2006-07 Communications Report

ACMA Communications Report 2006–07 Australia’s regulator for broadcasting, the internet, radiocommunications and telecommunications www.acma.gov.au ACMA Communications Report 2006–07

CANBERRA CENTRAL OFFICE MELBOURNE CENTRAL OFFICE SYDNEY CENTRAL OFFICE Purple Building, Benjamin Offices Level 44, Melbourne Central Tower Level 15, Tower 1 Darling Park Chan Street, Belconnen 360 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 201 Sussex Street, Sydney PO Box 78 PO Box 13112 Law Courts PO Box Q500 Belconnen ACT 2616 Melbourne Vic 8010 Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230 Tel: 02 6219 5555 Tel: 03 9963 6800 Tel: 02 9334 7700, 1800 226 667 Fax: 02 6219 5200 Fax: 03 9963 6899 Fax: 02 9334 779 TTY: 03 9963 6948 www.acma.gov.au 02120 Comm Report 2006-07(internals)ƒ 28/2/08 11:13 AM Page 1

ACMA Communications Report 2006–07 02120 Comm Report 2006-07(internals)ƒ 28/2/08 11:13 AM Page 2

ISSN 1834-1519

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be produced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

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Manager Communications and Publishing Australian Communications and Media Authority PO Box 13112 Law Courts Melbourne Vic 8010 Telephone: (03) 9963 6800 Facsimile: (03) 9963 6899 Email: [email protected]

This report is available on the ACMA website at www.acma.gov.au/CommsReport07 02120 Comm Report 2006-07(internals)ƒ 28/2/08 11:13 AM Page 3

Senator the Hon. Stephen Conroy Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Dear Minister I am pleased to provide you with the ACMA Communications Report 2006–07. This publication incorporates a report on telecommunications performance for 2006–07, prepared in accordance with section 105 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. It also reports on industry’s efforts to place aerial cables underground, pursuant to clause 50 of Schedule 3 to the Telecommunications Act 1997. The statutory reporting obligations under the Telecommunications Act 1997 are fulfilled in the following chapters of the Communications Report: – 105(3)(a) and (b), which relate to the efficacy of supply of telecommunications services and the adequacy and quality of such services and billing information: Chapters 2, 3 and 7; – 105(3)(c) and (d), which relate to carrier and carriage service provider obligations under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 with respect to industry codes and standards: Chapter 2; – 105(3)(e) and (ea), 105(4) and 104(5), which relate to industry performance in fulfilling universal service obligation, Customer Service Guarantee and digital data capability obligations: Chapter 4; – 105(5A), which relates to the operation of Part 14 (national interest matters) and Part 15 (cooperation with agencies): Chapter 4; and – Clause 50, Schedule 3, which relates to progress in the placement of telecommunications facilities underground: Chapter 4. Please note that subsection 105(7) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 requires that you table the report in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after receiving the report. Yours sincerely

Chris Chapman Chairman 14 February 2008 02120 Comm Report 2006-07(internals)ƒ 28/2/08 11:13 AM Page 4

Acknowledgments

The ACMA Communications Report 2006–07 draws on data from a range of sources including ACMA’s own databases, information reported by industry, ACMA’s research using third-party public sources, and commissioned surveys and analysis.

ACMA has a statutory reporting obligation to collect data from industry for monitoring and reporting purposes. However, as part of the Australian Government’s regulation reform agenda, ACMA will continue to work with industry participants to identify opportunities to streamline regulatory reporting arrangements.

Disclaimer

The information in this document was obtained from sources ACMA believes to be reliable. However, ACMA does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information. To the maximum extent permitted by law, ACMA is not liable for any errors, omissions or inadequacy in the information, or for any reliance on the information. Predications and forward-looking statements in this document are based on information existing and known at the time of publication, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances beyond the control of ACMA. Opinions and positions stated in this document are subject to change without notice.

Comments

ACMA welcomes feedback on the Communications Report. Comments and enquiries about the scope, content and format of the report should be sent to [email protected]

Further information

For further information about ACMA and links to the Communications Report, please go to www.acma.gov.au (go to About ACMA: Publications & research > ACMA publications > Corporate publications > Reviews & reports). 02120 Comm Report 2006-07(internals)ƒ 28/2/08 11:13 AM Page 5

Contents

Chairman’s foreword 7 Executive summary 8 1 The Australian communications environment 24 Telecommunications services availability 25 Broadcasting services availability 30 Australia’s population density 33 Key indicators – at a glance 35 2 Consumers and consumer protection 42 The Australian consumer in the communications market 43 Fixed voice services 45 Mobile voice services 46 Internet services 48 Consumer satisfaction and complaints 57 Industry compliance with telecommunications codes 61 Broadcasting complaints 65 Radiofrequency interference complaints 66 Further information about consumers and consumer protection 70 3 The Australian communications industry 72 The Australian telecommunications industry 73 The Australian broadcasting industry 83 Further information about the Australian communications industry 100 4 Telecommunications industry performance in meeting regulatory obligations 102 Universal service obligation 103 Public payphones 104 Digital data service obligation 108 Network Reliability Framework 108 Customer Service Guarantee Standard 113 Priority assistance 115 Telstra’s local presence plan 116 Interim and alternative telephone services 116 Disability equipment scheme 117 National Relay Service 118 Emergency call service 120 Accuracy of the Integrated Public Number Database 124 Number portability 124 Protection and regulation of the online environment 128 Telecommunications privacy provisions 132 Supporting law enforcement 134 Role of the Integrated Public Number Database 136 Australian Internet Security Initiative 137 Spam monitoring and compliance 138 Cabling regulation 140 Communications infrastructure regulation 141 Electromagnetic emission regulation 143 Developments in regulated obligations on the telecommunications industry 144 Further information about telecommunications industry performance 152

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5 Broadcasting industry performance in meeting regulatory obligations 154 Australian content on television 155 Access to broadcasting services for people with disabilities 161 Local information on regional television 162 Regulatory developments for the broadcasting industry during 2006–07 163 Digital television broadcasting services for commercial services in remote licence areas 166 Further information about broadcasting industry performance 168 6 Communications services in remote Indigenous communities 170 Telecommunications services in remote Indigenous communities 171 Broadcasting services in remote Indigenous communities 174 Further information about services in remote Indigenous communities 175 7 Economic benefits resulting from changes in telecommunications services 176 Developments in the telecommunications sector in 2006–07 178 Estimating benefits from telecommunications services 184 8 Contemporary issues in Australian communications 190 The digital divide—the debate to date and future directions 191 Trends in television audiences 194 The growth of mobility 200 Appendixes 204 Glossary 270 Index 284

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Chairman’s foreword

I am pleased to present the ACMA Communications Report 2006–07, the second of ACMA’s communications reports to be published. The report provides a comprehensive survey of the Australian communications industry for 2006–07 and covers many aspects of the broadcasting, internet, radiocommunications and telecommunications industries. In so doing, the scope of the report also highlights ACMA’s broadening regulatory responsibilities and, in part, is a product of its increasing research and analytical capabilities. The report focuses on the communications industry’s performance in providing services to residential and business consumers, and on how the industry is meeting its regulatory obligations. The industry’s performance in providing consumer benefits and wider economic benefits is also assessed. The ACMA Communications Report 2006–07 includes insights into the geographic and technical diversity of Australia’s communications industry. Indirectly, it also provides an insight into the geographic and technical diversity of ACMA’s regulatory activities—from assessing service delivery in remote Indigenous communities to the protection of submarine communications cables in the waters off the Australian coast. From a consumer perspective, the report examines the availability of different types of products and services, levels of adoption and use, and consumers’ satisfaction and complaints about those services. Some of the highlights of 2006–07 have been the rapid adoption by consumers of 3G mobile phone services, the continued uptake of digital television equipment and strong growth in broadband take-up and ‘in-line’ speeds as internet consumers migrate from dial-up access to broadband. Data in the report is drawn from a range of sources, including ACMA’s own databases, information reported by industry participants, ACMA’s research using third-party public sources, and commissioned surveys and analysis. This publication fulfils ACMA’s reporting requirements under section 105 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. The report will be of use to those working in the industry, researchers, industry analysts and any person who wishes to gain a comprehensive overview of the Australian communications industry.

Chris Chapman Chairman

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Executive summary

Legislative basis The ACMA Communications Report 2006–07 fulfils ACMA’s statutory reporting requirements under the Telecommunications Act 1997. In accordance with the requirements of section 105 of the Telecommunications Act, the Communications Report covers the efficiency of the telecommunications industry’s supply of services, and the adequacy and quality of services and billing information (Chapters 1 and 2), industry’s performance on industry codes and standards (Chapter 2) and assesses the industry’s performance in meeting its universal service obligation (USO), Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) and digital data service obligation (DDSO) (Chapter 4). In accordance with the requirements of Parts 14 and 15 of the Telecommunications Act, it reports on national interest matters and industry’s cooperation with agencies, along with the cost to industry of maintaining interception capabilities (Chapter 4). As required under Clause 50, Schedule 3 to the Telecommunications Act, the report also records industry’s efforts to place telecommunications facilities underground (Chapter 4).

