The federal government has initiated a $20 million funding round for the peri-urban mobile program (PUMP) and has invited community input on how best to allocate the funds. This funding is part of a larger commitment of $39.1 million outlined in the 2022-2023 federal budget, with an additional round of the program yet to come.
PUMP aims to enhance disaster-resilient communications in under-served peri-urban communities. The Department of Infrastructure has identified challenges such as high costs, difficult terrain, low population densities, and planning considerations that hinder the delivery of connectivity in these areas.
The current funding round focuses on the outskirts of major regional cities such as Geelong, the Gold Coast, and Newcastle. The department is actively seeking feedback on the draft PUMP guidelines from local communities, councils, and telecommunications companies. This second round is a response to feedback received from communities that were not eligible for previous PUMP rounds, which had limited scope.
In the previous year, Telstra, Optus, and TPG received a combined funding of $28.2 million under the program.
Additionally, other cities including Ballarat, Bendigo, Cairns, Canberra, Queanbeyan, the NSW Central Coast, Darwin, the Sunshine Coast, Tweed Heads, Toowoomba, Townsville, and Wollongong will be considered for future PUMP support.
Participants in the program will have access to a project noticeboard to identify local coverage and reception, as well as form partnerships with telecommunications companies to develop funding applications.
The grant opportunity guidelines can be found here (link) and the consultation period will remain open until August 16.
