The WA Government has undertaken Australia’s first audit of regional telecommunications infrastructure to map the gaps in Western Australia’s digital connectivity.
The audit captures the location and capacity of commercial, private and government-owned telecommunications assets across WA to establish gaps in coverage and where assets could be leveraged to expand connectivity.
As could be expected, the audit has found that most commercial telecommunications infrastructure is focused on population centres – however, government and privately owned assets such as radio towers are more widely and evenly spread.
This creates an opportunity for government and industry to leverage off these assets to harness the benefits of 21st century technology.
The findings of the audit will be used to guide investment of the State Government’s $22 million Agricultural Telecommunications Infrastructure Improvement Fund to drive productivity gains and jobs growth in agriculture.