Good morning everyone and welcome to RadComms 2024.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet – the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to any First Nations colleagues and guests joining us today.
The ACMA respects and celebrates First Nations peoples as the original storytellers and content creators of the lands on which we work, and we honour the enduring strength and commitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the land, waters and their communities.
It is great to see so many familiar and new faces here to talk about spectrum reform and innovation. No doubt this will be 2 jam-packed days of ideas, debate and discussion.
And I would also like to welcome the Minister for Communications, the Honourable Michelle Rowland, who will shortly deliver the keynote speech.
I also acknowledge my fellow Authority members, Creina, Carolyn, Sam and Adam, who will be facilitating discussions throughout the next 2 days.
Conference theme and topics
This is the first RadComms for Adam, Carolyn and Sam as Authority members. For many here, it’s likely not your first RadComms, and some of you may have even attended the very first one, held 18 years ago.
It’s instructive to reflect on the issues of the day in 2006. And looking back at the agenda from that first conference, some of the main topics of interest sound very familiar.
They included satellite spectrum, wireless access, defence requirements, and the future of television and the digital dividend.
When I look at the agenda over the next 2 days, I’m reminded of the saying that while history may not repeat, it often rhymes.
The issues discussed then echo through the years to today. But they’re amplified and resonate even more today. And that’s primarily down to technological advancement.
Technology has clearly progressed rapidly over those 18 years – in 2006 smartphones were ones with the snake game on them, Netflix was still delivering DVDs by mail, and a plucky little start-up by the name of SpaceX launched its first rocket – Falcon 1.
But over this time, the fundamentals of the ACMA’s work have remained the same – to foster industry and innovation, to protect consumers, and to manage the Commonwealth’s resources to the greatest good for the economy and the public.
These principles inform the ACMA’s work across the breadth of our regulatory remit – from our work on gambling harm minimisation on initiatives like BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register™.
And our scam reduction work, in partnership with the telco industry and our regulatory colleagues as part of the National Anti-Scam Centre.
We also continue to have a steadfast focus on broader protections for telco consumers, including for those experiencing financial hardship or family and domestic violence.
We are also vigilant in our existing and expanding responsibilities for emergency calls, developing a stronger framework to support the reliability of the vital Triple Zero service.
And we continue to look at how there can be greater regulatory harmonisation between content available on digital platforms and broadcast platforms, to the benefit of all audiences.
In some respects, spectrum is intangible or at the very least mysterious to the average person compared to some of those other issues. But it is a fundamental part of our work because it is also fundamental to supporting the infrastructure that drives Australian society.
Communications services inextricably lie at the very heart of our digital economy. They enable innovation, support education and skills development, underpin productivity and economic growth, and are increasingly, the dominant way we interact and connect socially.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that in 2022–23, the Information, Media and Telecommunications sector generated $46 billion industry value added, a 6.2% increase from the previous year.
In 2023, the Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research found that multifactor productivity for the Information, Media and Telecommunications sector increased 4 times faster than the overall market sector over the decade.
The Bureau of Statistics also considers the role of IMT in supporting digital activity. In 2021–22, it identified the Information, Media and Telecommunications sector as the largest contributor, adding 31.1% to digital activity.
As our economy transitions through the third, and now the fourth industrial revolution, the ACMA is very much focused on – as the theme of this RadComms states – supporting the present and empowering the future.
We recognise that today’s communications services, or those being imagined for tomorrow, like the nascent smartphone or streaming service in 2006, rely on radiocommunications spectrum and supportive licensing regimes to succeed.
Over the next 2 days you will hear from a wide range of speakers on emerging and new technologies; from innovative wide area network design, low Earth orbit satellites, the future of television delivery, radio wave propagation, the role of AI in spectrum management and what the future of spectrum regulation may look like.
The thread running through all of these topics is their impact on end users. How we can meet both consumer and enterprise demand through innovative network design. How we can improve accessibility in remote Australia with satellite services. And how we can maintain the security and capacity of our networks.
Importantly we will also hear from the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group and the challenges and opportunities facing First Nations Australians.
And the ACMA will be here to listen. As the sectoral regulator, we want to know what your plans are, how you envisage the future to inform our work and how we can work together for the benefit of industry and the Australian public.
Demand for services
And that Australian public continues to embrace digital connectivity and the communications, entertainment and news services that your industries support or deliver.
