Frequently Asked Questions—Regional Connectivity Program

Under Round 1, 2 and 3 of the RCP, 298 projects were awarded funding to improve connectivity across regional, rural, and remote communities in Australia.

Further information on the RCP, including lists of funded projects, are available under each round at the Regional Connectivity Program page.

The RCP schedule is subject to change and interested members of the public are encouraged to monitor for updates on the Regional Connectivity Program page.

Details of the status of projects funded under RCP Rounds 1 to 3 are outlined in the Regional Connectivity Program - rollout update—Rounds 1 to 3.

RCP grant recipients are selected through a competitive, merit-based selection process against published eligibility criteria and merit criteria as set out in the Grant Guidelines for each respective round and a final value for money consideration.

The Grant Guidelines are available under each round at the Regional Connectivity Program page.

RCP grant recipients are responsible for delivery of projects, including the facilitating of approvals, access and construction of any infrastructure. Several factors can contribute to project delays, including acquiring landowner agreement at viable locations, obtaining local government planning approvals, and the availability and access to supporting infrastructure. In addition, extreme weather events (including bushfires and floods) can contribute to site access difficulties.

The government has committed funding to support the development of telecommunication infrastructure across regional, rural, and remote Australia. At times, however, setbacks in the delivery of a project are experienced.

When this occurs, all parties involved in the project will explore all options to ensure that the goals of the project can ultimately be fulfilled. In some cases, arrangements and modifications can be made to allow the project to be delivered to the community.

RCP grantees are expected to provide timely updates to local communities throughout the delivery of an RCP project. These can be in the form of published media articles in local newspapers or radio, website updates and social media posts.

Details of the status of projects are outlined in the rollout provided on the Regional Connectivity Program page.

The RCP Grant Opportunity for Round 1, 2 and 3 nominations have all closed.

The telecommunications industry invests in new mobile infrastructure to support, improve and expand their services and networks. The government, and a number of state and territory governments, provide co-funding grant opportunities to the industry to stimulate investment in new infrastructure across Australia in areas that can offer less commercial return, such as in peri-urban, regional, rural and remote locations.

Further information on regional communications programs can be found at www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/regional-communications-programs.

The government acknowledges the importance of having access to highly reliable communications networks. However, it is important to understand that no communications technology can provide 100 per cent resilience as any communication system can be temporarily affected by adverse conditions, particularly during power outage or natural disaster.

Access to power is a critical issue for communication networks, and loss of power has been the reason for most network outages in recent bushfire emergencies.

As part of effective emergency preparation and planning, it is strongly recommended that people utilise a range of communications and sources of information in an emergency to ensure they stay aware of local conditions. This could include fixed line telephone, mobile services (including Wi-Fi calling), internet, television, and radio.

For more information, please visit Communications in emergencies and natural disasters on the Department's website.