General News
14 August, 2026
Domestic roaming considered
The ACCC are considering mandated domestic roaming as a way to improve regional mobile coverage.
A recently announced Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry is considering mandated domestic roaming as a way to improve regional mobile coverage.
The inquiry will consider if telcos should be forced to allow other mobile providers to use their network.
This may mean improved coverage for regional communities because, if someone has no mobile connectivity, they could be picked up by another carrier’s network.
ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said there were “growing calls” for the organisation to regulate wholesale mobile services.
“These are complex and evolving issues. Consumers expect and need affordable, reliable and high quality services. Businesses and investors need confidence to make efficient investments,” she said.
“We consider that now is the right time to examine these issues, recognising there are a range of views on the best way forward and that these matters warrant careful, considered assessment.”
Member for Mallee, and Shadow Minister for Regional Communications, Anne Webster said she had personally advocated for domestic roaming regionally.
“Regional Australians have put up with substandard telecommunications for far too long. They know, as they face natural disasters and the tyranny of distance getting to health services, mandatory domestic roaming is needed as part of our critical telecommunications infrastructure. Instead, Labor had left us high and dry,” she said.
“Connectivity is not only lifesaving but essential to regional Australia’s productivity, and becoming ever more so by the day. Mandatory domestic roaming is a big step towards updating the Universal Service Obligation that regional, rural and remote Australians deserve.”
The ACCC will hold forums in regional and remote Australia to learn about people’s experiences with mobile services and coverage.
The inquiry will also consider a range of issues including how mobile coverage needs have changed, the impact of new technology, and whether the proposals may impact competition and investment in mobile networks.