As well as delivering your next parcel, postal vans could soon help deliver better mobile phone coverage as part of a multi-million dollar audit.
Sunshine Coast areas like Mapleton and Yandina are among regions of Australia that have incomplete or unreliable mobile coverage, and hopefully will benefit from the audit.
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The $20 million independent audit will be rolled out to help identify black spots and where phone service could be improved.
Mobile signal measuring devices will be placed on Australia Post delivery vans and trucks, which will provide data about where the worst coverage areas are.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the audit would help to provide information to where greater mobile coverage was needed in the future.
“Many Australians know that mobile coverage maps don’t always reflect the reality, that’s why the Albanese government is delivering on its commitment to undertake an independent audit of mobile coverage,” she said.
“The results will help industry and government make more impactful investment decisions and ensure coverage maps being published by mobile carriers are accurate and up to date.”
The audit will also gather information on mobile capacity issues and where gaps in the services are found.
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The program comes following concerns in a 2021 review of regional telecommunications, where issues were raised about coverage maps that were provided by telcos.
A tender process will be carried out to find a company able to place to mobile signal devices on the Australia Post vehicles.
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