Scope and structure The scope of the Communications Report is significantly broader than the narrow statutory basis of section 105 of the Telecommunications Act. Alongside assessment of the telecommunications industry, the report provides an overview of the broadcasting industry and its performance in delivering services to audiences and consumers.

The Australian communications environment Internet service availability There are approximately 659 internet service providers (ISPs) in Australia. Of these, 552 provide ADSL services, 204 provide wireless services, four provide cable services and 41 provide satellite services. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 78 per cent of Australian broadband subscribers use DSL services, which use the existing copper pair to the customer’s premises to provide a broadband service. ACMA has identified 19 ISPs that have deployed their own DSL broadband network infrastructure (digital subscriber line access multiplexers or DSLAMS) in local exchanges. At January 2007, there were 2,432 exchanges providing ADSL coverage to 91 per cent of Australia’s population, compared with 2,109 providing coverage to 88 per cent at 30 June 2006. ADSL2+ services were available from approximately 412 exchange locations in January 2007 (17 per cent of DSL-enabled exchanges), compared with 309 at 30 June 2006 (14 per cent of DSL enabled-exchanges). While there has been a steady rise in the number of exchange locations with two or three infrastructure providers, the greatest increase has been identified at exchange locations with five or more infrastructure providers (rising from 66 to 154 exchanges between June 2006 and January 2007).

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Wireless broadband services continue to play an important role in providing broadband services to Australian consumers. There are 204 companies providing wireless services in Australia, with more than half providing services to regional areas. According to the ABS, around 186,000 or five per cent of Australia’s broadband subscribers use wireless broadband services. Satellite broadband services provide 100 per cent coverage of Australia’s land area. In April 2007, around 41 satellite broadband service providers were operating in Australia, most of which were regional ISPs reselling satellite broadband to regional, rural and remote customers. Satellite broadband services are generally only used as a last resort in rural and remote areas where alternative infrastructure is unavailable due to cost.

Mobile service availability At 30 June 2007, there were four mobile carriers operating seven mobile networks. Mobile services are provided to Australian consumers using GSM, CDMA and W-CDMA (3G) networks. The GSM networks are owned and operated by Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, and provide coverage to 96 per cent of the Australian population. Telstra operates Australia’s only remaining CDMA network, providing coverage to 98 per cent of the population. Telstra has announced that its CDMA network is scheduled to be shut down in early 2008, with equivalent coverage to be provided over its W-CDMA network (which Telstra claims provides coverage to 98.8 per cent of the population). Optus, Telstra, Hutchison ‘3’ and Vodafone provide 3G services through their W-CDMA networks. All four mobile carriers have upgraded their W-CDMA 3G mobile networks to the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) protocol, providing higher mobile data rates to Australian consumers. Consumers who live outside terrestrial mobile network coverage can access satellite services provided by Iridium, Globalstar, MobileSat, Inmarsat, Optus and Telstra, which provide 100 per cent coverage of Australia’s land area.

Fixed voice service availability It is estimated that there are 334 fixed voice service providers operating in Australia. Of these, 166 are offering services over the conventional fixed-line network (the public switched telephone network or PSTN) and 242 are offering VoIP-based services, with 74 companies providing both PSTN and VoIP services. ISPs are active in the fixed voice market, providing voice services as part of bundled broadband internet packages. In its September 2006 internet activity survey, the ABS identified 85 ISPs that provide VoIP services as part of an internet package.

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In regional areas, the majority of broadcasting is provided by the NBN, Prime, Seven Queensland, Southern Cross Broadcasting and WIN networks. National television broadcasting services are provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). Digital television services are currently available in all capital cities and in most major regional centres. Around 85 per cent of the population can access digital television from all of their local free-to-air broadcasters (commercial and national broadcasters), and around 96 per cent of the population has access to one free-to-air digital service. Research commissioned by ACMA in 2006 indicated that 29.6 per cent of Australian households used the digital terrestrial television broadcasts.

Subscription television Subscription television can reach 100 per cent of Australia through a mix of hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable in major cities and satellite transmission in rural areas.

Commercial radio services There are 274 commercial radio broadcasting licences in Australia, including 155 FM licences and 106 AM licences. There are also 12 non-broadcasting services band (BSB) licences, which are treated differently to licensed services within BSBs. The largest concentrations of commercial radio licences are in the major capital cities. Most regional centres are served by two licensees, typically with one AM service and one FM service. There are four commercial radio licensees permitted to provide services Australia-wide on non-BSB frequencies.

Community television and radio services Australia has 83 community television licences. Of these, 79 are located in remote Indigenous communities. The remaining four community television services are community television stations in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Community radio services are non-profit radio services that generally provide broadcast services to specific geographic communities or special interest groups. There are 358 community radio broadcast licences issued in Australia, and the Foxtel subscription television service also carries one community television service—Aurora TV.

The Australian consumer in the communications market Mobile phone ownership has reached near saturation levels—with 21.26 million mobile services. There were 4.56 million 3G mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007— a notable 192 per cent increase since 2005–06. The take-up of PSTN fixed voice services is declining, with 40 per cent of consumers reporting that they use their mobile phone more than their home phone and 20 per cent of mobile phone owners saying that they would consider replacing their home phone with mobile phone services.

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VoIP remains an emerging technology and is yet to experience comparable levels of migration of consumers and usage. While awareness of VoIP services is high (63 per cent), take-up is still relatively low (six per cent). The increasing accessibility and functionality of the internet is changing other consumer behaviours, as home access to broadband becomes central to meeting consumers’ needs. There were around 6,429,000 active internet subscribers in Australia at the end of March 2007, comprising 5,668,000 household subscribers and 761,000 business and government subscribers. Broadband subscribers comprise 67 per cent (4.3 million) of all internet subscribers in Australia, an increase of approximately 1.2 million since 2005–06. Both the amount of time spent on the internet and the frequency of use have increased rapidly. The average consumer now spends 22.1 minutes online per day, logs onto the internet 6.5 times per week, and views 41 pages per internet session. Consumers are spending less time viewing or listening to traditional news and entertainment media such as television and radio. Nonetheless, commercial television remains the dominant form of media in Australia, attracting 14 million viewers per day, with 60 per cent of consumers viewing more than two hours per day. ACMA research indicates that 40 per cent of children watch TV by themselves for fun, and 26 per cent with other people. The majority of consumers are happy with their communications services and are unlikely to switch their current services to a different provider.

Telecommunications consumer complaints and code breaches In 2006–07, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) recorded 156,802 complaint issues about fixed, mobile and internet services, an increase of 23 per cent on 2005–06 and 130.5 per cent over the past three years. This increase is dominated by a 109 per cent rise in complaints about internet services. In addition, the TIO handled complaints under the Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme for the first time during 2006–07. In 2006–07, the ACCC received 6,963 complaints about communications issues relating to the Trade Practices Act 1974. Communications Alliance—the peak telecommunications industry association—has noted that the total number of ACIF code-related complaints, relative to the total number of services in operation, continued to be less than 0.05 per cent per quarter. The number of confirmed code breaches also continued to be low and has recently fallen. The TIO confirmed a total of 348 ACIF code breaches in 2006–07, down 49.4 per cent on the 688 in 2005–06. From 1 December 2006, the TIO began taking complaints as the escalated complaint- handling body for the Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme. Since then, the TIO has recorded 6,894 complaints under the scheme, with a total of 10,083 complaint issues. Mobile premium service complaint numbers have trended downwards since March 2007. Approximately 60 per cent of these complaints related to claims that charges were incurred for services that were not requested. Almost 10 per cent related to a supplier either not actioning, or refusing to action, an ‘opt out’ request.

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Broadcasting code complaints and investigations The total number of broadcasting complaints received during 2006–07 (telephone and written) was similar to the number received in 2005–06. Of the 136 investigations completed in 2006–07, 63 per cent resulted in a finding of no breach.

Radiocommunications complaints ACMA also investigates complaints about radiofrequency interference with the operation of radiocommunications equipment by industry and consumers. Interference is divided into two categories: domestic systems interference and radiocommunications interference.

The Australian communications industry Australian telecommunications industry Australian consumers now have greater access to 3G mobile networks, with all four mobile phone carriers operating 3G networks upgraded to the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) protocol. At 30 June 2007, there were 169 licensed telecommunications carriers and 1,231 carriage service providers (CSPs) registered with the TIO. Using data gathered for the USO eligible revenue calculation, telecommunications industry revenue is estimated at approximately $24.6 billion. ACMA estimates that there were approximately 10.92 million fixed-line telephone services in operation, a 2.9 per cent reduction since 30 June 2006. An estimated 369 fixed voice service providers are operating in Australia. Of these, 166 offer services over the conventional public switched telephone network (PSTN) and 242 offer VoIP-based services (with 74 companies providing both PSTN and VoIP services). There were 21.26 million mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007, up from 19.76 million the year before, an increase of 7.6 per cent. For the first time, there is more than one mobile service in operation for every person in Australia. Strong competition in the mobile industry has made mobile phones and mobile plans cheaper, facilitating the trend in greater mobile phone use. The number of .com.au domain names registered increased by 29.8 per cent compared with the previous year. This growth suggests the increasing adoption of an internet presence by Australian small businesses.

