Mornington residents have expressed alarm over a state-funded telecommunications tower planned for 900 Moorooduc Hwy. The 900 MHz tower, part of the Connecting Victoria Mobile Program, is exempt from public review. Neighbours Tim Hannaford and Natalie Harper question the site selection, citing environmental and health concerns. Harper has requested the shire defer the application and demand further ecological evidence. The shire is currently reviewing the proposal and awaiting additional information from the applicant.
Vodafone's parent company, TPG Telecom, says more than 24 million scam calls to its customers over one year came via Symbio, a small internet phone company owned by Aussie Broadband. Vodafone's data shows 98 per cent of the calls originated with Symbio. Aussie Broadband says Symbio sells phone numbers in bulk to about 500 customers, who may on-sell them further, making scammers hard to stop. Symbio was warned by the regulator in 2022 and 2024. Stronger scam rules are due next year, with penalties of up to $11 million.
Most intercontinental internet traffic travels through fibre-optic cables laid on the ocean floor, not through satellites. Cables are most often damaged by fishing activity and ship anchors, and also by earthquakes and underwater landslides. Repairs require specialist vessels that locate the fault, cut out the damaged section, splice in new cable and return it to the seabed. Major technology companies, including Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon, have invested in new cable systems. Australia relies on these links for overseas markets and cloud services.
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Tuggerah Lakes Police are appealing for public assistance after an incident involving telecommunications infrastructure at Summerland Point. The incident occurred on the Heritage Walking Trail, about 300 metres west of Summerland Road, on a Friday in October.
New laws passed by Parliament will allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority to act faster against telecommunications providers that breach industry rules. Penalties have increased about 40 times, to more than $10 million in some cases, and can be based on the benefit gained from a breach or a provider's turnover. The law also creates a registration scheme for carriage service providers, allowing the regulator to stop providers it considers unsafe from operating. Minister for Communications Anika Wells said the changes will better protect customers, particularly those facing financial hardship or domestic, family and sexual violence.
Parliament has passed laws requiring Telstra, Optus and TPG to provide basic SMS and voice mobile coverage almost everywhere Australians can see the sky. The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation is aimed at regional and remote communities. Coverage will rely on existing land-based towers and new low Earth orbit satellite technology. The obligation will start on 1 December 2027, subject to market developments. The laws also allow the Minister for Communications to set performance and reliability standards for carriers.
Telecommunications companies face fines of more than $10 million for breaching industry codes, up from $250,000, under new federal laws. The changes to the Telecommunications Act also let the Australian Communications and Media Authority act swiftly against telcos found to have done the wrong thing. Fines will be based on the benefit gained from a breach or the offending telco's turnover. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the law sets clear rules for how telcos must support customers facing financial hardship or domestic, family and sexual violence.
Residents raised concerns about dropped phone calls, poor reception and emergency access at a telecommunications forum in Medowie last week. Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson hosted the event, with representatives from Telstra, Optus, TPG Telecom and NBN taking questions. One Sunrise resident said she often could not reach her husband, who is in assisted care at Shoal Bay. Optus representative Glenn Hamilton said he would investigate reception problems raised by residents of The Cove but could not promise a new tower straight away.
Telstra chairman Craig Dunn has warned that complex regulation could discourage investment. He singled out calls for mandatory mobile roaming, which would let customers use rival networks outside their own provider's coverage. Dunn told a shareholders meeting in Sydney that the measure would not build new towers and could slow further spending. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is running a 12-month inquiry into the issue. Telstra's chief executive, Vicki Brady, also accepted an external review's findings on a July nationwide outage, and the board cut executive pay in response.
Telstra chairman Craig Dunn has warned that complex regulation could discourage investment. He singled out calls for mandatory mobile roaming, which would let customers use rival networks outside their own provider's coverage. Dunn told a shareholders meeting in Sydney that the measure would not build new towers and could slow further spending. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is running a 12-month inquiry into the issue. Telstra's chief executive, Vicki Brady, also accepted an external review's findings on a July nationwide outage, and the board cut executive pay in response.
Complaints about phone and internet providers fell 6.5 per cent in 2025-26 to 53,834, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. Claims for compensation rose sharply, with financial loss claims up 60.7 per cent. Mobile phone problems made up 46.2 per cent of complaints. The Ombudsman is calling for minimum reliability standards and baseline compensation. It also wants powers to handle complaints about digital platforms, where more than 1100 people sought help, a 70 per cent rise.
A proposed Optus 4G and 5G tower in Umina Beach faces delays despite council approval in May. The telecommunications infrastructure aims to enhance network capacity and coverage for the area.
SpaceX says that once it deploys all its spectrum and launches next-generation satellites, it will offer US customers reliable service indoors, outdoors and in cellular dead zones. The company told Canadian authorities it expects to begin service by late 2027. Grain originally obtained the spectrum from T-Mobile in a swap that included cash. The AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon carriers have formed a joint venture pooling spectrum to use satellites for coverage in dead zones, and the FCC has proposed further spectrum changes for satellite-to-mobile service.
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells is in Pormpuraaw, where free Community Wi-Fi has been opened as part of a federal investment of $40 million across two programs. The Wi-Fi is based at the local library and reaches the rest of the town through six satellite hubs. Wells said residents who can connect can use government services, banking and education tools, as well as public broadcasters, though coverage is not guaranteed everywhere. Further rollouts are planned for more than 70 communities nationally, seven of them in Queensland.
