Mobile broadcasting assets to backup local radio during natural disasters and power outages

In this Insights Corner, we highlight our partnership with the Government and our team's commitment to ensuring the safety and connectivity of Australian communities during natural disasters and power outages.

Our latest initiative introduces mobile broadcasting assets designed to maintain local radio transmissions when traditional methods fail, enhancing emergency broadcasting capabilities across the country.

The Government is strengthening vital broadcasting infrastructure that can be deployed rapidly during natural disasters and emergencies to help keep communities safer, connected and informed.

The Government’s $20 million?Broadcasting Resilience Program?(BRP), supported by $5.6 million in co-investment from BAI Communications, has already provided emergency power backup batteries and upgraded satellite inputs to 98 ABC AM and FM radio sites across Australia used for emergency broadcasting.

The BRP is also funding five mobile broadcast assets (MBAs) that can be transported to affected sites at short notice in the event transmission fails, including during power outages caused by severe weather.

The MBAs also serve as a power supply to charge essential devices such as mobile phones, enabling people to access vital services and keep in touch with loved ones during emergencies.

The MBAs will be housed at five strategic locations around the country:

• Bald Hills (Brisbane), serving south eastern Queensland and north eastern New South Wales;
• Gungahlin (Canberra), serving the Australian Capital Territory, southern NSW and eastern Victoria;
• Hamersley (Perth), serving Western Australia;
• Mt Bellenden-Ker (northern Queensland), serving northern Queensland and the Northern Territory; and
• Pimpala (Adelaide), serving South Australia and western Victoria.

The sites were chosen by our team based on previous natural disasters, ease of access to the region and the ability to service and store units between events.

The BRP is improving the resilience of broadcast transmission infrastructure used for emergency broadcasting, supporting ABC services, commercial broadcasters and mobile network operators co-located on site, including SBS, WIN Television, Seven West Television, Optus, and Vodafone.

These upgrades have already kept services running for an additional 4,500 hours during emergency events. Recent examples of the BRP proving its value include in September 2024, where storms in Tasmania caused extended power outages, but upgrades at ABC radio sites ensured 140 hours of uninterrupted service in affected areas. In October 2024, during bushfires in Dimbulah, Queensland, mobile broadcast services supported uninterrupted broadcasts for several hours.

The BRP is part of the Albanese Government’s?Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia, which includes $400 million to improve mobile coverage and increase the resilience of communications services across Australia.

For more information on the Plan, visit: www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/better-connectivity-plan-regional-and-rural-australia

For more information on the BRP, visit: www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/better-connectivity-plan-regional-and-rural-australia/broadcasting-resilience-program