Australian broadcasting industry Legislation reforming longstanding restrictions on foreign and cross-ownership of the broadcasting industry was passed in October 2006. This legislation also introduced new regulations on local content. Three networks—Seven, Nine and Ten—dominate capital city television licence ownership. Regional television licence ownership is dominated by NBN in northern New South Wales, Prime Television (with stations affiliated with the Seven Network), Macquarie Media Group

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(with most stations affiliated with the Ten Network) and WIN Corporation (with stations affiliated with the Nine Network). Imparja Television holds licences in the remote central and eastern Australia licence areas. The Austereo Group, Australian Radio Network and DMG Radio own a significant number of capital city commercial radio broadcasting licences. Macquarie Media Group, Broadcast Operations and Grant Broadcasters are still the three largest collections of regional commercial radio broadcasting licences. Commercial television networks recorded $3,989.8 million in revenue in 2005–06, a decrease of 3.1 per cent over the previous year. Metropolitan television markets reported a 5.5 per cent decrease in revenue in 2005–06, while regional television markets reported a 5.7 per cent increase in revenue generated over the same period. The commercial television industry achieved aggregate profits of $366.7 million in 2005–06 (a decrease of 36.4 per cent over the previous year). In 2005–06, the commercial radio industry generated revenue of $1 billion, a 5.5 per cent increase since 2004–05. The FM sector generated $721.8 million in revenue and the AM sector generated revenue of $276 million.

Advertising expenditure In 2006, the print (51 per cent), television (29 per cent), radio (eight per cent) and online (eight per cent) media industries attracted the majority of advertising expenditure. Advertising expenditure on free-to-air television fell by 0.3 per cent in 2006 to $3.2 billion. Subscription television increased its percentage share of total advertising expenditure. Overall, there has been a decrease in television’s share of total advertising expenditure (excluding directories and online) from 35.62 per cent in 2005 to 28.72 per cent in 2006. Advertising expenditure on radio (excluding community radio) grew by three per cent in 2006 to 924.8 million. Online advertising revenue in Australia grew by 61.5 per cent in 2006 to $1 billion.

Community broadcasting services Community broadcasting services are free-to-air services that serve the needs and interests of particular communities. There were 358 community radio broadcasting licences at June 2007. Most local communities in Australia have at least one community radio service. Australia has four permanent community television licences to serve Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Another 79 community television services serve remote Indigenous communities.

Subscription television At 30 June 30 2007, there were 2.082 million subscribers to subscription television services in Australia.

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Digital television At least one digital free-to-air service is now available to about 96 per cent of Australians and ACMA estimates that more than 91 per cent of the Australian population now has access to the complete set of digital television services for their region or area. However, the penetration of digital consumer equipment into the Australian market is still far from complete. The ACMA survey conducted in October 2006 (reported in Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006) reported that 29.6 per cent of Australian households had adopted digital free-to-air television.

Channel A and Channel B As part of the government’s media reform package and consistent with its desire to increase digital media services, ACMA will allocate two sets of licences, known as Channel A and Channel B. The licences for Channel A will allow the provision of open narrowcasting, services provided under a datacasting licence and community television. The licences for Channel B will allow the provision of a wider range of services, including mobile television. ACMA plans to allocate the licences using a price-based system. Seven MHz of broadcasting spectrum is available nationally for both licences.

Telecommunicatons industry performance in meeting regulatory obligations Payphones During 2006–07, the total number of payphones (both Telstra operated and privately operated) in Australia fell by 14 per cent (or 8,368 payphones) to 49,862. On average across Australia, Telstra payphones were unserviceable for six per cent of the time during 2006–07—no change on the previous year. At 30 June 2007, Telstra had 221 TTY payphones in operation, a decrease of 23 from the previous year. During 2006–07, Telstra removed 1,664 payphones from service after public consultation, including 1,062 in urban areas, 581 in rural areas and 21 in remote areas.

Network Reliability Framework ACMA monitors the reliability of Telstra’s fixed-line telephone services under a regulatory arrangement known as the Network Reliability Framework (NRF). The NRF applies only to services Telstra provides to its CSG-eligible customers—household and small business fixed-line customers with five lines or less. During 2006–07, Telstra’s licence conditions were amended to strengthen the NRF. The new licence conditions provide for better targeting of poorly performing areas of Telstra’s network. Telstra is now required to provide information on services that experience further faults after remediation in a separate monitoring period report. ACMA will report on Telstra’s performance under these new arrangements in 2007–08.

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Customer Service Guarantee Standard The reported number of telephones covered by the CSG Standard declined from 2005–06 by nine per cent to 7.905 million in 2006–07. This decrease is consistent with the estimated reduction in fixed-line services over this period. The performance of the main carriers in meeting the CSG timeframes for new service connections ranged from 96 per cent (AAPT) to 89 per cent (Primus). Telstra performed by far the most new connections.

National Relay Service The National Relay Service (NRS) enables people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment to access a standard telephone service on terms and in circumstances that are comparable to other Australians. There was a 7.23 per cent decline in the number of call minutes relayed by the NRS in 2006–07, following a 6.4 per cent decline in the previous year. The numbers of calls received by the NRS and outbound calls placed on behalf of callers also declined. In 2006–07, the cost of providing the NRS was $14.8 million (inclusive of GST and subject to final reconciliation of the June 2007 quarter), an increase of more than 15 per cent on 2005–06.

Emergency call service There were 12,139,526 calls offered to the 000 and 112 emergency service numbers in 2006–07, an increase of 550,749 calls (up five per cent from 2005–06). Telstra continues to perform above the legislated requirement for emergency call answering, with 97 per cent of all calls to 000 and 112 answered within five seconds and 98.8 per cent answered within 10 seconds in 2006–07. During 2006–07, 228,141 calls were made to the emergency call service number 106, a drop of 20.1 per cent from the previous year. The Australian Communication Exchange, which provides the text-based emergency call service on the 106 number, attributes the reduction in call volumes to the introduction of measures to reduce misdials and hoax calls, including the termination of calls with excess digits.

Investigation of consumer complaints about potentially prohibited content During 2006–07, ACMA received 602 complaints about potentially prohibited internet content. Of these, 477 resulted in completed investigations, 262 of which resulted in the location of 499 individual items of potentially prohibited internet content. Approximately 95 per cent of potentially prohibited content investigated by ACMA is hosted overseas. Final take-down notices were issued for five items of Australian-hosted prohibited internet content, and 494 overseas-hosted prohibited or potentially prohibited items were referred to suppliers of internet software filters. ACMA referred 369 items of illegal internet content to law enforcement agencies and/or INHOPE member hotlines in 2006–07. Of these, one item was referred to police services in Australia.

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Privacy Under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act, ACMA has registered industry codes addressing privacy issues, such as the handling of personal information in the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) and e-marketing. The number of disclosures of personal information in 2006–07 was 1,165,318, an increase of 220,951 (or 23.4 per cent) over the previous reporting year. In 2006–07, 50 per cent of the 844,949 disclosures to law enforcement agencies were uncertified, compared with 52 per cent in 2005–06, 53 per cent in 2004–05 and 60 per cent in 2003–04. The number of disclosures authorised by or under law (section 280) increased by 7,898 (57.9 per cent). The cost of providing interception in 2006–07 was $8,250,803, an increase of $2,501,695 (43.5 per cent) from 2005–06.

Spam monitoring and compliance At 30 June 2007, the SpamMATTERS program (launched in May 2006) had over 210,000 registered users, who had submitted over 25.8 million items of email spam. During 2006–07, ACMA received 1,831 written complaints, of which 1,325 (77 per cent) related to email spam and 506 (23 per cent) related to SMS spam. There were also 1,103 written enquiries and approximately 900 verbal enquiries on the spam telephone hotline. ACMA also carried out about 20 mid-level and major investigations related to the Spam Act.

Broadcasting industry performance in meeting regulatory obligations Levels of Australian television content Australian programs must comprise at least 55 per cent of all Australian programming between 6.00 am and midnight, including first release and repeat programs. For the 2006 calendar year, all metropolitan commercial network licensees exceeded the minimum 55 per cent Australian transmission quota. Commercial television licensees spent $1.2 billion on total programming for 2005–06 (the latest data available), an increase of five per cent over the previous year. Of total programming expenditure, $869.2 million was spent on Australian programs, which represents 71.1 per cent of total expenditure and an increase of 6.9 per cent from 2004–05. ACMA’s Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 reports on the different levels of expenditure for each programming category.

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Overall, the commercial television industry spent $125.3 million on Australian drama in 2005–06, an increase of $11.5 million compared with the previous year. Expenditure on overseas programming was $332 million over 2006–07.

Australian documentaries Commercial television broadcasters are required to broadcast at least 20 hours of first-release Australian documentary programs per year. All commercial television stations met the minimum first-release Australian documentary standards in 2006. In 2005–06, the commercial television industry spent $12.4 million on Australian documentary programs, an increase of $3.2 million since the previous year and a 35.2 per cent increase.