- Between June 2022 and June 2023, the total data downloaded by adult Australians increased by 11% to 12.9 million terabytes.
- Downloads using mobile devices increased by 31% to 1.7 million terabytes.
- There were 39.6 million mobile devices in use in June 2023, 2.8 million more than June 2022.
- And between December 2021 and December 2022, the total number of fixed wireless services increased by 20%.
I know there are some commentators who speak of a natural ceiling in data demand, but for the moment, usage continues to grow unabated.
Financial analysis
While the appetite for data and connectivity increases, we recognise that both communications industries and their consumers are experiencing significant challenges.
Everyone here is acutely aware of the unpredictable global environment we operate in, the continuing disruptions to global supply chains, and the cost-of-living pressures that households face.
Despite some of these headwinds, the telco sector remains profitable, albeit with high competitive intensity, downward pressure on margins, and significant capital expenditure cycles.
5G deployment
The 3 national mobile networks – Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom have invested heavily in their 5G networks, focusing on high-density metropolitan areas. And NBN Co has upgraded its fixed wireless network to 5G mmWave technology.
It is estimated that around 36% of all Australian mobile services used 5G in 2023. This is expected to increase to around 82% by 2028.
Private network deployments
Our research has also indicated that other sectors are investing more in communications and connectivity.
Private wireless network deployment was strongest in Australia’s mining and resources sectors, with approximately 50 of these networks set up by mining and resources companies in 2023 alone.
We have also seen government-funded trials and testing for 5G private networks conducted in the manufacturing and food processing sectors.
New services and industry changes
Another development that has garnered much attention is of course the growth of LEOsat platforms and the potential application of direct-to-mobile services.
While there are currently a small number of direct-to-mobile services available, the flexibility of Australia’s existing mobile broadband frameworks has meant that emerging satellite direct-to-mobile services are already provided for in our regulatory regime.
Of course, there have been a number of mergers and acquisitions across the infrastructure marketplace. Most notable being perhaps the multi-operator core network (MOCN) deal between Optus and TPG, which will, among other things, unlock potential spectrum efficiencies for both operators.
ACMA work program
With all of this dynamic change, the ACMA remains focused on developing and managing spectrum settings that can support innovation and growth. The major themes of our future work program, which my colleague Adam Suckling will discuss in detail tomorrow, include:
- satellite communications and the aforementioned direct-to-mobile services
- mid-band spectrum allocations, including for the upper 6Ghz band
- expiring spectrum licences.
I can assure you that the Authority recognises the criticality of all of these pieces of work to your businesses. We are undertaking extensive research and analysis to inform each and staying across international developments.
The ACMA works especially closely with our regulatory colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region. This includes bilaterally and through the important forum of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity.
Building on those relationships, I am pleased to announce that next month the ACMA will be running our first Telecommunications and Radiocommunications Training Program for spectrum managers from Pacific nations and Timor-Leste.
We will be working with regulators from these regions to share learnings on spectrum management, policy and regulation, remote access and coverage, licensing of new technologies, and best practice regulatory structures.
We have partnered with the Asia Pacific Tele-community, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts on this new program and I thank them – and of course our minister – for their strong support of this initiative.
We look forward very much to building even stronger relationships with these colleagues for the benefit of the populations of all of the participant countries.
Conclusion
Returning to 2006 and the huge technological step-changes and accompanying societal transformation since then, it’s worth reflecting on Amara’s Law, which posits that new technologies are over-estimated in the short term and under-estimated in the long term.
Even in the 2 years since the last RadComms conference, both the media and communications sectors and the ACMA have had to grapple with new and emerging technological and policy matters that will have profound effects that may not be realised for years to come. Dare I mention AI?
The ACMA’s approach to meeting the challenges ahead is founded on the principles I mentioned earlier – maximising the social and economic benefits for Australia while supporting a threshold of safeguards for the consumer.
We also prioritise data, evidence and consultation as key platforms in our regulatory approach, which is why RadComms is so valuable as an opportunity to engage constructively with each other.
Being a regulator essentially means always striving to get the balance right. Which is why I think our conference theme fits very neatly – we must address the issues of today and anticipate the issues of tomorrow.
Welcome again to RadComms 2024 and I hope you find the next 2 days thought-provoking, informative and even entertaining.
With that I would now like to extend a warm welcome back to Radcomms to the Minister for Communications, the Honourable Michelle Rowland, to deliver this year’s keynote.
Thank you.