CommsDay Story of the Week - from CommsDay issue published on Wednesday 11 February 2026
There was a toss-up for this week's CommsDay Story of the Week. Both stories were published on Wednesday last and the ACCAN arguments associated with each received coverage from Carol Bennett, CEO of ACCAN, when she presented at the TelSoc lunchtime webinar on Tuesday 10 February. The first relates to the on-going public debate about a fair valuation of the spectrum covered by the spectrum licence expiring over the next few years. Carol Bennett explained to the TelSoc webinar audience that ACCAN considered that, since the ACMA latest valuation represented a discount against the prices paid when the spectrum was last auctioned, some further benefit such as extended licence coverage obligations should be sought as an offset in the overall public interest. CommsDay's story on this matter on 11 February dealt with the view of ACMA, expressed when the CEO and other ACMA managers appeared before the Senate Estimates Committee, namely that the ACMA estimate of $7.34bn was a current valuation based on international benchmarking, and did not include any notion of a discount. Spectrum prices have declined worldwide over recent years. We have chosen not to republish that story because the issue has been given a fair run by all parties and by TelSoc in recent times. It will be with us for a while yet.
The story we chose, republished below, is coverage of Carol Bennett's call at the TelSoc webinar for a review of domestic roaming, after 10 years. Carol's full speech at the TelSoc webinar can be found on the TelSoc website at https://telsoc.org/event/telsoc-online-event-one-year-carol-bennett-acca... It is attached at the very bottom of that webpage.
ACCAN CEO pushes for ACCC to re-examine mobile roaming
The head of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network has said the time is right to reconsider mobile network roaming, over a decade since the competition regulator last examined the issue.
“Roaming and network sharing would enhance competition in the market, reduce prices in the regions and strengthen coverage, especially during disasters. It would be consistent with the direction other countries are heading,” ACCAN chief executive Carol Bennett yesterday told a TelSoc event.
Bennett said that when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last considered domestic roaming in 2016, “it was thought that competition would deliver the benefits without the rules.”
“Fast forward 10 years and terrestrial mobile infrastructure investment has stagnated by industry's own admission,” Bennett said. The ACCAN CEO said that it was time “to move to domestic roaming to promote effective retail competition for all Australians.”
“The economics of network investment, even by industry's own admission, don't stack up like they used to,” she said. “5G has not proved as lucrative as hoped and fewer carriers are participating in programs like the Mobile Black Spot Program.”
“With the UOMO policy concreting the public benefit of new technologies, we must assess the future of mobile networks which remain the backbone of mobile telecommunications,” she said.
“In our view, domestic mobile roaming would reduce market distorting incumbent advantages and enhance competition on price, customer service and service quality.”
Bennett said that ACCAN “will be asking government to again consider mobile network roaming.”
The last ACCC report on the issue said regulated domestic roaming would likely “distort long-term competitive dynamics” and reduce incentives for MNOs to differentiate their services via network coverage, technology and quality. The impact on retail prices was uncertain, it said.
However, the regulator’s consideration of the issue preceded TPG’s brief foray into deploying a mobile network as well as its subsequent merger with Vodafone Hutchison Australia to form TPG Telecom and, more recently, the combined business’ network-sharing arrangement with Optus.
Bennett told CommsDay that ACCAN didn’t believe mobile roaming would have a negative impact on infrastructure investment: “No, we don’t. We think mobile roaming does need to happen and we feel that because there have been a whole range of issues that we’ve seen... with climate challenges... with the need to sort of look at the market as it stands now, and look at how we can better see investment and encourage investment and ensure that the market works better, particularly when it comes to public safety.”
During her address the ACCAN CEO highlighted evidence of widespread distrust for the telco sector among consumers. “It now seems that distrust underpins every conversation about communications,” she said.
“For a long time, concerns raised by consumers and consumer advocates were easy to dismiss as anecdotal or as the inevitable background noise of a complex sector.
“That’s no longer the case, although it seems that some in the industry still cling to the mantra that telcos are all doing a remarkably good job. This head in the sand view of the telco world clearly doesn’t reflect the experience of consumers.”
TCP CODE: Bennett reiterated the opposition of ACCAN and other consumer advocacy groups to the latest draft of the revised Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code, calling for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to introduce “binding industry standards” covering sales practices, credit assessments, disconnection and service-limiting actions, and mobile coverage information and remedies.
She also noted that ACCAN was calling on the government to establish wholesale and retail mobile network performance standards, akin to those in sectors such as energy, and urged further regulatory efforts on digital platforms including the introduction of an “accessible, credible dispute resolution framework”, as well as expressed support for the introduction of the planned Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation.
The CEO also raised the issue of spectrum pricing as part of ACMA-overseen process of addressing licence renewals. Industry is “getting a great deal,” under the regulator’s current proposal, she argued, with telcos getting “a discount on previous spectrum pricing.”
“ACANN’s position is simple: Discounted spectrum licences must be paired with investment commitments that ensure public benefit and improved service delivery. Spectrum is a public resource,” she said.
“Renewal decisions should not simply preserve existing market structures or deliver commercial outcomes,” Bennett told the event. “They should be used as a lever to improve coverage, reliability and service quality, particularly in rural, regional and remote areas.”
Rohan Pearce
IN TODAY'S COMMSDAY (Friday 13 February 2026)
NBN Co has lifted residential average revenue per user to $52, surpassing the $51 benchmark that was long regarded as a sustainable financial level for the project.
APNIC chief scientist Geoff Huston has questioned whether there is meaningful commercial space left for new low earth orbit satellite entrants to challenge SpaceX's Starlink, arguing the economics increasingly favour a single dominant global player.
Chorus earned lower profits than expected during both 2023 and 2024, according to the Commerce Commission's first report into the profitability of regulated fibre providers.
Superloop has secured its second consecutive victory in Ookla's Speedtest awards for the fastest fixed line network in Australia during the second half of 2025, achieving median download speeds of 274.98Mbps.
The Australian National University's Mount Stromlo observatory is preparing to test laser communications as part of NASA's planned Artemis II lunar mission.
Neutral host infrastructure provider OneWiFi has urged the federal government to link local government capital funding to projects that deliver measurable operating efficiencies, arguing that smart city technologies capable of improving councils' fiscal sustainability are being overlooked.
The chief executive of the Internet Association of Australia has warned that custodians of top-level domains must have robust continuity arrangements in place to ensure ongoing operations when technical failures occur.
Major telecom operators in the UK have signed a pledge to eliminate unexpected bill hikes following an intervention by the government to address consumer concerns.
Plus more
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