Children’s television programs The Children’s Television Standards (CTS) provide for an annual children’s program quota for commercial television broadcasting licensees of 390 hours, comprising 260 hours of children’s (C) programs; and 130 hours of children’s preschool (P) programs. The Australian Content Standard sets out additional Australian and first-release requirements within these quotas. In 2006, all commercial television licensees met the annual quotas for children’s programs. Commercial television licensees spent $20.9 million on children’s programming in the financial year to 30 June 2006, a decrease of 16.6 per cent compared with the previous reporting period. Of the total expenditure on children’s programming during 2005–06, children’s drama accounted for $15.3 million (an increase of 14.4 per cent over the previous year), while other children’s programming decreased by 31 per cent, and accounted for $5.6 million of the total expenditure.

Australian advertising At least 80 per cent of the total advertising time broadcast by commercial television licensees each year, between 6.00 am and midnight, is to be used for Australian-produced advertisements. A total of 50,488 Australian, 3,048 foreign and 5,342 exempt advertisements were shown in 2006, compared with 51,924 Australian, 2,827 foreign and 5,644 exempt the previous year. All stations broadcast more than the required 80 per cent of Australian advertising in 2006.

Regulatory developments in 2006–07 Universal service obligation review A review of the USO was announced with the aim of reducing telecommunications industry regulatory ‘red tape’.

New compensation rates for CSG customers On 31 October 2006, ACMA increased the compensation payable to customers for CSG breaches by about 21 per cent. The changes also reduce the ability of service providers to claim for exemption in cases of predictable weather events and require them to provide documentary evidence to substantiate claims for exemptions due to extreme weather events.

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Integrated Public Number Database In 2006, amendments were made to Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 2007 on the disclosure of information or a document from the IPND. These changes came about as a consequence of long-standing concerns about the alleged misuse of IPND data by public number directory publishers.

Review of the assistance to law enforcement regime The Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Act 2006 implemented a number of recommendations of the Blunn Review of the interception regulatory regime. Further amendments to access to telecommunications data were introduced to Parliament during 2006–07.

Voice over internet protocol ACMA introduced the 0550 range of numbers to identify location-independent services, which differ from traditional telephone services in that their user may make VoIP calls from anywhere within Australia. The new number range will alert emergency services to enquire about the caller’s location when an emergency call is made.

Industry standard for telemarketing and research calls To support the introduction of the Do Not Call Register, ACMA made the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007, which places requirements on people undertaking unsolicited telemarketing or research calls.

New legislative framework for digital radio In May 2007, Parliament passed legislation to implement the government’s policy framework for the introduction of digital radio by national broadcasters and broadcasting services bands (BSB) licensees. The legislation requires ACMA to plan for the introduction of digital radio services in the six state capital cities by 1 January 2009. The legislation is based on the use of digital audio broadcasting (DAB/DAB+) technology.

Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme On 28 September 2006, ACMA approved a self-regulatory scheme submitted by mobile carriage and content service providers. The Mobile Premium Services Industry scheme, which commenced on 28 October 2006, requires the relevant carriage or content service provider to attempt to resolve complaints in the first instance before an unresolved matter can be raised with the escalated complaints handling body.

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Future live content regulation framework The Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Act 2007 amends the Broadcasting Services Act by establishing a framework for regulating live content services, internet content accessed via devices such as mobile phones, and providers of services that link to content, as well as content regulated under the existing framework. The Content Services Act introduces a new Schedule 7 to the Broadcasting Services Act and will consolidate and extend the current regulatory framework for non-broadcast content. ISPs will continue to be regulated by Schedule 5 to the Act.

Submarine cable protection Following extensive consultation during 2006–07, ACMA declared two New South Wales submarine cable protection zones in September 2007 and declared a Western Australia submarine cable protection zone in October 2007.

New local content requirements In October 2006, the Parliament passed the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 as part of the government’s media reform package. It requires ACMA to impose a local content licence condition on specified regional commercial television broadcasting licensees. From 1 January 2008, the local content requirements will extend to Tasmania in addition to regional New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

New ownership and control regulatory arrangements The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act introduced key concepts relating to media ownership, including prohibitions relating to unacceptable media diversity or three-way control situations.

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A core component of the new media ownership rules is the Register of Controlled Media Groups (RCMG). The register lists the media groups in each licence area, the media operations that form part of a group and the controllers of those operations. Commercial television and commercial radio licensees and publishers of associated newspapers are required to notify ACMA of any changes in control within five days of becoming aware of those changes. Persons who come into a position to exercise control are also required to notify ACMA within five days of becoming aware of the change in control.

Digital television settings The media reform package made changes to the digital television regulatory framework. The requirement that the high definition (HDTV) channel must be a simulcast of the analog channel was removed on 1 January 2007. Other changes included that a single standard definition (SDTV) commercial multichannel will be allowed from 1 January 2009. Content restrictions were also lifted from the ABC and SBS multichannels on 5 November 2006. ACMA has been given powers to determine technical standards for the transmission of digital television broadcasting and datacasting services and receivers for such services.

New digital channels The media reform package facilitates the provision of new digital services. The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Act 2006 provides for the allocation of two sets of licences, known as Channels A and B. Chapter 3 discusses the introduction of the new digital channels.

Children’s Television Standards review ACMA is currently reviewing the CTS and released an issues paper on 26 June 2007. The review is assessing whether the CTS are operating effectively in the current television environment.

Communications services in remote Indigenous communities Telecommunications ACMA is planning to publish a report on telecommunications in remote Indigenous communities in early 2008, which will provide more detailed information about the availability and take-up of telecommunications in these communities. From June 2006 to June 2007, the number of payphones provided by Telstra in remote Indigenous communities decreased, while the number of standard telephone services (STS) increased.

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Not all communities have access to fixed-line telephone services, which suggests that individual residential telephone take-up is relatively low. Payphones serve as a proxy ‘home phone’ for many people living in remote Indigenous communities and play a more critical role as a ‘lifeline service’ than they do in other parts of Australia. Telstra’s payphone fault repair performance in remote Indigenous communities was lower than in other remote areas, and significantly lower than in rural and urban areas. The impact of payphone faults is greater in remote Indigenous communities, given the greater reliance on payphones, particularly where there is no access to other telecommunications services.

Broadcasting Remote Indigenous communities can access broadcasts from two sources: • Remote Area Broadcast Services (RABS)—television and radio services delivered via satellite to either terrestrial transmitters for re-broadcasting, or directly into communities using satellite dishes. Imparja Television distributes National Indigenous Television (NITV) (which was launched in July 2007) and eight community radio feeds; and • Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services (RIBS)—operate as community broadcasters rebroadcasting the RABS service, plus some community content. RIBS are licensed by ACMA as community broadcasting services. At June 2007, there were 162 licensed RIBS in remote Indigenous communities throughout Australia, comprising 79 television broadcasting licences and 83 radio broadcasting licences.

Economic benefits resulting from changes in telecommunications services ACMA commissioned economic consultants ACIL Tasman and telecommunications specialists Gibson Quai–AAS to conduct an analysis of the consumer benefits and economic impact resulting from reforms in the telecommunications sector. The telecommunications sector continued to experience rapid growth in 2006–07, driven by continual technological change and competition. Technological changes are leading to new types of services and lower costs, with the benefits enhanced by increasing geographical spread of available services. According to the ACIL Tasman/Gibson Quai–AAS report, the most notable development in 2006–07 was the increase in the number of broadband subscribers, and the increasing data volumes that those subscribers are consuming. The significant growth in data volumes across Australia’s internet networks is being driven by lower gigabyte costs for the different internet services and increased availability of broadband. The mobile phone service sector also grew strongly, driven by a rapid expansion and take-up of 3G services. Traditional fixed-line services suffered from the substitution effect of the move to mobile services, declining revenues and network utilisation.

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The flow-on net benefits of these changes to the wider economy are substantial and experienced across all states and industries. Reforms to Australia’s telecommunications sector 10 years ago opened Australia’s telecommunications services sector to competition. This has accelerated productivity improvements in the sector, to the benefit of users of telecommunications services. ACMA also asked ACIL Tasman and Gibson Quai–AAS to estimate the benefits flowing from developments in the telecommunications sector over 2006–07. The report estimated that: • economic welfare, in the form of incremental benefits to consumers and to businesses during 2006–07 associated with developments in the telecommunications sector, increased by around $0.9 billion and $176 million respectively; • total production in the Australian economy during 2006–07 increased in the order of $1.2 billion over the baseline of an economy without price and service competition in the telecommunications sector; and • total investment in the economy increased by more than $300 million.

Contemporary issues in Australian communications This section of the report consists of three essays on contemporary communications issues to highlight current issues facing communications industry, consumers and regulators.

The digital divide: the debate to date and future directions The ability of individuals to adopt and benefit from the internet and associated information and communications technology (ICT) has major social and economic benefits, influencing participation in the online economy, education and learning, access to services, political participation and social inclusion. Increasingly, policy-makers are aware of the linkages between participation in the online environment and social inclusion and participation generally.

