Australia has an important USO decision .. wires or wireless? Tom, is https://birrraus.com/starlink-in-australia/ an option?
By Zoe Samios November 15, 2021 https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/telstra-s-rivals-take-aim-at-regional-service-payments-worth-billions-20211111-p59854.html Under the Universal Service Obligation policy, Optus, TPG Telecom and Vocus Group and other telcos are forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Telstra to fund baseline telephone services to Australians in regional areas. Telstra’s biggest rivals have condemned a decision by the federal government to delay an independent review into payments worth billions it receives to deliver landline services in regional Australia, arguing the money could be better spent on more modern communications technologies. The three telcos and Telstra are urging the government to reform the legislation after the Department of Communications told a Senate Estimates hearing last month a review would be delayed by up to two years. TPG Telecom’s external affairs executive, Tim McPhail, said he was disappointed with the delay, arguing it was a “staggering sum of money” that could be better spent. “Reports by the audit office and productivity commission have already highlighted an alarming lack of transparency, accountability and controls around the USO arrangement,” Mr McPhail said. The review, which will be conducted by an independent third party, was expected to look at the technology and systems underpinning the agreement. It was meant to occur in 2021, which marks the half-way point in the contract, but the department said it would be delayed because of the work the industry was already doing on the USO. The 20-year contract mandates Telstra as the fixed-line phone service provider, giving it hundreds of millions of dollars each year for the installation and maintenance of fixed-line services. This year the telcos will contribute $227 million to the levy, with Telstra to foot most of the bill. The rest is funded by taxpayers. Its rivals argue this is a waste of money given most people use mobile phones and there are other faster alternatives, like Low Earth Orbit satellites, that can deliver services in these areas. Optus’ vice-president of regulatory and public affairs, Andrew Sheridan, said the USO was well past its used by date. “Fundamentally, it’s not delivering the right outcomes for regional Australians, so it’s disappointing. At the end of the day, one of the problems with the USO is that taxpayers and companies such as Optus to sign a cheque every year that goes to Telstra, and there’s no requirement for them to prove that they’re investing that into regional services,” Mr Sheridan said. A Vocus spokesperson said new technologies like LEO satellites had dramatic implications for the USO. “Taxpayers and consumers ultimately foot the bill for Telstra’s outdated landline voice services in regional Australia, when vastly superior technologies are already available at less cost,” he said. A review of the USO has been on the cards since 2015, when it was recommended by a regional telecommunications review. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, who at the time was parliamentary secretary to the communications minister, said the USO would be better if it was built on incentives to reduce costs. A report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) found serious issues with the commercial terms of the agreement with Telstra, citing a lack of evidence that a public benefit had been realised. A productivity commission report in 2017 said that the USO should be wound up by 2020 as it was no longer necessary once the NBN was complete. The government said at the time it would implement changes to the USO, but nothing has happened since then. Telstra said it would welcome a review, arguing it could allow it to invest in new technologies. “We have been encouraging reform of the USO arrangements for many years,” a Telstra spokesman said. “We understand the desire for regional communities to have access to new technologies and to expand their range of communications options, but it will be much more difficult to deliver on this desire if we are required by government policy to continue investing in maintaining the ageing copper network. This requirement is holding back the development and large-scale rollout of new technologies.” A spokesperson for Mr Fletcher said the government would not make changes to the USO until it was satisfied it would result in better services for regional Australia. “While the government is always open to ideas, we have not heard anything to date which would meet this test,” the spokesperson said. Zoe Samios – Zoë Samios is a media and telecommunications reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
