We're $1.7b better off through telecoms reforms

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 15 November 2005 03:54

IT Industry - Strategy

The ACMA has released a report 'Consumer benefits resulting from Australia's telecommunications sector' designed to "assess the benefits accruing to households and small businesses from improvements in the telecommunications sector arising from the competition reforms of 1997, and particularly benefits achieved in the 2004-05 financial year."

Economic consultants, ACIL Tasman in association with telecommunications specialists Gibson Quai AAS were commissioned by the ACMA's predecessor, the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to produce the study. It estimates that the net benefit to the economy from telecommunications reforms was $1.97 billion in 2004–05.

ACIL-Tasman's modelling of consumer benefits used the Tasman-Global Telco model to estimate, at a state and national level, changes to consumer welfare for changes in price, quantity and quality of telecommunications services.

The key data sources informing the research were the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), ACA reports and extensive data from telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers supplied specifically for the analysis in the report.

The ACMA says these responses covered: 90 per cent e of fixed-voice market; 72 percent of the broadband market;     50 per cent of the narrowband market; 80 percent of fixed-line or point to point data market.

The total estimated benefits to the Australian economy in 2004-05 include:
    - household consumption increasing in the order of $1.3 billion
    - increased benefits to small businesses of over $200 million
    - investment increasing by almost $500 million and
    - the creation of approximately 23,000 additional jobs.


The full reports is available on the ACMA website.