We’ve just secured a win for our mobile customers by acquiring...

We’ve just secured a win for our mobile customers by acquiring 2x10MHz of 850 MHz spectrum for $616 million in the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s low band spectrum auction. This is the maximum amount of ‘low band’ spectrum Telstra was allowed to bid for under the competition limits set by the Government.

Together with our existing spectrum holdings, we continue to hold more low band spectrum than any other carrier, which is important given the larger customer base we need to serve.

Why is this a big deal

This acquisition of more low band spectrum is a win for Telstra customers, especially for the people, businesses and communities of regional and rural Australia.

This type of spectrum is essential for carrying mobile data, particularly 5G, over the vast distances needed across regional and remote areas and also enables us to provide better coverage indoors and in other difficult to reach places in metro locations.

It comes at a time when demand on our network in regional Australia increased nearly threefold in the past three years, as businesses digitise their operations, migration to regional towns ramps up, and as billions of devices, like water sensors, home and business security cameras, and smart meters are generating data like never before.

This spectrum, together with the billions of dollars we’re investing in our mobile network, will mean we can continue to meet the growing demand of our customers across the country by providing the best coverage and service that comes with Australia’s largest and best mobile network.

We’ll continue to maximise the customer outcomes from our spectrum with ongoing investments

Spectrum is what carries the calls and data between mobile towers and your phone – the more spectrum we can access, the more data that can be carried to your devices. 

Unlike other Telcos we’ve invested billions of dollars in our network to maximise the use of our spectrum holdings. In fact, over the 7 years to the end of FY22, we will have invested $11 billion in our mobile network nationally, with $4 billion of this invested in our regional mobile network. Because of this our mobile network now covers one million square kilometres more than any other telco – that’s the size of New South Wales and Victoria combined.

We’ve already rolled out 5G to 75% of the population and this spectrum will help us meet the commitment in our T25 strategy to provide 5G coverage to 95% of the population and further boost regional connectivity with at least another 100,000 square kilometres of new mobile coverage by June 2025.