By STEFAN BRADLEY

 

REGIONAL Australians are used to having spotty mobile coverage, and the online network maps to determine if your phone will connect to Optus, Telstra or Vodafone (TPG) services can be just as patchy.

New federal government rules now in effect mean telecommunication providers (or telcos) must publish clearer, up-to-date mobile coverage maps that are consistent across the industry, but they still might not be as useful as consumers testing an area out for themselves.

As of June 30, 2026, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has ordered the telcos to publish standardised mobile coverage maps and maintain online registers of resolved network outages, giving consumers more consistent and comparable information about the networks they rely on, and where they can make a Triple Zero call if needed.

To put it simply – if the map says you have coverage, your phone should work.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the new rules mark an important step in improving transparency across the telco sector.

“Australians rely on telco services every day for work, education, business, staying connected with family and friends, and accessing help in an emergency,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

The maps must show 4G and 5G coverage across Australia using standard categories of ‘good’, ‘moderate’, ‘basic’ or ‘no coverage’. The maps must include plain English descriptions of what each level of coverage means and be updated at least every three months.

Ms O’Loughlin said the standardised maps would make it easier for consumers to compare mobile coverage between providers.

“Mobile coverage maps have not always been easy to compare because providers have measured and presented coverage in different ways,” she said.

But RMIT Associate Professor Mark Gregory, telecommunications and networks, told the Express that while this new system is an improvement, it’s still ultimately a best guest.

“You might say that the (maps) are 50 per cent better than what they were”, but because of the predictive modelling, they’re “nothing more than a marketing tool”.

He said Telstra had been using these maps to declare they had the biggest network.

“The maps do two things. One is that they bring the telcos into alignment, so they’re all utilising the same set of rules,” Dr Gregory said.

“And the key change is that the cut-off between what is deemed as being usable and non-usable has been set at -115 dBm (decibel milliwatts), which is a measure of energy between the tower and the mobile device.

“(The maps) are not created using real measurements. The telcos could do that with real measurements, but they choose not to. And so because it is predictive software using terrain maps that they get from a third party, everything is still a guesstimate.

“There might be buildings, there might be trees, hills, all sorts of things between the user and the towers, and the software can only work with the information that’s provided to it, and that information in many areas is very generic.”

Dr Gregory said whether it was a building made of steel, a hill or a gully, the predictive software may believe your mobile service will work, but it won’t, and suggested consumers bring their phone to an area to observe the coverage themselves.

“There’s no substitute for trying to test where you might be buying a house or might be going to work. Test first and test all the carriers – Optus, Telstra, Vodafone – to see which one is going to work best for you in a particular location,” he said.

“And that may mean that you may need a booster, and you may need an antenna for it to work, whether on the home or on your car. And so you need to do the testing and talk to the telcos and get, if needed, the boosters and the antennas to suit the particular circumstances. But even with the booster and the antenna, there’s no absolute guarantee that it’s going to work.”

According to Dr Gregory, telcos are in a transitional period where they are offering text messages through LEO (Low Earth Orbit Satellites), with Telstra partnering with SpaceX’s Starlink.

“Within a couple of years, you’ll be able to make phone calls through LEO satellites as well, using a standard handset, as long as you can see the sky. People will be able to put dishes on their houses or on their cars, and they’ll be able to make phone calls in these areas where the quality of the call through Telstra, Optus, Vodafone isn’t great,” he said.

“And so that’s going to be a great thing for people in regional and rural areas like Gippsland. But of course, we need to remember it’s only going to work if you’ve got a clear view of the sky or the antenna that you’re working through has a clear view of the sky.”

Federal Minister for Communications Anika Wells said these changes mean consumers will be able to more easily compare coverage and performance between providers and choose the service that works for them.

“Our priority is keeping all Australians safe and informed. These standards will improve transparency about coverage and empower choice,” Ms Wells said.

The ACMA expects telcos to meet these new requirements and will monitor industry compliance.

Shadow Minister for Communications and Digital Safety, Sarah Henderson said the Coalition welcomed the new national mobile coverage mapping standard, saying regional Australians knew that these maps did not always match real-world experience. She also mentioned the imperfect predictive modelling.

“Under the definition of ‘usable coverage’, Telstra’s footprint reduces by as much as 860,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of New South Wales. Australians deserve nothing less than accurate information about mobile coverage,” Senator Henderson said.

Telstra said under the new standard, customers may still have access to services in ‘no coverage’ areas, but the signal strength is predicted to be below the level required to be classified as usable coverage under the standard, and the standard provides that connectivity would be limited and inconsistent. Telstra also said the new maps still show that the company’s mobile coverage is larger than the other telcos.

Telstra’s coverage area in this new standard is more than 2.14 million square kilometres, with Vodafone and Optus both at 1.2 million. Vodafone recently entered a network-sharing agreement with Optus that improves their reach in regional areas.

Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Dr Anne Webster said mapping is just one step in an important journey to better connectivity for regional Australians.

“Remember – maps do not build towers. Maps do not restore service lost through the botched 3G shutdown. Maps do not help someone call Triple Zero in an emergency if the coverage is not there,” Dr Webster said.

“Regional Australians need investment, accountability and real solutions, not just a clearer picture of the problem.”

A Vodafone spokesperson said, “This is a huge win for Australians. For the first time, customers can look at a coverage map and trust it reflects where their phone will actually work in everyday conditions.

“That transparency will drive stronger competition, helping customers get better value and making it easier to compare providers and avoid paying a premium for coverage that doesn’t deliver,” the spokesperson said.

The outage register rules require telcos to provide public registers of resolved major outages and significant local outages across their networks.

These registers must include information including when the outage started, when services were restored, the geographic areas affected, the types and estimated number of services impacted, and the high-level cause of the outage.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) welcomed the new industry standard for network coverage maps.