a wide range of consumers and organisations about their experiences of mobile coverage, service quality and choice. Whether you rely on mobile connectivity to run a business, work remotely or stay connected with family and friends, your experience can help us understand how well the market is working,” Anna Brakey, ACCC Commissioner, said.
The Regulatory Fix: What is “Declaration”?
The inquiry is assessing whether the ACCC should “declare” specific wholesale mobile services. Under Australia’s competition laws, declaring a service legally mandates a network operator to sell network access to other telecommunications providers upon request.
The ACCC is currently exploring two key service design options:
1. Domestic Roaming Service
This model allows an access seeker’s customers to automatically seamlessly transition onto an access provider’s network in specified regional or remote areas where their own carrier lacks coverage.
2. Radio Access Network (RAN) Service
This model grants a mobile provider wholesale access to another operator’s active physical radio infrastructure (such as antennas and amplifiers) while allowing them to maintain their own independent core network for maximum product differentiation.
How Australians Can Have Their Say
The ACCC highlights that it has not formed any definitive view on whether wholesale services should be declared. To build a robust framework, the commission is gathering direct feedback regarding:
What matters most when choosing a mobile provider.
Barriers keeping consumers from switching providers.
Real-world mobile coverage and data quality.
Important Deadlines for Feedback:
Discussion Paper Submissions: Formal industry and public submissions responding to the ACCC discussion paper must be submitted electronically by 5:00 PM AEDT on 26 November 2026.
Online Consumer Survey: The public consumer experience survey will remain open on the ACCC Consultation Hub until 5:00 PM AEDT on 10 December 2026.
The ACCC will also be hosting place-based regional and remote engagement activities to collect direct, localized feedback from rural communities deeply impacted by digital disadvantage. To access the consumer survey, download the discussion paper, or learn more about what network declaration could mean for your wallet, visit the official ACCC Mobile Services Inquiry portal.
Geographic Coverage Disparity: Terrestrial mobile coverage remains completely unavailable across 72.2 percent of Australia’s landmass, meaning substantial coverage gaps persist outside major population hubs.
Population vs. Landmass Serving: Mobile network operators (MNOs) effectively serve 81 percent of the Australian population who live densely packed within metropolitan areas spanning only about 50,000 square kilometres.
Regional Performance Issues: Consumers and businesses in regional, rural, and remote areas face severe, day-to-day network performance and connectivity problems, often relying on a single network provider.
Uncommercial Expansion Limits: Broadening physical infrastructure to improve performance in remote areas has become marginal or commercially unviable for operators due to high deployment costs and low population density.
The “Gaps” vs. Performance Impact: Network complaints regarding poor or absent mobile coverage inside homes, properties, and on rural transit roads have surged since operators switched off legacy 3G networks.
Data Plan Underutilisation: While the average advertised plan allowance sits at a high 69 gigabytes, Australians only consume about 14.5 gigabytes of mobile data per month on average.
Infrastructure Sharing Models: Active network sharing, like Multi-Operator Core Network (MCN) arrangements, allows operators to pool spectrum or radio access networks (RAN) to directly enhance capacity and regional footprints.
Government Subsidy Reliance: Expanding terrestrial network reach heavily depends on public funding; for example, 30.4 percent of Telstra’s new sites built between 2025 and 2026 required government co-contribution subsidies.
Spectrum Underutilisation: A significant portion of national spectrum licences in regional and remote areas remains underutilised because operators lack the financial incentives to build out local physical infrastructure.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
