Active Sharing Partnership grant opportunity - Frequently Asked Questions

The Active Sharing Partnership grant opportunity (the grant opportunity) is a key component of the Regional Digital Connectivity Program’s Stage 1 Mobile Coverage Project. 
The objectives of the grant opportunity are to:

•  deliver new and improved mobile coverage to regional NSW locations where people live, work and play using active sharing mobile solution
• encourage competition in the regional telecommunications market to provide consumers with greater quality, affordability, and choice in their telecommunication provider
• identify fit-for purpose commercial and delivery models for active sharing mobile solutions that can be implemented at scale in future government funding programs 
• demonstrate the suitability of different types of active sharing solutions in delivering coverage and connectivity outcomes for regional NSW. 

The grant opportunity is being administered by the Department of Regional NSW (the department).

Visit the Regional Digital Connectivity Program or the Stage 1 Mobile Coverage Project for further information.

The grant opportunity will provide up to $30 million (GST exclusive) for the construction and operation of active sharing mobile solutions in eligible regional NSW locations. Funding will be made available from the 2022-23 to 2025-26 financial years, unless otherwise agreed by the department.

Active sharing mobile solutions are mobile solutions that use active infrastructure sharing to deliver new or improved mobile coverage. 

Active infrastructure sharing is the sharing of electronic infrastructure of the network including radio access network (consisting of antennas/transceivers, base station, backhaul networks and controllers) and core network (consisting of servers and core network functionalities). 

The grant opportunity will accept the following active infrastructure sharing types: 

• multi-operator radio access network (MORAN) 
• multi-operator core network (MOCN) 
• core network sharing (CN Sharing)
• domestic roaming
• hybrid approaches to active infrastructure sharing. 

Applicants may also consider the use of Open-RAN (O-RAN) and/or any other standardised interfaces, approaches and technologies to deliver an active infrastructure sharing service. 
 

In regional markets, there is limited commercial incentive for mobile network operators to invest in new and improved mobile services due to high establishment costs and low returns on investment. The deployment of active sharing mobile solutions in regional markets has the potential to:

• improve the viability of regional network deployment by lowering capital establishment and ongoing operating cost through more efficient utilisation of infrastructure 
• accelerate digital connectivity and enhance competition in the regional telecommunications market, providing regional consumers more choice and better service quality
• reduce the environmental impact of mobile network deployment through reduced physical infrastructure deployment and lower energy consumption
• increase the impact and spread of Government connectivity funding.

Applications must be submitted by project teams consisting of one access provider and one or more access seekers. 

• Access providers must be carriers or eligible companies as defined by the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth)
• Access seekers must be mobile network operators (MNOs), as defined in the grant opportunity Guidelines.

All access providers and access seekers must have:

• executed services contracts with the department to participate in Phase 1 of the Active Sharing Partnership
• be registered for GST
• hold or commit to obtaining public liability insurance of not less than $20 million per occurrence or hold equivalent or better self-insurance.

For further details please refer to the grant opportunity Guidelines.

Phase 1 of the Active Sharing Partnership was a 15-week collaborative process for the design of active sharing mobile solutions and underpinning commercial arrangements for potential implementation in regional NSW. Phase 1 of the Active Sharing Partnership ran from early May to late August 2022. Eight telecommunications organisations were selected to participate by the department following a competitive tender process, including Optus, Telstra, TPG Telecom, BAI Communications, Field Solutions Group, Infrastructure Logic, NEC Australia and Pivotel Mobile. 

The access provider will be responsible for the active sharing mobile solution’s design, build, operation and maintenance (unless otherwise agreed). Access providers will be required to:

• provide the active sharing mobile solution’s mobile service to the project team’s access seekers for the minimum operational period, and 
• offer non-discriminatory co-location access on funded solution(s) for the minimum operational period.

The minimum operational period for funded active sharing mobile solutions is 10-years from the date the funded solution is confirmed ready for service (RFS), unless otherwise agreed by the department.

The access seeker must use the funded active sharing mobile solution to provide a retail and wholesale (if applicable) mobile service to the active sharing mobile solution’s predictive coverage zone for the minimum operational period. 

Yes. Organisations may participate across multiple project teams in a variety of capacities. For example, an organisation may act as the access provider in one trial and the access seeker in another.

No. Organisations may only seek funding as either an access seeker or access provider in the one project team. 

The Grant will fund the construction and ongoing operation of active sharing mobile solutions in regional NSW where there is currently no coverage, or coverage provided by only one mobile network operator. 
Eligible project expenditure is as follows: 

• for access providers, direct incremental costs related to the delivery of the proposed active sharing mobile solution and its ongoing operating costs (capital infrastructure costs)
• for access seekers:
  • direct incremental costs associated with the establishment of the active sharing network, where not already provided by the access seeker including funding for changes/upgrades to access providers’ support systems (integration costs)
  • charges paid by access seekers to an access provider to access the funded active sharing mobile solution to provide a retail mobile service (access charges).

For further details please refer to the grant opportunity Guidelines.

Eligible locations are areas of regional NSW:

• where there is no existing handheld coverage provided by any MNO, or
• where existing handheld coverage is provided by only one MNO.
• listed on the department’s preferred list of locations, regardless of the location’s level of existing handheld coverage.

Existing handheld coverage is coverage able to be obtained with a handheld mobile device:

• that is currently available within the current mobile coverage area of at least one MNO, in accordance with the publicly available coverage maps from all MNOs or handheld 4G and 5G coverage maps submitted by organisations during the registration process
• that will be provided by any base station funded under any Australian Government, state or territory connectivity program including the Mobile Black Spot Program or Regional Connectivity Program.

