Stuart Corner
Sunday, 25 September 2005 13:25
IT Policy -
Regulation
The Government has set in train the transfer of $2 billion to the newly created Communications Fund to ''future-proof telecommunications services in rural, regional and remote Australia.
The fund's capital will be invested and the revenue generated will be spent on "ensuring rural, regional and remote Australians can access affordable and reliable telecommunications services in the future."
The $2 billion will be put into a term deposit with the Reserve Bank of Australia while a detailed investment framework is agreed by the Government. This will be overseen by The Australian Office of Financial Management. The Government says it anticipates an annual return of around 5.5 percent. Spending from the fund will be tied to independent, regular reviews of telecommunications services in rural, regional and remote Australia. The first review will be conducted in 2008 with reviews to follow every three years thereafter.