Another week, another momentous series of announcements and events in the communications sector.
This week the ACCAN team was in Canberra to attend the CommsDay Rural, Regional and Remote Forum.
The Forum is a notable event for our sector. Industry figures, community representatives and regulators gathered for 2 days to listen to sector leaders present upon pressing problems and emerging solutions in RRR comms.
During my presentation, I laid out a clear case that the current consumer protections regime has failed consumers for too long - and must be overhauled. I made a comparison of telecommunications regulation and energy sector rules. The fundamental laws which underpin our sector are far weaker than that in the energy sector – and this reveals itself in the poorer consumer outcomes.
According to Roy Morgan, Australian telcos now place 3rd and 6th on the list of least-trusted companies nation-wide. The situation has become dire. As I made clear, trust is essential to a healthy industry - and trust is built upon the delivery of reliable and affordable services, backed up by good customer service and communication if something goes awry.
On Tuesday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation – or UOMO – in a major new direction for remote communications. It is one of the most significant policy directions in communications for some time. Under the proposed UOMO, which the government will legislate if re-elected at the forthcoming election, Australian mobile operators will be required to provide outdoor mobile coverage nearly everywhere in Australia through LEOSat direct to device technology.
As we said in a media release, and I have said in many media interviews in recent days, this is simply a game-changer. Currently, mobile connectivity reaches less than 30% of the Australian landmass. Through emerging Direct-to-Handset connectivity, this will more than double – with texts and calls able to be made across up to 100% of the country. It is an important safety net to ensure universal coverage – especially for emergency situations.
It is an important response to recent Regional Telecommunications and Universal Service Obligation reviews – and we hope that this is only the start of reforms proposed off the back of these lengthy processes.
ACCAN has been highly active in the media this week – on the UOMO issue (plus appearances on Channel 10 and ABC News), about 3G shutdown-related problems and on complaints numbers.
This is only the start of the week’s significant news – read below for our summary of a Senate report into the shutdown of 3G networks, drama during Senate Estimates, and digital competition policy.
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