The complaints were faults, poor service quality and mobile service coverage, outages, and accessibility barriers. These were logged by the TIO between 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024.

The TIO reported consumers were complaining faults and service problems take longer to be resolved in regional locations.

The TIO added they may report faults without any improvements to their services.

“Unlike people in metropolitan areas, regional consumers may have no choice but to depend on their landline or satellite service when there are no other options. Often, mobile coverage is poor in regional, rural, and remote areas in Australia,” the TIO found.

The TIO also found it problematic that some mobile service providers promise consumers that signals are strong in their area but when they return home, they have no service.

The mediation service body noted, “this can be dangerous for consumers living in areas at greater risk of bushfires, cyclones, floods, and other natural disasters.”

“Telecommunication services are essential services, as important to our health and way of life as the electricity and water in our homes. We rely on phone and internet services in emergencies, for work, banking, telehealth services, social cohesion – everything. We need a policy agenda that reflects the indispensable nature of telecommunications,” says Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert.

The TIO said satellite services may address connectivity issues for some consumers, but these services are highly dependent on weather conditions.

“The TIO’s complaint data shows consumers in regional areas continue to experience unreliable connections and service quality problems. Satellite is also a more expensive service type, and may not be affordable for all consumers,” it said.

The TIO urges that the telco regulatory framework needs to be updated to ensure regional consumers have reliable services.

Last year, the TIO made the same call, saying “the current rules in the telecommunications sector are no longer fit for purpose.”

It recommends:

One coherent, robust, and modern regulatory framework rather than the USO scheme, SIP regime, and CSG regime to offer standards for different services

The SIP regime should have clear benchmarks and standards so that consumers can seek compensation from a SIP

In reviewing the USO framework, the government should consider the essential nature of mobile services, to ensure the regulatory framework meets community expectations

Mobile coverage maps should be standardised, accessible to all consumers, and should include information about geographical location, quality of coverage, and data speeds.

First Nations consumers should be consulted on plans about how to help close the digital inclusion gap.

There needs to be an increased focus on mobile accessibility to improve connectivity for First Nations consumers living in regional areas.

While complaints in regional areas may take longer to be resolved, complaint numbers for Australian telcos declined this year, according to the latest Communications Alliance Complaints-in-Context Report.

Data shows there were 2.7 TIO complaints per 10,000 services in operation (SIO) on the networks of participating communications providers in the April to June 2024 quarter, CommsWire reported earlier this month.

This means that there was one complaint for every 3,704 services in operation.

The result was down from 3.1 complaints per 10,000 SIO in the previous quarter.