Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO4167

The Regional Connectivity Program (RCP) is an $83 million competitive grant opportunity to expand the economic, social and public safety benefits of improved digital connectivity to regional, rural and remote Australian communities. The grant opportunity will be administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC).

The RCP will complement the existing National Broadband Network (NBN) and the Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program, particularly in areas of fringe commercial mobile coverage and outside of the NBN fixed-line footprint.

Funded infrastructure under the RCP must provide retail mobile or broadband services to a regional, rural or remote community or a subset of the community (such as local businesses, tourist locations, schools etc). Proposals must demonstrate the clear need for improved telecommunications and community support for any proposed economic and/or social benefits.

Consortia projects are also encouraged in order to maximise the value and outcomes of the program.

To assist collaboration between local communities, the telecommunications industry, governments and other organisations, the Government has launched an online noticeboard which will enable interested parties to foster links and work together on proposals for funding.

The noticeboard is available until the grant opportunity close date via the DITRDC website at www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/regional-connectivity-program/regional-connectivity-program-noticeboard

To be eligible you must: 

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)

 and must be one of the following entity types, a:

•  licensed telecommunications carrier under the Telecommunications Act 1997; or
• owner or intended owner of the Proposed Solution infrastructure who holds or intends to hold a Nominated Carrier Declaration (NCD) under the Telecommunications Act 1997 in relation to the infrastructure to be built or improved/upgraded; or

for a joint (consortia) application:

• at least one organisation must be one of the entity types listed above. This will be the entity that enters into a Grant Agreement with the Commonwealth. However, such an application may be led by any of the following entity types:
  
• Licensed carriers or infrastructure owner (in the case a NCD applies)
• State and territory governments
• Local government, local governing bodies, and regional development bodies
• Industry, business, and community groups
• Not-for-profits; or
• First Nations community controlled organisations.

Funded Solutions under the Program must be completed by 30 June 2022, though the majority of funding is expected to be provided in 2020-21. Grantees will be required to maintain retail services from the Solution for an Operational Period of 7 years following the completion of each Funded Solution.

$83,000,000.00

Options for lodgement include GovTeams, email, mail and/or hand-delivery. Further details on each option are available at section 6.1 of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.

Applicants will be required to complete the Application Pack, including the Proposed Solution Assessment Tool (PSAT). Applicants will also be required to provide documents in support of any claims against the merit criteria, as well as predictive maps of coverage outcomes from proposed infrastructure.

Full requirements for applications, including Program merit criteria, are detailed in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines.