The Government has offered Australia's three mobile operators, and vividwireless, renewal of their existing spectrum allocated on 15 year licences in the late 90s and early 2000s at set prices, while the Government expects to rake in $3 billion.
The second element of the reform package addresses the telecommunications competition framework.
The existing telecommunications anti-competitive conduct and access
regimes in the Trades Practices Act have been widely criticised as
being cumbersome, open to gaming, and providing insufficient certainty
for investment.
In other regulated sectors there have been only three access disputes since 1997.
Over the same timeframe there have been more than 150 telecommunications access disputes.
The Government will reform Part XIB and Part XIC of the TPA to simplify
the access regime and deliver greater regulatory certainty.
It will also enable the ACCC to act quickly on anti-competitive conduct.
[ Consumer safeguards ]
The third part of the reform package will strengthen consumer safeguards.
These include changes to the Universal Service Obligation, Customer
Service Guarantee and Priority Assistance arrangements, to ensure that
consumers are protected and service standards are maintained at a high
level during the transition to the NBN.
Mandatory performance benchmarks will be required in relation to the
delivery of universal services that, backed up with civil penalties,
will encourage improved compliance.
Telstra will also be required to provide payphones in accordance with
new criteria and the Australian Communications and Media Authority will
be given the power to direct whether payphones can be removed.
Once the detailed operating arrangements for the NBN have been settled,
the Government will consider the broader range of issues associated
with the delivery of universal access in an NBN environment.
[ Removal of Red Tape ]
The final element of the package is for the removal of inefficient and redundant red tape.
This is consistent with this Government’s broader commitment to address
impediments to Australia’s long-term productivity growth.
[ Conclusion ]
These historic fundamental reforms address the long-standing inadequacies of the existing telecommunications regulatory regime.
They are the most significant reforms in telecommunications since 1997.
The measures provide the flexibility for Telstra to choose its future path.
The Bill will:
strengthen consumer safeguards,
promote competition,
drive lower prices, better quality and more innovative services.
David Bass
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