Investment of $50 million to boost telco resilience during natural disasters

Applications are now open for projects that improve the resilience of telecommunications network during natural disasters, particularly in rural, regional, remote and First Nations communities.

The Federal Government’s new $50 million Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation (TDRI) program will accelerate the development and deployment of new and innovative solutions to address communications issues during natural disasters.

There are two concurrent rounds under the TDRI that are now open for applications:

• The $30 million Power Resilience Round will fund solutions that reduce the impacts of power outages – the leading cause of telecommunications disruptions during natural disasters. This includes stand-alone off grid power solutions, deployable power supplies, and technology to extend how long backup power gives to telco infrastructure; and
• The $20 million Innovation Round will fund innovative earlier-stage technologies to improve the resiliency, redundancy and availability of telecommunications during disasters. This includes new or enhanced satellite connectivity – like Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEOSats) – and new ways to monitor networks and share critical information with emergency services.

Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP said, “Access to telecommunications coverage during a natural disaster can be the difference between life and death. The new Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation program will fund a wide range of innovative local projects across Australia to reduce the likelihood of telco outages during disasters.”

Applications for both streams of the TDRI program are open until 5:00pm AEDT Friday 20 October 2023. More information on the Power Resilience and Innovation Rounds of the TDRI program can be found here.