Trends in television audiences This essay examines the place of television in the current media landscape by reference to trends in television audience, size and time spent viewing television in free-to-air and subscription television households. These trends are reviewed in terms of the total population of television viewers and younger viewers. Specific attention has been paid to the latter group because many of the new cultural developments in the digital media landscape are primarily identified with young people. Australians now have a greater array of choices about when, where and how they access content, including on digital subscription television channels, as well as more personalised media offered through the internet and mobiles. This is especially evident in households with children, where 32 per cent have subscription television (compared with 26.1 per cent of all households), 79 per cent have broadband internet (58 per cent of all households) and 56 per cent have mobile phones with advanced features. With the resulting shifts in media consumption, there is increasing commentary about audience fragmentation and declines in mass television audiences.

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The growth of mobility The world is changing at a rapid rate as a result of technological advances in transport and communications infrastructure, and the concurrent growth of mobile communications. These advances have created new economic and social opportunities for individuals and organisations, and new service scenarios for regulators around the world. Greater mobility of services and their consumption will influence public interest concerns such as law enforcement, national security and age-inappropriate content. Many of the issues that arise from the multi-jurisdictional nature of the internet will become more acute and have more impact as both the source and the end user become fully mobile. Greater communication mobility will have both costs and benefits.

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Telecommunications services availability In June 2007, ACMA and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released the joint report, Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2006–07. The report provides a detailed discussion of service availability and is on the ACMA and ACCC websites. A summary of the report’s key findings follows.

Internet service availability Internet services are provided throughout Australia by a range of access technologies including digital subscriber line (DSL), hybrid fibre coaxial, wireless, satellite, optical fibre services and copper networks. The availability of these services depends upon a customer’s geographic location, and the commercial drivers that affect the rollout of various technologies in different geographic regions. There are approximately 659 internet service providers (ISPs) in Australia. Of these 552 provide ADSL services, 204 provide wireless services, four provide cable services, and 41 provide satellite services.1

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)2, 78 per cent of Australian broadband subscribers use DSL services, which use the existing copper pair to the customer’s premises to provide a broadband service. ACMA has identified 19 ISPs that have deployed their own DSL broadband network infrastructure (digital subscriber line access multiplexers or DSLAMS) in local exchanges. Most of these providers are offering ADSL2+ services, which are theoretically capable of providing services up to 24 Mbit/s. At January 2007, there were 2,432 exchanges providing ADSL coverage to 91 per cent of Australia’s population, compared with 2,109 providing coverage to 88 per cent at 30 June 2006.3 ADSL2+ services were available from approximately 412 exchange locations in January 2007 (17 per cent of DSL-enabled exchanges), compared with 309 at 30 June 2006 (14 per cent of DSL enabled-exchanges). Of ADSL-enabled exchanges in metropolitan areas, 57 per cent are now providing ADSL2+ services (compared with 53 per cent at 30 June 2006). Table 1.1 displays the availability and number of competing DSLAM infrastructure providers at exchange locations. While there has been a steady rise in the number of exchange locations with two or three infrastructure providers, the greatest increase has been identified at exchange locations with five or more infrastructure providers (rising from 66 to 154 exchanges between June 2006 and January 2007).4

1 Market Clarity Database, April 2007. 2 ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, March 2007. 3 Telstra media release, 10 November 2006. 4 Note that these increases in infrastructure provision have been identified on the basis of publicly available information about continued infrastructure deployment by ISPs, together with a targeted data request issued by ACMA to ISPs that do not make this information publicly available.

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Table 1.1: Number of DSLAM infrastructure providers by number of DSL-enabled exchanges (includes ADSL and ADSL2+ enabled exchanges), 2006 and 2007 Number of infrastructure providers Number of exchanges 30 Number of exchanges 31 June 2006 January 2007 1 infrastructure provider 1,800 1,973 2 infrastructure providers 115 163 3 infrastructure providers 61 80 4 infrastructure providers 67 62 5 or more infrastructure providers 66 154 Source: service provider websites and ACMA data request to targeted ISPs The availability of ADSL services is represented in Figure 1.1. Wireless broadband services, which provide internet connectivity using a wireless link to the customer’s premises, continue to play an important role in providing broadband services to Australian consumers. There are 204 companies providing wireless services in Australia, with more than half providing services to regional areas.5 According to the ABS, around 186,000 or five per cent of Australia’s broadband subscribers use wireless broadband services.6 The Australian Government’s HiBIS and Broadband Connect programs, which provided subsidies to improve the availability of telecommunications services in Australia, have contributed to the increased adoption of wireless broadband technology. Figure 1.2 shows the distribution of wireless broadband services subsidised by HiBIS and Broadband Connect. Figure 1.1: Availability of ADSL services (includes ADSL and ADSL2+ services), 31 January 2007

Source: service provider websites and ACMA data request to targeted ISPs

5 Market Clarity Database, April 2007. 6 ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, Sep 2006.

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Figure 1.2: HiBIS and Broadband Connect-subsidised wireless broadband services, 31 January 2007 (includes actual and planned coverage)

Source: DCITA HiBIS and Broadband Connect data Note: coverage is indicative only and is not universally available in all locations identified. Satellite broadband services provide 100 per cent coverage of Australia’s land area. In April 2007, around 41 satellite broadband service providers were operating in Australia, most of which were regional ISPs reselling satellite broadband to regional, rural and remote customers.7 Because they typically require physically large infrastructure (a satellite dish) and are more expensive (without government subsidies) compared with other broadband options, satellite broadband services are generally only used as a last resort in rural and remote areas where alternative infrastructure is unavailable due to cost.

7 Market Clarity Database, April 2007.

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Mobile service availability At 30 June 2007 there were four mobile carriers operating seven mobile networks. Table 1.2 summarises the mobile networks in operation.

Table 1.2: Mobile networks, 31 January 2007 Telstra ‘3’ Optus Vodafone W-CDMA (3G) �* �* �(shared infrastructure)� GSM � � � CDMA � *Note: Telstra continues to share infrastructure through its joint venture with ‘3’ and also operates its own 3G network (850 MHz)—the ‘Next G’ network—independent of the joint venture. Telstra’s CDMA network is expected to be shut down in 2008 with equivalent coverage to be provided on its Next G network. Mobile services are provided to Australian consumers using GSM, CDMA, and W-CDMA (3G) networks. The GSM networks are owned and operated by Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, and provide coverage to 96 per cent of the Australian population. Telstra operates Australia’s only remaining CDMA network, providing coverage to 98 per cent of the population. Telstra has announced that its CDMA network is scheduled to be shut down in early 2008, with equivalent coverage to be provided over Telstra’s W-CDMA network (which Telstra claims provides coverage to 98.8 per cent of the population).8 Optus, Telstra, Hutchison ‘3’ and Vodafone provide 3G services through their W-CDMA networks. All four mobile carriers have upgraded their W-CDMA (3G) mobile networks to the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) protocol, providing higher mobile data rates to Australian consumers. Figure 1.3 shows 3G mobile coverage by Hutchison, Vodafone and Optus. Figure 1.4 shows coverage by Telstra’s NextG network.

Figure 1.3: 3G mobile coverage by Hutchison, Optus and Vodafone

8 The government has established a licence condition that the CDMA network cannot be shut down until the W-CDMA network provides equivalent or better coverage and services.

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Figure 1.4: Telstra NextG network

Source: Telstra Consumers who live outside terrestrial mobile network coverage can access satellite services provided by Iridium, Globalstar, MobileSat, Inmarsat, Optus and Telstra, which provide 100 per cent coverage of Australia’s land area. Dual-mode handsets operate as mobile phones where GSM or CDMA coverage is available and as satellite phones where there is no terrestrial mobile coverage. The Australian Government’s Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme will continue until 2009 as part of the $30 million Mobile Connect program. The scheme provides a subsidy for the purchase of a satellite phone to individuals who live outside terrestrial mobile GSM or CDMA coverage. The subsidy does not apply to ongoing billing costs that may be incurred through use of the phone.

Fixed voice service availability The universal service obligation (USO) requires Telstra to ensure that, amongst other things, standard telephone services are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on business. While the USO is generally supplied on a fixed-line standard telephone service, it may be provided by other means, for example, by a mobile, satellite or wireless local loop service if it is impractical to provide a fixed-line service.

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It is estimated that there are 334 fixed voice service providers operating in Australia.9 Of these, 166 are offering services over the conventional fixed-line network (the public switched telephone network or PSTN) and 242 are offering VoIP-based services, with 74 companies providing both PSTN and VoIP services.

Internet service providers and the voice market ISPs are active in the fixed voice market, providing voice services as part of bundled broadband internet packages. In its September 2006 internet activity survey, the ABS identified 85 ISPs that provide VoIP services as part of an internet package. Small ISPs providing VoIP as part of bundled service offers may be servicing a distinct regional, rural or remote location area, providing alternative voice options in regional voice markets.

