The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission may soon force mobile network operators to share each other’s infrastructure, particularly in regional areas.

As part of a new inquiry into mobile coverage in regional areas, the competition regulator will explore the merits of introducing new rules that could ultimately let consumers in the bush roam between networks.

Specifically, the ACCC said that the inquiry would consider whether it should “declare one or more wholesale mobile services, including domestic roaming and a radio access network service.”

Commissioner Anna Brakey said the inquiry was response to “growing calls” to regulate wholesale mobile services particularly from regional telecommunications consumers.

“We continue to see significant interest in access to mobile networks, including from regional and consumer groups, industry participants, as well as through parliamentary processes and recent reviews," Brakey said.

The ACCC said the inquiry, which it expected to take 12 months, would cover a range of issues, including the needs of mobile users in regional and remote areas, how regulation could impact mobile network investment, whether consumers have “meaningful choice” between providers and the role emerging direct-to-device low earth orbit satellites could play in the market.

TPG Telecom, which already has an 11-year agreement with Optus that gives it access to 2444 extra mobile network sites in exchange for spectrum licences, today welcomed the inquiry.

“Network sharing has helped close the coverage gap between mobile operators. As satellite-to-mobile services emerge, the focus should now be on how all technologies can work together to improve coverage and competition, without undermining the investment needed to keep building high-quality mobile networks,” a TPG Telecom spokesperson said.

However, Telstra said that it would oppose any move to introduce compulsory domestic mobile roaming outside the recently finalised temporary disaster roaming (TDR) framework which will allow consumers to roam between services during natural disasters.

“Telstra opposes mandated domestic mobile roaming, where competitors’ generalised access to our network is imposed by regulation, because it results in worse long-term network outcomes for all Australians, especially those in regional Australia," a Telstra spokesperson said.

"It does so by weakening investment incentives and reducing customer experience and reliability through increased congestion and the risk of signalling storms."

Optus took a more neutral stance to it next largest rival, welcoming the inquiry but stopping short of taking a definitive position on whether it would support or oppose being required to share its mobile infrastructure.

“The inquiry provides an important opportunity to consider how Australia can support ongoing investment, innovation and competition while ensuring the sector remains capable of supporting the nation’s long term economic growth, digital ambitions and security objectives,” a spokesperson for Optus said.

The ability of consumers to roam between mobile signal towers is one of the key issues to emerge from the Federal Government’s inquiry into Australia’s triple zero calling inquiry.

The inquiry was set up following Optus’ 13-hour outage in September last year.

One of the inquiry committee members, Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has been one of the most vocal proponents of roaming, calling for the change as part of criticism of the Labor’s Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation bill.

The bill places an onus on Optus to provide competitive voice and text services over 5 million square kilometres of the Australia, including 37,000 kilometres of road. It is yet to pass through parliament.

“The bill does not consider how mandatory mobile roaming could improve connectivity in regional areas including temporary emergency roaming during major outages and natural disasters,” Henderson wrote in a statement about the bill earlier this year.

The committee also heard evidence from lobby group the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network chief executive Carol Bennett that without roaming some consumers in regional areas were being left without access to triple zero services.

“We hear from many regional consumers and also our Indigenous colleagues that they very often don't have access to triple zero already. That's a luxury they don't have much of the time.

“That's a real concern. This is where domestic roaming, in the interim, until [the UOMO] bill is up and running and this technology is available, could enable people in those regions to get access. That shouldn't be based on commercial decisions of big telcos; that should be based on what's in the public interest and the public safety,” Bennett told the committee.

Bennett today urged Minister for Communications Anika Wells to direct the ACCC to move immediately to mandate domestic mobile roaming as a public safety imperative, rather than waiting on the views of industry.

“While the ACCC is well placed to consider competition issues - they are a competition regulator that are not required to take into consideration public safety in their review - and moving to mandated domestic roaming is a decision that sits with ... Wells,” Bennett said.

Telstra today cited the TDR and networking sharing arrangement between TPG Telecom and Optus as further reasons to maintain its stance against mandatory domestic roaming, a position it has held since 2016 when the ACCC last inquired into the issue.

“Optus and TPG have their commercially negotiated multi-operator core network (MOCN) deal, satellite to mobile technology and the UOMO legislation mean all mobile network operators will need to provide outdoor coverage everywhere, and the industry is well progressed on implementation of temporary disaster roaming,” the carrier’s spokesperson said.

Industry plans for TDR are already at an advanced stage, with all three mobile network currently cooperating on tests ahead of the upcoming disaster season.

It’s understood that the TDR apparatus is expected to be operational around October, with industry working with government to finalise details of how the scheme will work in operation.