Telcos unite to call for rapid passages of telecoms reform bill

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 25 October 2009 06:03

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Most of Australia's tier 2 carriers have bandied together to issue a joint statement calling on all members of Parliament and senators to support the passage of the telecoms reform legislation and not to delay considering it.

"The Telecommunications Amendment (Competition and Consumer Protection) Bill presently being considered by the Parliament is a long overdue, urgently needed and potentially profound reform that would be in the interest of all Australians," they said.

The statement was issued by iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Netspace, Optus, Primus, TransACT and VHA. This grouping represents those telcos that last month revived, - under the banner the Terria Access Seekers Association (TASA) - the former Terria consortium created to bid for the NBN mark 1, plus TransACT and VHA, the merged Vodafone & Three. Conspicuous by its absence from either grouping is Australia's third largest fixed line telco, AAPT.

According to the joint statement: "The telecommunications sector is presently governed by a set of regulatory arrangements that have long been seen as fundamentally flawed because they have been unable to control or reduce the historic market power of Telstra. The present legislative package is the first comprehensive attempt to resolve that market power problem and place all telecommunications retailers on a fair playing field."
 
The telcos acknowledge the concern of Opposition and minor parties "to ensure that the safety net for consumers is retained through the implementation of these pro-competition reforms," and they note that "The legislative package does contain measures that should enhance these protections."

However they claim that "The greatest benefit to consumers from the legislation will come not from these protections... but from the impetus it should provide for greater competition. The communities that will benefit most are those that are most disadvantaged by the lack of competition today, especially rural communities that have seen their choice of communications provider diminish in recent years in the face of resurgent Telstra market power.

The cost of delay is real, immediate and an impost on all Australians...There is also a risk that the legislation might never be passed if the opportunity we are presented with today is not seized.