Appendix 6 - Summary of related inquiries
Telecommunications Services Inquiry
The then Minister for Communications, Information Technology
and the Arts, Senator the Hon Richard
Alston, established the Telecommunications
Service Inquiry (TSI) in March 2000 to assess the adequacy of
telecommunications services in Australia. The TSI was chaired by Mr
M.A. (Tim)
Besley, with Ms Jane
Bennett and Mr
Ray Braithwaite
as its other members.
The TSI reported to the Minister on 30 September 2000. In its report entitled Connecting Australia the Inquiry presented a number of observations
on the adequacy of the telecommunications network. In its Executive Summary it wrote that:
There is very strong growth in the expectations of Australians
generally regarding the services they should receive from the
telecommunications industry. A large
portion of Australians now expect not only a reliable telephone service, but
access to the Internet at reasonable speeds as well as mobile phone services. Many also seek the benefits of more advanced
services, some of which are not yet available in the mass market either here or
overseas. Those expectations continue to
be fuelled both by governments, through their statements of policy vision for the
information economy, and the industry, through its marketing efforts.
Of particular note is the greater degree of concern expressed by
rural and remote Australians about services levels compared with those in
metropolitan areas. Approximately 30 per
cent of all submissions received by the inquiry were from the six per cent of
Australians who live in the least accessible parts of this country.[447]
The Inquirys key certification was in the following terms:
The Inquiry has concluded that Australians generally have
adequate access to a range of high quality, basic and advanced
telecommunication services comparable to the leading information economies of
the world. The inquiry research
indicates Australians who live in metropolitan and regional centres enjoy good
telecommunications services and are generally satisfied with them. However, a significant proportion of those
who live and work in rural and remote Australia
have concerns regarding key aspects of services which, at this stage, are not
adequate. Their concerns relate
primarily to
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the timely installation, repair and reliability
of basic telephone services;
-
mobile phone coverage at affordable prices; and
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reliable access to the Internet and data speeds
generally.
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The Inquirys analysis suggests that the
continued development of competition throughout Australia, combined with key
government initiatives (such as USO contestability) will have a positive effect
on services over the next few years.
These developments are likely to materially improve the services
available to rural and remote consumers.[448]
The report contained 17 recommendations aimed at providing a
framework to address identified areas of concern and ensuring continued
improvement in services. A copy of the
report and the Governments response can be access through the web site of the
Department of Communications, Information Technology and Arts at http://www.dcita.gov.au
Broadband Advisory Group
Background
In March 2002, the Federal Government established a
Broadband Advisory Group (BAG) to provide high-level advice on the development
of the broadband market in Australia
and to conduct a strategic review of broadband policy with a view to
stimulating the availability and take-up of broadband. The BAG was asked to provide advice on:
-
appropriate ways to measure broadband take-up
and success;
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current impediments to, and likely drivers of,
broadband take-up, particularly in key productivity sectors such as small
business, education, health and community services;
-
possible policy solutions to current and
emerging challenges on both the supply-side and demand-side of the broadband
issue;
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market based strategies for raising broadband
awareness, particularly in key productivity sectors;
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strategies to encourage the development of
marketable applications that will facilitate broadband take-up in key
productivity sectors;
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emerging technologies and new business models
for delivering broadband services, as requested; and
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issues that are likely to emerge as the
Australian broadband market develops.
In providing this advice, the BAG was asked to have regard
to current Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) activities in
relation to the development of a competitive broadband market in Australia.
The Broadband Advisory Group was chaired by the Commonwealth
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Members of the Group were: Bronte Adams
(Dandolo Partners), Ros Hill (Telehealth Tasmania Network Project), Tom Kennedy
(Beyond Online), George McLaughlin (Australian Academic Research Network), Mike
Miller (MNet Corporation), Rosemary Sinclair (Australian Telecommunications
Users Group), Phil Singleton (Service Providers Industry Association), Ziggy
Switkowski (Telstra Corporation), Jeffrey Tobias and Terry Walsh (Cisco
Systems Australia/New Zealand). The
members of the group were also assisted by a group of eight global advisers
from the USA, UK,
France, Canada
and Sweden.
The BAG reported to the Government in January 2003 in a
report entitled Australias Broadband Connectivity. The focus of its report was primarily on
sectors such as education, health, government services and, more generally,
across rural and regional Australia. It made 19 recommendations to the
Government. It recommended that the
Government should adopt the following national vision for broadband:
Australia
will be a world leader in the availability and effective use of broadband, to
deliver enhanced outcomes in health, education, commerce and government and to
capture the economic and social benefits of broadband connectivity.[449]
The other recommendations of the BAG included:
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Australia should adopt the goal of broadband
being available to all Australians at fair and reasonable prices;
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the Government should adopt a National Broadband
Strategy;
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the Government should establish a National
Broadband Strategy Implementation Group;
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the Government should consider initiatives to
develop services that may not be commercially viable but which could
potentially deliver significant economic, security and social benefits. These should predominately focus on rural and
regional Australia;
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all tiers of government should co-operate to
develop demand aggregation strategies;
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all schools and educational institutions should
be connected to broadband internet services;
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the Government should give high priority to stimulating
the digital content industries in Australia; and
-
the Government should require the ACCC to
monitor and report on progress in ensuring an open, competitive and
interoperable broadband market.
A copy of the report and the Governments response can be access
through the web site of the Department of Communications, Information
Technology and Arts at http://www.dcita.gov.au
Wireless Broadband Inquiry
On 15 April 2002
the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications, Information
Technology and the Arts accepted a reference from the then Minister for
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (Senator the Hon
Richard Alston)
for an inquiry into wireless broadband.
The Committee was asked:
To inquire and report on the current and potential use of
wireless technologies to provide broadband communication services in Australia,
including regional Australia,
having particular regard to the following:
the current rollout of wireless broadband technologies in
Australia and overseas including wireless LAN (using the 802.11 standard), 3G (eg
UMTS, W-CDMA), Bluetooth, LMDS, MMDS, wireless local loop (WLL) and satellite;
the inter-relationship between the various types of wireless broadband
technologies;
the benefits and limitations on the use of wireless broadband technologies
compared with cable and copper based broadband delivery platforms;
the potential for wireless broadband technologies to provide a
last mile broadband solution, particularly in rural and regional areas, and
to encourage the development and use of broadband content applications;
the effect of the telecommunications regulatory regime,
including spectrum regulation, on the development and use of wireless broadband
technologies, in particular the Radiocommunications Act (1992) the
Telecommunications Act (1997), and Parts XIB and XIC of the Trade Practices
Act:
whether Government should make any changes to the telecommunications
regulatory regime to ensure that Australia
extracts the maximum economic and social benefits from the use of wireless
broadband technologies; and
likely future national and international trends in the
development and use of wireless broadband technologies.
The Committee tabled its report in the House of
Representatives on 11 November
2002. The Committee
concluded that:
No wireless broadband technology is able to handle the data
rates of the best wire-line technologies but there are many situations where
the latter cannot yet be used or is simply unavailable (such as in remote and
regional areas, and even in some suburban metropolitan areas).[450]
The Committee concludes that the solution to the last mile
service involves a mixture of technologies, both wire-line and wireless. Clearly, however, for regional and remote Australia
where wire-line solutions are not economically viable in the short to medium
term, the last mile problem could be addressed by a variety of wireless
techniques.[451]
The Committee made 14 recommendations which dealt with:
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improving access to spectrum for wireless
broadband applications;
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educating prospective wireless operators about
the market and the regulatory environment;
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examining the regulatory environment to ensure
that wireless ISPs have access to the Internet backbone; and
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facilitating wireless broadband access for the
hearing impaired.
A copy of the report can be accessed on the House of
Representatives web site at http://aph.gov.au/house/committee/cita/reports.htm
Connecting Regional Australia
On 16 August 2002
the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator
Richard Alston,
established the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry (RTI), to assess the
adequacy of telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia
and to advise on a number of other policy issues. While Ms
Jane Bennett
and Mr Ray
Braithwaite were re-appointed from the
Telecommunications Service Inquiry as members, the RTI was chaired by Mr
Dick Estens.
The Terms of Reference required the inquiry to consider and
report on two key areas:
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a detailed assessment of the adequacy of
telecommunications services to regional, rural and remote Australia. The inquiry paid particular attention to the
TSI reports finding that key concerns related to rural and remote areas rather
than regional centres, and that the service areas of concern were the
connection, repair and reliability of basic telephone services, coverage of
affordable mobile telephone services, and reliable access to the Internet; and
-
advice on whether, and if so what, arrangements
should be put in place to address policy concerns relating to:
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the delivery of Internet services at 64kbps or
better and wireless-based technologies in regional, rural and remote Australia;
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current and future provision of legislated
consumer safeguards including the Universal Service Obligation, the Customer
Service Guarantee, untimed local calls and the Telecommunications Industry
Ombudsman;
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Telstras commitment to a local presence in
regional, rural and remote Australia; and
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the means by which the Government can ensure
that people in regional, rural and remote Australia can share reasonably
equitably in the benefits of future advances in telecommunications services
resulting from competition and new technologies.
The Inquiry received 606 submissions and met with 40 groups
representing the interests of people in regional, rural and remote areas. It
reported its findings and 39 recommendations to the Government in November
2002. The Inquiry found that the
Government had responded comprehensively to the findings of the TSI report and
that it was addressing community concerns raised in that report. In particular the Inquiry:
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assessed mobile services as adequate, taking
into account current Government contracts with Telstra still being delivered. The Inquiry recommended continuation of the Government
satellite phone subsidy scheme beyond current arrangements.
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found the Government's Internet Assistance
Program was providing benefits to users of dial-up Internet services. The Inquiry recommended a licence condition
be placed on Telstra ensuring all Australians are guaranteed dial-up Internet
speeds, or equivalent throughput, over the Telstra fixed network of at least
19.2 kilobits per second.
-
identified some pockets of poor performance in
the fixed telephone network causing concern for rural customers. The Inquiry found that the Government's
Network Reliability Framework can resolve these concerns and it recommended
specific action the Government should take under the Framework to require
Telstra to address these issues immediately.
The Inquiry found that there had been significant commercial
service development over the previous two years, both by Telstra and other
service providers. It made a number of
recommendations to "lock-in" service improvements and Telstra
commitments, to consolidate and complement progress achieved over the past two
years, and to ensure that concerns expressed in submissions would be properly
addressed. In particular, the Inquiry
recommended that the Government should require Telstra to give a formal
undertaking to upgrade its remaining radio concentrator (DRCS) systems, and to
address the issue of poorly performing pair gain systems.
The Inquiry also recommended a number of new initiatives to
enable Australians in regional, rural and remote areas to access the benefits
of future technology. These included an
incentive scheme to provide equitable access to high bandwidth services and a
guaranteed review process to look at the need for service improvements in
regional Australia
into the future. The Report proposed
that these reviews should be supported by a regional strategic
telecommunications plan and ongoing Government funding support. The RTI concluded that:
The Inquiry is confident that arrangements that have been put in
place over the past five years (including the TSI response), together with
commercial developments, and the Inquiry's further recommendations, will create
an environment into the future where regional, rural and remote Australians
will be able to benefit fully from advances in telecommunications technology
and services.[452]
Government response
The Government responded to the RTI report in June
2003. The Government accepted all of its
39 recommendations and announced that it would invest $181 million in a
comprehensive response to those recommendations.
The Government indicated that it would obtain a formal
undertaking from Telstra in relation to the completion of the upgrade of its
older radio concentrator systems in a publicly available timetable. This will provide an enhanced array of phone
and internet services for the small proportion of regional Australians whose
systems have not been upgraded and did not have access to a subsidised two-way
satellite service under the Government's $150 million Extended Zones tender.
The report noted that pair gain and other similar systems
were installed for voice telephony purposes but can be deficient for the
provision of advanced voice services, dial-up internet speeds and access to
broadband. The Government stated that it would obtain a formal undertaking from
Telstra on how it will improve as soon as possible the quality of phone
services affected by pair gain systems.
Telstra will also provide an undertaking on how it is addressing dial-up
data speed issues on these systems.
Telstra's formal undertakings will include timeframes, and will be
monitored and reported on publicly by the Australian Communications Authority
(ACA).
The Government will also provide an additional $10.1 million
over four years for information technology training and support services in
rural and remote areas, building on the significant funding already provided
for these services under the Networking the Nation program.
It also committed to a blueprint for 'future proofing'
regional Australia's
communications future. This commitment
was aimed at addressing recommendations of both the Estens inquiry as well as
many of the recommendations in the Broadband Advisory Group report. The Government will develop a National
Broadband Strategy (NBS) with funding of $142.8 million over four years. A central objective of the NBS will be to
provide access to affordable broadband services in regional Australia.
The NBS envisages a partnership between the Commonwealth,
the States and Territories, local government and industry in coordinating future
demand for broadband services, particularly in regional Australia. A National Broadband Strategy Implementation
Group (NBSIG) will develop and oversee the Strategy, with Commonwealth
Government funding of $2.9 million. The
Government is committing an additional $8.4 million over four years towards a
network of broadband demand aggregation brokers in regional Australia. The Coalition ?? will commit $23.7 million
over four years to a Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) to
accelerate the roll-out of broadband into regional Australia
in concert with the demand aggregation brokers.
The States and Territories will be asked to at least match this funding
dollar-for-dollar.
The Government also announced that it would spend $107.8
million over four years on the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HBIS). The HBIS will provide financial incentives to
higher bandwidth service providers to offer services in rural and remote areas
at prices reasonably equitable with those available in urban areas. A one-off 'per customer' payment will be made
to providers of higher bandwidth data services in areas where a minimum level
of service, defined in terms of price and functionality, is not likely to be
provided commercially in the immediate future. To receive the payment,
providers will need to offer services at prices broadly comparable to prices
charged in urban areas. The Government announced that it would finalise the
details of the HBIS in consultation with key regional stakeholders and industry
over the next six months.
The Government also announced a range of other actions in
response to the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry.
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Review of the Universal Service Obligation
including assessing whether current arrangements are impeding the development of
competition in regional, rural and remote areas.[453]
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Telstra will provide the Government with a
formal undertaking on its strategy, including timeframes, to improve, as soon
as possible, phone services affected by the use 6/16 and similar pair gain
systems.
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Telstra will provide the Government with a
formal undertaking on the timing of the completion of the upgrade of its
remaining older radio concentrator systems under its Remote Areas
Telecommunications Enhancements program.
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The Government will work with Telstra and the
ACA to review payphone policy and ensure that the provision of payphones under
the Universal Service Obligation continues to be effective and relevant.
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Refining the Network Reliability Framework and
ensuring that it addresses the worst performing exchange service areas.
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The Government has allocated $15.9 million over
four years to extend terrestrial mobile phone services to smaller communities
and regional highways where additional coverage is feasible with Government
support for capital costs.
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A further $4 million has been allocated over
four years to extend the satellite phone subsidy. The eligibility guidelines will be reviewed.
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A new licence condition will be imposed on
Telstra requiring it to provide a minimum dial-up Internet speed of 19.2kbps or
equivalent over its fixed line network.
Telstra will provide the Government with a formal undertaking on
implementation of a strategy to address dial-up data speed issues arising from
poorly performing pair gain systems.
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The Government will work with Telstra and
through the $8.3 million Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous
Communities to improve services for remote indigenous communities.
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The Government has allocated $10.1 million over
four years for information technology training and support for rural and remote
communications users.
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The government will investigate timeframes for
the connection and repair of ISDN services and seek advice from the ACC on ISDN
pricing arrangements.
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The government has allocated $107.8 million over
four years for a Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme aimed at regional, rural and
remote communities.
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Allocation of $8.4 million over four years to
demand aggregation brokers.
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A licence provision will be imposed on Telstra
requiring it to maintain a local presence in regional, rural and remote
Australia.
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The Government will develop a strategic plan for
regional telecommunications and will legislate to require regular reviews of
the adequacy of services in regional, rural and remote Australia.
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The Government accepted the principle that
support for non-commercial service improvements in regional Australia should be
provided transparently by Government, and should aim to promote competition and
minimise market distortions.
A copy of the report and the Government's response can be
accessed through the web site of the Department of Communications, Information
Technology and Arts at http://www.dcita.gov.au.