Broadcasting services availability

Commercial and national television Free-to-air television broadcasts reach 100 per cent of the population. The great majority of the population is reached through analog terrestrial broadcasts in population centres, and the remainder in remote areas via satellite. Across Australia, there are 28 distinct commercial television licence areas. Broadcast planning provides for three commercial television licence operators in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The Seven, Nine and Ten networks operate in each of these cities. There are three licensees operating in Canberra and Hobart, and two in Darwin.10 In regional areas, the majority of broadcasting is provided by the NBN, Prime, Seven Queensland, Southern Cross Broadcasting, and WIN networks. Figure 1.5 illustrates Australia’s commercial television licence areas, and the number of licensees operating in each area. Higher levels of availability tend to be concentrated in the major capital cities, and along the eastern seaboard. National television broadcasting services funded by the Australian Government are provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The ABC provides the following television services within Australia: – a national free-to-air analog service available to more than 98 per cent of the Australian population; and – three digital free-to-air channels available to more than 96 per cent of the Australian population, comprising high definition and standard definition simulcasts of ABC analog and ABC 2, which features new and time-shifted ABC programming. SBS provides multilingual and multicultural television services that reach 95 per cent of the Australian population through its analog service, and 80 per cent through its digital service.

9 Market Clarity Database, April 2007—includes 37 calling-card service providers. 10 A third commercial television licence to provide a digital-only service for Darwin was allocated to Darwin Digital Television in May 2007. The licensee has 12 months to commence the new service.

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Figure 1.5: Commercial television services in Australia by licence area, January 2007

Source: ACMA Digital television services are currently available in all capital cities and in most major regional centres. Around 85 per cent of the population can access digital television from all of their local free-to-air broadcasters (commercial and national broadcasters), and around 96 per cent of the population has access to one free-to-air digital service.11 Research commissioned by ACMA in 2006 indicated that 29.6 per cent of Australian households had digital free-to-air television.12

Subscription television Subscription television can reach 100 per cent of Australia through a mix of hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable in major cities and through satellite transmission.

Commercial radio services There are 274 commercial radio broadcasting licences in Australia, including 155 FM licences and 106 AM licences. There are also 12 non-broadcasting services band (BSB) licences, which are treated differently to licensed services within BSBs. The largest concentrations of commercial radio licences are in the major capital cities, as shown in Table 1.3. Most regional centres are served by two licensees, typically with one AM service and one FM service. There are four commercial radio licensees permitted to provide services Australia-wide on non-BSB frequencies.

11 DCITA, Ready, Get Set, Go Digital – A Digital Action Plan for Australia, November 2006, p.7. 12 ACMA and Eureka Strategic Research, Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006, presentation by Tom Loncar (Eureka director) to ACMA ICE conference, November 2006.

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Table 1.3: Number of commercial radio licences by city City Number of commercial licences Sydney 11 Melbourne 11 Brisbane 8 Adelaide 6 Perth 6 Canberra 4 Hobart 3 Darwin 2 Source: ACMA licensing information Figure 1.6 illustrates Australia’s commercial radio licence areas and the number of licensees operating in each area. Higher levels of availability tend to be concentrated in the major capital cities and along the eastern seaboard.

Figure 1.6: Commercial radio services in Australia by licence area, January 2007

Source: ACMA

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Community television Australia has 83 community television licences. Of these, 79 are located in remote Indigenous communities. The remaining four community television services are community television stations in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Community radio services Community radio services are non-profit radio services that generally provide broadcast services to specific geographic communities or special interest groups. There are 358 community radio broadcast licences issued in Australia, and there are few geographical communities within Australia that do not have at least one community radio service. The Foxtel subscription television service also carries one community television service, Aurora TV.

Australia’s population density Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the OECD (as shown in Figure 1.7), at a population density of three persons per square kilometre.

Figure 1.7: Population density in OECD countries, 2005 Korea Netherlands Belgium Japan United Kingdom Germany Italy Switzerland Luxembourg Czech Republic Denmark Poland Portugal France Slovak Republic Hungry Austria Turkey Spain Greece Ireland Mexico OECD United States Sweden Finland New Zealand Norway Australia Canada Iceland 0 100 200 300 400 500 Source: OECD (2005)

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Australia also has the most uneven population distribution in the OECD (Figure 1.8).

Figure 1.8: Index of geographic concentration13 of population, 2003 Canada Australia Iceland Mexico Korea Sweden Portugal United Kingdom Spain Finland Japan Norway United States New Zealand OECD average Greece Austria France Switzerland Turkey Italy Germany Denmark Ireland Poland Netherlands Belgium Hungry Czech Republic Slovak Republic 020 40 60 801 00 Source: OECD (2003)14 This concentration is quite pronounced—64 per cent of the population of Australia live in an area representing just 0.5 per cent of the continent.15 In absolute terms, 13.2 million Australians live in an area equal to 38,000 km2. The rest of Australia’s population is spread out—93 per cent of Australia is occupied by only 10 per cent of the population. An area of 7 million km2, an area over twice the size of India, is only occupied by 2.1 million people.

13 The geographic concentration index compares the population weight and the geographic weight over all regions in a given country and is constructed to account for both within and between-country differences in the size of all regions. The index lies between 0 (no concentration) and 100 (maximum concentration) in all countries and is suitable for international comparisons of geographic concentration. 14 Statlink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/502542555824 15 ABS, 2006 census data.

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Key indicators – at a glance16

Licensed services

Licensed broadcasters, 30 June 2007 Commercial radio broadcasting licences 274 Community radio broadcasting licences 358 Temporary community broadcasting licences 38 Commercial television broadcasting licences 54 Community television 83* Subscription television (total licences allocated) 2,588 * Of which 79 were for remote Indigenous broadcasting services.

Radiocommunications apparatus licences, 30 June 2007 Type of licence No. of licences Public telecommunications service 13 Fixed 41,771 Land mobile 58,705 Defence spectrum 71 Satellite licence types 745 Non-assigned 32,697 Other 14,745 Total 148,747 Telecommunications licences, 30 June 2007 No. of licences Licensed carriers 169 Licensed or registered cablers 58,398 Carriage service providers holding numbers 22 Spectrum licences, 30 June 2007 No. of licences Registered transmitter devices 44,158

16 All sources ACMA, except where noted.

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Telecommunications services

Service coverage, 30 June 2007 Services Coverage No. of service providers or networks Fixed 100% of population 369 voice service providers Mobile GSM 96% of population 3 carrier networks CDMA 98% of population 1 carrier networks 3G 98.8% of population* 3 networks (shared between 4 mobile carriers) Broadband 4 carriers with metropolitan and regional HFC cable 2.6 million homes centre networks 19 carriers with active DSLAM installations ADSL 91% of population in metropolitan and regional centres Selected metropolitan and Wireless 204 wireless broadband service providers regional areas Satellite 100% of population 41 satellite service providers * Telstra data

Number of services (at 30 June, unless noted otherwise) 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Mobile 16.48 m 18.42 m 19.76 m 21.26 m Fixed voice 11.66 m 11.46 m 11.26 m 10.92 m Number of payphones 64,803 61,735 58,230 49,862 Internet 5.2 m1 5.98 m2 5.95 m** 6.43 m** Narrowband 4.34 m1 4.2 m2 2.78 m** 2.09 m3** Broadband 0.86 m 1.8 m 3.16 m** 4.33 m3** * Refers to terrestrial mobile services only; does not include satellite services. ** Includes only ISPs with more than 10,000 subscribers. 1 At 31 March 2004. 2 At 31 March 2005. 3 At 31 March 2007.

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Telecommunications (continued)

Mobile services, 30 June 2007* Mobile services in operation as a proportion of the Australian population 107% GSM** 15.33 m CDMA 1.362 m 3G 4.56 m Total 21.26 m * Refers to terrestrial mobile services only; does not include satellite services. ** Does not include Telstra, Vodafone or Hutchison ‘3’ wholesale services.

Fixed services 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Geographic numbers allocated by ACMA 0.66 m 10.76 m 0.99 m 3.24 m Services covered by the Customer Service Guarantee 9.33 m 8.96 m 8.71 m 7.91 m

Financial information

Commercial broadcasting services 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 $m $m $m Commercial television Revenue 3,724 4,119 3,990 Expenditure 3,133 3,542 3,623 Net assets 5,097 5,821 5,580 Licence fees 225.2 251.2 254.6 Commercial radio* Revenue 853 945 998 Expenditure 724 755 791 Net assets 1,282 1,394 1,477 Licence fees** 17.9 20.3 21.3 * All results exclude non-BSB services. ** Includes both BSB and non-BSB services.

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Financial information (continued)

Radiocommunications apparatus licence fee revenue Revenue2006–07 Type of licence $m GSM 900 61.6 Fixed 39.4 Land mobile 16.9 Defence spectrum 6.7 Satellite licence types 4.1 Non assigned 0.7 Other 3.6 Total 133.0

Spectrum licence auction revenue Revenue in 2006–07 $0.97 million

Mobile services retail revenue Revenue in 2006–07 $10.2 billion (source: ACIL Tasman, from carrier data).

Universal service obligation subsidy Total 2006–07 $157.7 million

Telecommunications revenue 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Total eligible revenue of carriers $22.9 b $23.7 b $24.1 b $24.7 b n/a* Revenue from carrier licence charges $29.6 m $30.4 m $34.3 m $55.4 m $33.7 m * 2006–07 data not yet available.

