CommsDay Story of the Week - from CommsDay of Friday 6 February 2026

We chose this story because it helps to summarise on-going contention within the telecommunications industry about the way in which other policy considerations might influence the way in which ACMA conducts the upcoming process for reallocating spectrum as the current spectrum licences expire over the next few years.  The main protagonists are the consumer association, ACCAN, and the industry association, ATA. Luke Coleman from the ATA (formerly Communications Alliance) and Carol Bennett from ACCAN have presented at TelSoc lunchtime online webinars during 2025, and Carol will be presenting again next Tuesday (10 February). If you have not registered for the event, please do so on the TelSoc website at https://telsoc.org/event/telsoc-online-event-one-year-carol-bennett-acca...

 ATA rebukes ACCAN spectrum proposal, warns higher costs would hit investment and consumers
The Australian Telecommunications Alliance has rejected calls by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network for new coverage obligations to be im- posed as part of the renewal of expiring spectrum licences, arguing the proposal would undermine investment and ultimately harm consumers.

ATA chief executive Luke Coleman said Australians wanted better coverage, faster mobile broadband and more resilient networks, but warned that ACCAN’s policy proposals would make it harder for mobile operators to
deliver those outcomes. He also criticised ACCAN’s previous call for auctions of spectrum as well as mandates for obligations around spectrum renewal.

“Australians want more investment in mobile net- works – ACCAN wants higher taxes that’ll be paid for by consumers,” Coleman said. “Higher spectrum taxes mean less investment, or higher prices – or both.” The ATA pointed to Australia’s international network performance rankings as evidence that the existing policy settings have delivered strong outcomes.

According to the OpenSignal Global Network Excellence Index data from late last year, Australia ranks in the top ten globally for mobile network performance as well as 4G and 5G availability.

Coleman pointed out that Australia ranked particularly well for so-called large countries of 200,000 square km or above, excluding the micro states which can often dominate mobile rankings due to their small land footprints.
Australia ranks 5th globally on this measure, at a peer level with the United States and Canada.

ACCAN’s policy paper cited France as an example of where stronger coverage obligations are applied to spectrum licences, but Coleman said the comparison undercut ACCAN’s argument given France was placed well below Australia on mobile network indicators. Coleman said Australia’s performance was the result of long-term investment and competition rather than prescriptive licence conditions.

“Australia’s high global rankings are no accident – they are the result of decades of investment and a vibrant competitive market that has delivered better services for Australians,” he said.

The ATA’s intervention comes as Australian Communications and Media Authority consults on the pricing framework for renewing expiring spectrum licences, which ACCAN has argued represent a “discount” relative to auction outcomes.
Coleman warned that higher spectrum prices or additional obligations attached to renewals risk crowding out capital that would otherwise be directed to network builds and upgrades.

“ACMA’s latest pricing proposal puts future investments at risk, because every dol- lar spent on spectrum is a dollar that can’t be spent on network infrastructure,” he said.

ACCAN has argued that coverage obligations should be imposed in return for licence renewals without auction, particularly to address mobile coverage gaps in regional and remote Australia. The consumer group said such obligations are used internationally to secure public benefit from spectrum allocations.

Grahame Lynch
 

IN TODAY'S COMMSDAY (Friday 6 February 2026)

The Australian Telecommunications Alliance has rejected calls by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network for new coverage obligations to be imposed as part of the renewal of expiring spectrum licences, arguing the proposal would undermine investment and ultimately harm consumers. 

Unintended signals from Starlink and other satellites are significantly interfering with radio astronomy observations, according to the world's biggest survey of low frequency satellite radio emissions. 

The Internet Association of Australia has sounded a note of concern over rushing the development of new anti-scam rules for the sector.

The Wi-Fi Alliance has backed the introduction of an automatic frequency coordination framework to support spectrum sharing in the 6GHz band.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has confirmed updated apparatus licence tax increases based on revised population data and said it will proceed with a broader pricing review covering spectrum from 520MHz to 5GHz. 

Nonprofit WorkVentures is urging Australian businesses to donate their unused devices in light of the finding that 1.42 million young people in Australia cannot access a computer at home. 

Major tech companies have made some progress but still have a long way to go in detecting and removing child sexual exploitation and abuse material from their platforms, according to the eSafety Commissioner. 

Maas Group Holdings has taken a 1.7% stake in Australian AI infrastructure business Firmus, via a $100 million strategic minority equity investment.

Vietnam's MViSTA cable system is moving towards implementation and commercialisation with the appointment of AP Telecom as its pre-sale agent and technical consultant.

Plus more

_______________________________

CommsDay is published by Decisive Publishing, S704 6A Glen St Milsons Point NSW
ACN: 065 084960 Mailing Address: PO Box 490 Milsons Point NSW 1565 Australia

TO SUBMIT EDITORIAL FEEDBACK OR INQUIRIES: grahamelynch@commsdaymail.com
TO ENQUIRE ABOUT A SUBSCRIPTION: vicky@commsdaymail.com