Regional NSW comprises of 93 regional NSW Local Government Areas (LGAs), the Unincorporated Far West and Lord Howe Island.  A list of regional NSW LGAs is provided below: 

The department will determine a location’s level of existing coverage by examining:

• existing handheld 4G and 5G coverage maps submitted by organisations during the registration process
• other publicly available coverage maps including MNOs’ most recent 4G and 5G coverage maps provided under the ACCC’s Audit of Telecommunications Infrastructure Assets - Record Keeping Rules (Infrastructure RKR) or published on mobile network operators’ websites
• alternate evidence submitted by applicants verifying a location’s level of existing handheld coverage (at the department’s discretion). 

Yes. The department acknowledges that coverage estimates provided in publicly available coverage maps are predictions only and may not always be reflect of on-ground experience. Applicants may provide alternative evidence, such as drive testing results, to validate a locations level of existing coverage (or lack thereof). The acceptance of alternate evidence as proof of a location’s level of existing coverage will be at the department’s absolute discretion.

Yes. Applicants are encouraged to consider a range of infrastructure solutions when designing the active sharing mobile solution including brownfield and greenfield sites.

Active sharing mobile solutions need to be complete and ready for service by 31 December 2025, unless otherwise agreed by the department. A solution will be considered ready for service on the date the solution is fully constructed and ready to provide a retail mobile service meeting the grant opportunity’s minimum requirements.

Yes. Applicants that expect their proposed solution will be unable to meet the Guideline’s RFS date should provide a detailed explanation in their application.  The Assessment Panel will consider all explanations provided during assessment. It will be at the Assessment Panel’s absolute discretion as to whether an extension to a proposed solutions RFS date is approved. Any changes to a funded solution’s RFS date will be reflected in the applicant’s funding deed. 

Proposed active sharing mobile solutions will be assessed against the following weighted criteria, as outlined in the grant opportunity Guidelines:

• Criteria 1 - coverage benefit
• Criteria 2 - merit of proposed solution
• Criteria 3 - social and economic outcomes
• Criteria 4 - deliverability
• Criteria 5 - alignment to government priorities
• Criteria 6 - affordability

The Assessment team may also consider several non-weighted factors when considering a solution’s suitability for funding. For further detail please refer to the grant opportunity Guidelines.
 

Successful applicants will be required to make substantial cash co-contributions towards the construction and operation of their proposed active sharing mobile solutions.  Evidence of the applicant’s cash co-contributions must be provided as part of their application for funding.

There is no minimum co-contribution threshold for capital infrastructure and integration costs. Applicant’s co-contributions will however be expected to increase based on the relative commercial viability of their proposed active sharing mobile solution considering, among other things, the location’s level of existing coverage, population density, traffic volumes and land use; and the proposed solution’s proximity to power, backhaul and access roads. 

Applicant’s expected co-contributions for access costs have been pre-set in the grant opportunity Guidelines based on a 10-year sliding scale. The purpose of the sliding scale is to put the onus back on the Access Seeker and Access Provider to determine how they are going to maintain the infrastructure in the grant opportunity’s outyears and beyond.

Yes. Third parties, including businesses, community service organisations or local governments, may provide cash or in-kind co-contributions towards the construction and operation of proposed active sharing mobile solutions. In-kind co-contributions can include:

• assistance with identifying and consulting with the local community on a suitable site
• securing the necessary planning and site approvals
• lease arrangements
• civil works required for access to the site
• assistance with coordinating power to the site, or
• facilitating access to existing infrastructure.

Applicants are responsible for forming any third-party relationships, negotiating contributions and testing and/or verifying any advice received in relation to the proposed contribution. 

No. Co-contributions towards projects cannot be made using funding from Australian Government, state or territory government connectivity programs, including but not limited to the Mobile Black Spot Program and Regional Connectivity Program. 

Government co-contributions may be considered where unrelated to connectivity programs. For example, if the NSW Telco Authority provided a co-contribution for a proposed active sharing mobile solution to house Critical Communications Enhancement Program (CCEP) infrastructure.

In exceptional circumstances, applicants may request funding above the grant opportunity’s maximum amounts.  If requesting additional funding, applicants must provide a detailed explanation for the request in their application for funding. The Assessment Panel will consider all explanations provided during assessment. It will be at the Assessment Panel’s absolute discretion as to whether the applicant’s request will be recommended to the Decision Maker for funding. 

The grantee will be responsible for all costs of delivering the selected solutions, including where estimated costs are exceeded. This is consistent with all New South Wales Government grant programs.

Applicants are encouraged to consult their respective tax advisors or the Australian Taxation Office to understand any tax implications prior to applying.

We are unable to provide advice to applicants on the suitability of their proposals for funding. This is to ensure no application is given an unfair advantage over others as part of the competitive assessment process. In determining their proposal’s suitability for funding, applicants should refer to the assessment criteria contained in the Guidelines.

Applications for funding must be submitted by 17:00PM (AEDST) Monday 14 November 2022, unless otherwise agreed by the department in writing. 

Applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application from December 2022 or as soon as possible after a grant is approved.

The Regional Digital Connectivity team are available to answer questions about the grant opportunity. Please contact mcp.grants@regional.nsw.gov.au or call 0417 982 261 for more information.

Please note, if any information provided in response to an applicant's enquiry has applicability to all applicants, and is not general public knowledge, an update to the online Frequently Asked Questions will be made. The department is not able to assist applicants with the preparation of their application.

A live recording of the Active Sharing Partnership grant opportunity’s industry briefing can be accessed via the following link: Active Sharing Partnership industry briefing video recording.

Please note, the recording of the industry briefing commences after the introductory passage and following the acknowledgement of country.

The grant opportunity’s merit criteria are not equally weighted. Applicants should assume the more information required in the applicant’s response the greater the criteria’s weighting. Please note, alignment to the department’s list of preferred locations will only attract a small weighting.