Telephone number revenue, 2007 Revenue from smartnumbers® auctions $27 m Revenue from annual numbering charges $60 m

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Investigations

Broadcasting Number of investigations resulting in breaches, by type of service* 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Commercial TV 18 13 32 13 11 Subscription narrowcast TV – – 2 – – Open narrowcasting TV 4 – – – – Subscription broadcasting TV – – – – 1 ABC TV – 1 5 – 4 SBS TV 1 – 2 – 1 Community TV – – 1 – 8 Commercial radio 2 6 7 3 10 Community radio 24 6 9 18 13 Open narrowcasting radio 2 1 – – – ABC radio 1 – 2 – 1 Total 52 27 60 34 49 * Breaches of codes of practice and/or licence conditions. Note: Before 1 July 2005, investigations were conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

Internet Prohibited internet content items actioned*, by location of content host 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Within Australia 26 7 48 18 5 Outside Australia 570 701 857 706 494 *Final take-down notices were issued for Australian-hosted prohibited internet content. Overseas-hosted prohibited or potentially prohibited items were referred to the makers of internet software filters.

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Anti-spam update Australia’s position as a ‘spam relaying’ country (Feb 2004) 10th in the world Australia’s position as a ‘spam relaying’ country (2006–07) 28th in the world Number of businesses required by ACMA to comply with the 626 Spam Act 2003 at 30 June 2007 Enforcement actions taken under the Spam Act 2003 5

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Complaint outcomes 2006–07 Substantially in favour of complainant 26.1% Partially in favour of complainant 14.7% Neutral 53.1% Partially in favour of member 2.7% Substantially in favour of member 3.5% Breaches of codes 53,809 possible Established or confirmed code breaches* 348 6,673 (TIO scheme) Complaints resolved at Level 2 or above 192 (MPSI scheme) TIO members 1,231 * Investigated at Levels 2, 3, 4 Source: TIO

The majority of complaints to the TIO are initially classified as Level 1 complaints. If a complaint cannot be resolved at Level 1, either because the TIO determines that the proposed outcome is not fair or reasonable, or because the TIO has not sighted enough evidence to determine whether the proposed outcome is fair or reasonable, a complaint is raised to Level 2. If a complaint is not resolved in a fair and reasonable way at Level 2, the case is escalated to Level 3. Level 3 complaints involve formal investigation and collection of all relevant evidence. A complaint may be escalated to Level 4 if the member has failed to respond to a Level 3 complaint within the required timeframes. A complaint may also be escalated to level 4 if the TIO determines that the outcome of a Level 3 complaint is not fair and reasonable, or the TIO has not sighted enough evidence from the member to determine that an outcome is fair and reasonable.

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The Australian consumer in the communications market For much of the last 100 years, fixed voice services delivered over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) were the single most significant means of voice communications technology. However, the evolution of new technologies and applications such as mobile phones, which provide greater convenience, and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services, which provide cost savings, is facilitating different consumer behaviours and preferences. The value that consumers place on mobility and convenience is demonstrated by the levels of mobile phone ownership—21.26 million mobiles in a population of 19.8 million Australians. The popularity of mobile phones has been at the expense of take-up and usage of PSTN services. The take-up of PSTN fixed voice services is declining, and 40 per cent of consumers report that they use their mobile phone more than their home phone.1 Additionally, 20 per cent of mobile phone owners report that they would consider replacing their home phone with mobile phone services.2 VoIP remains an emerging technology and is yet to experience comparable levels of migration of consumers and usage. While awareness of VoIP services is high (63 per cent), around six per cent of consumers surveyed reported using VoIP services. However, once consumers become more confident with the technology, VoIP is expected to play a more prominent role in the communications market. The increasing accessibility and functionality of the internet is changing other consumer behaviours, as home access to broadband becomes central to meeting consumers’ information, communications and entertainment needs. Internet take-up is increasing, with 79 per cent of households having internet access and 54 per cent with broadband access.3 ACMA’s own research4 suggests that 91 per cent of households with children have internet access, and 76 per cent have broadband. Both the amount of time spent on the internet and the frequency of use have increased rapidly. The average consumer now spends 22.1 minutes online per day, logs onto the internet 6.5 times per week, and views 41 pages per internet session.5 The internet is currently used primarily for email and general information searches. These uses are not bandwidth-intensive. Beyond those baseline activities, greater amounts of bandwidth are used primarily for entertainment purposes, for example, peer-to-peer (P2P) applications, video-sharing websites such as YouTube, and online gaming. The greatest volume of internet traffic is used for streaming video and for P2P file transfer. The increase in time spent online means that consumers are spending less time viewing or listening to traditional news and entertainment media such as television and radio.6 Nonetheless, commercial television remains the dominant form of media in Australia, attracting 14 million viewers per day, with 60 per cent of consumers viewing more than two hours per day.7 ACMA research8 indicates that 40 per cent of children watch TV by themselves for fun, and 26 per cent with others people.

1 Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=35,997. 2 Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=18,799. 3 ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, March 2007 and 3236.0 – Household and Family Projections, Australia, 2001 to 2026. 4 ACMA, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007. 5 Nielsen//NetRatings Netview panel data, quarter ending March 2007. 6 See chapter 8 for a fuller discussion on free-to-air television viewing. 7 PricewaterhouseCoopers, Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2007–2011, June 2007. 8 ACMA, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007.

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Table 2.1 provides additional statistics on consumer usage.

Table 2.1: Usage statistics, 2006–07 Total Source Population Australian population 19.86 million Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census Population aged 14+ years 15.92 million (8 August 2006) Total households 7.14 million Mobile phone Mobile services in 107% Industry data from ACMA take-up operation(as % of population) data request, June 2007 3G mobile services in 23% operation (as % of population) Internet usage – Heavy (8+ times in last week) 35.4% Roy Morgan Single Source, no. of times April 2006–March 2007, Medium (1–7 times in last week) 31.3% accessed 14+ years old, sample=24,315 in last week Light (less than once a week) 16.5% Never accessed the internet 16.8% Commercial TV Heavy (4+ hrs per day) 20.1% Roy Morgan Single Source, viewing – no. April 2006–March 2007, Medium (2–<4 hrs per day) 41.2% of hours on a 14+ years old, sample=24,315 normal Light (<2 hrs per day) 32.0% weekday No commercial TV viewing 6.7% Pay TV Watched in the last 7 days 20.6% Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=24,315 Digital TV Household penetration 29.6 ACMA, Digital Media in of digital terrestrial television Australian Homes 2006 broadcasting Commercial Listened to any commercial 65.2% Roy Morgan Single Source, Radio radio on a normal weekday April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=24,315

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Fixed voice services

Fixed voice take-up Fixed voice service PSTN subscription has declined over the last three financial years, as shown in Figure 2.1. The decline is most pronounced among 18–24 year olds, who are more likely to switch over to alternative services such as mobile phones, VoIP, instant messaging and, to some extent, email.

Figure 2.1: Fixed voice subscription by age, 2004–05 to 2006–07 July 2004 - June 2005 July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 100

40 Percentage Incidence 20

0 14-17 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Total

Age Segment Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2004–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=64,479 The internet is enabling some substitution of traditional long-distance communications with email, instant messaging and VoIP. According to Roy Morgan survey data, 15 per cent of consumers make fewer long-distance calls and 14 per cent make fewer international calls due to their use of the internet.9

VoIP take-up VoIP services are carried over internet protocol (IP)-based infrastructure (such as the internet) and offer cheaper voice carriage than PSTN services. The number of VoIP service providers continues to grow rapidly. In April 2007 there were approximately 242 VoIP service providers,10 compared with 170 in June 2006. While awareness of VoIP is high, uptake remains relatively low.

9 Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=24,315. 10 Market Clarity Database, April 2007—includes 37 calling-card service providers.

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According to Roy Morgan survey data:11 – 63 per cent of respondents reported that they were aware of VoIP services; – six per cent of respondents reported that they were already using VoIP; and – 14 per cent of respondents reported that they are likely to use VoIP in the next 12 months.

ACMA research12 shows that: – 81 per cent of internet users are aware of VoIP; and – 21 per cent of these had actually used the service.

Mobile voice services

Mobile phone ownership13 In 2006–07, mobile phone ownership increased to 81 per cent of consumers, from 79.4 per cent in 2005–06. Ownership increased in all age segments. Mobile phone ownership was highest for 18–34 year olds and lowest for those over 65 years. However, the largest annual increase occurred among those over 65, which suggests that the late adopters are beginning to rapidly adopt mobile telecommunications. ACMA’s research indicates that there is an average of three mobile phones per household for families with children.14

Figure 2.2: Mobile phone ownership trend, 2004–05 to 2006–07 July 2004 - June 2005 July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 100

0 Total 14-17 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65+

Age segment Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2004-March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=64,479

11 Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=24,315. 12 ACMA, Telecommunications Today, September 2007. 13 Note: Mobile phone ownership/usage is slightly different than mobile phone take-up. Mobile phone take-up measures the number of mobile phone connections per 100 people and does not take into account individuals with multiple mobile phone accounts. 14 ACMA, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007.

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3G mobile phone ownership As the mobile phone ownership rate nears saturation, mobile service providers look for growth in the 3G mobile market where consumers are offered faster data rates and greater functionality. There were 4.56 million 3G mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007, which is a notable 192 per cent annual increase. The increase in 3G mobiles has been accompanied by an increase in the use of 3G-type functions, as shown in Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3: Use of 3G phone functions, 2004–06 July 2005 - June 2006 July 2004 - June 2005

Sending or receiving a picture message

Making or receiving a video call/message

Accessing the internet for other information or services

Receiving regular information updates (e.g. sports, weather, traffic reports etc.)

Sending or receiving email

0 5 10 15 20 25 Incident of use (%) Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=35,997 While the use of these 3G-type services is increasing, the primary 3G applications remain voice calls and SMS. The uptake of 3G services is expected to continue. Of the people who currently own or use a mobile phone, 26 per cent agree that they would seriously consider buying a 3G mobile phone. In 2005–06, only 15 per cent of consumers agreed with this statement.15 The rate of growth in 3G mobile phone services was high between 2004–05 and 2005–06 because two new networks (Telstra 3G and Optus 3G networks) began operating. Telstra also announced the 2008 closure of its CDMA network and has been switching existing CDMA customers over to its national 3G network. The opening of two new 3G networks and the CDMA switch-over are two key drivers of an increase in 3G numbers, but at a rate that is not expected to continue into the future.

15 Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=35,997.

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Fixed-to-mobile substitution Fixed-to-mobile substitution is a trend in consumer preference and behaviour where mobile voice services are used more than fixed voice services. Some consumers opt to have no fixed phone services at all. Taken together, the decline of PSTN fixed voice service subscriptions and the increase in mobile services subscriptions indicate that there is some degree of fixed- to-mobile substitution occurring. Attitudinal survey results also indicate fixed-to-mobile substitution trends. According to the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, 40 per cent of consumers agree with the statement ‘I use my mobile phone more than my home phone’, whereas only 37 per cent of consumers agreed with this statement in 2005–06.16 Twenty per cent of mobile phone owners agreed with the statement ‘I would consider replacing my home phone connection with my mobile phone service’. Young adults are more likely to substitute their home phones with a mobile phone, with 29 per cent of 18–24 year olds and 31 per cent of 25–34 year olds agreeing with the above statement.17

Internet services

Internet and broadband take-up The majority of Australian consumers18 are connected to the internet. According to the ABS internet activity survey for March 200719, there were around 6,429,000 active internet subscribers in Australia at the end of March 2007, comprising 5,668,000 household subscribers and 761,000 business and government subscribers. Broadband subscribers comprise 67 per cent (4.3 million) of all internet subscribers in Australia, an increase of approximately 1.2 million since 2005–06.20

Increased availability and take-up of faster internet services The joint ACMA/ACCC report Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2006–07 identified an increase in the provision of fast broadband services, particularly ADSL2+ services.

16 Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=35,997. 17 Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=18,799. 18 Including households, businesses and government subscribers. 19 The ABS internet activity survey for March 2007 surveyed only large and very large ISPs. 20 ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, March 2007.

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Consumers have been taking advantage of these faster broadband services. In 2007, 54 per cent of internet subscribers had connections with average line speeds greater than 1.5 megabits per second (Mbit/s).21 Only a small proportion (16 per cent) had average line speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second (kbit/s) (normally associated with dial-up modem access). This is a significant improvement on 2006, when most customers achieved line speeds of less than 1.5 Mbit/s. The changes in line speeds experienced between 2006 and 2007 are shown in Figure 2.4a and 2.4b.

Figure 2.4a: Achieved internet line speeds, 2006

Up to 56 kbps 30% 57-1499 kbps 30% 1500-2999 kbps 31% 3000+ kbps 8% Unknown 1%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007 Figure 2.4b: Achieved internet line speeds, 2007

Up to 56 kbps 16% 57-1499 kbps 30% 1500-2999 kbps 42% 3000+ kbps 12% Unknown 0%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007

21 In contrast, the ABS reports that 24 per cent of internet subscribers had internet services in excess of 1.5 Mbit/s. This discrepancy is due to the fact that sampling methods differ. What is consistent, however,is a progression of consumers moving from slower internet access to faster internet access.

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Future uptake of broadband Of the four million households that are not yet connected to broadband22, 33 per cent are likely to connect in the next six months and another 40 per cent are unlikely to connect to broadband. Respondents reported that they do not have broadband or do not intend to connect to broadband for the following reasons:23 – Too expensive—33 per cent; – Don’t use the internet enough—28 per cent; – Happy with current connection—14 per cent; and

– Not available in my area24—11 per cent.

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan internet consumers Figure 2.5 shows that households in metropolitan areas are more likely to have an internet connection (65 per cent) and more likely to have a broadband connection (43 per cent) than households in non-metropolitan areas, where 59 per cent of households have an internet connection and 33 per cent of households have broadband. Figure 2.5 also shows the increase in broadband connections since last year. In 2006–07, 38 per cent of consumers had broadband, compared with 29 per cent in 2005–06.

Figure 2.5: Percentage of household internet connection by type of connection and region, 2005–06 to 2006–07 Metropolitan Non-metropolitan Total 70

20 Percentage Incidence

0 Internet connection Broadband Internet connection Broadband at home connection at home at home connection at home July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, households, sample=47,029

22 Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, households, sample=6869, 26.7 per cent don’t know/couldn’t answer. 23 Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, households, sample=7954. 24 Consumers’ perception of availability at their location may not reflect the actual availability of broadband.

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Internet take-up by personal income level Take up of internet and broadband is affected by consumer’s level of income, with higher income earners more likely to have a broadband internet connection. However, as shown in Figure 2.6, since 2004, broadband has become more common across all income categories. In 2006–07, individuals with incomes of less than $15,000 had a broadband take-up rate greater than for individuals earning more than $50,000 in 2004–05.

Figure 2.6: Internet and broadband connection at home, by income, 2004–05 to 2006–07 Under $15,000 $15,000 to $19,999 $20,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $29,999 $30,000 to $39,999 $40,000 to $49,999 $50,000 or more 90

30 Percentage Incidence 20

0 Have an Have a Have an Have a Have an Have a internet broadband internet broadband internet broadband connection connection connection connection connection connection July 2004 - June 2005 July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2004– March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=64,479

Online activity Australians are spending more time online. According to a study by Nielsen//NetRatings about online activity25 in the March 2007 quarter, the average internet user logged on 78 times, spent 44 hours and 17 minutes online, and looked at 3,204 unique web pages (equating to 22.1 minutes online per day, 6.5 internet sessions per week, and 41 pages per internet session). In the quarter ending 1 March 2006, the average internet user logged on 71 times, spent 39 hours and 46 minutes online and looked at 2,816 unique web pages. The Roy Morgan Single Source survey also shows that internet consumers are accessing the internet more frequently. Figure 2.7 shows that the trend towards heavy internet use is increasing, while there is a concurrent reduction or plateauing of light and medium internet use.

25 Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=35,997.

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Figure 2.7: Internet usage levels over time, 2004–05 to 2006–07 July 2004 - June 2005 July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 40

0 Heavy internet Medium internet Light internet Never accessed (8+ times in the (1-7 times in the (less than once the internet last week) last week) a week) Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2004–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=64,479 Duration and frequency of online activity by line speed Internet users tend to engage in longer and more frequent online activity when they have access to higher line speeds, as shown in Table 2.2. Activity increases significantly when consumers move from dial-up speeds (up to 56 kbit/s) to the next line-speed category (57–1,499 kbit/s), indicating that dial-up access is a significant inhibitor of online activity. The subsequent increases in activity are incremental, suggesting that increases in line speeds for broadband internet access are less important than the initial upgrade from dial-up to broadband.

Table 2.2: Online activity by line speed, quarter ending 1 March 2007 Average line speed Pages per person Sessions per person Time per person (hours:mins:secs) Up to 56 kbit/s 1,520 38.6 26:09:47 57–1,499 kbit/s 3,327 81.4 45:45:38 1500–2,999 kbit/s 3,642 86.9 48:46:53 3,000+ kbit/s 3,658 90. 49:45:34 Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found similar results across a wide range of countries. In a paper released in May 2007, the OECD reported that daily internet access using broadband compared with dial-up increased in all 20 European countries surveyed in 2006.26

26 OECD Working Party on the Information Economy, Broadband and ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals, DSTI/ICCP/IE(2007)4/FINAL, forthcoming.

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Duration and frequency of online activity in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas There are some distinct differences in online activity between consumers living in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. During the quarter ending 1 March 2007, metropolitan consumers had an average five more internet sessions than non-metropolitan consumers (80 compared with 75 internet sessions) and spent 3.16 hours longer online (45 hours and 42 minutes in metropolitan areas compared with 42 hours and 31 minutes in non-metropolitan areas) (Table 2.3).

Table 2.3: Metropolitan and non-metropolitan online activity, quarter ending 1 March 2007 Location Pages per person Sessions per person Time per person (hours:mins:secs) Metropolitan 3,347 80 45:42:57 Non-metropolitan 3,027 75 42:31:01 Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007 The disparity between metropolitan and non-metropolitan online activity is partly explained by the line-speed effect discussed previously. Metropolitan consumers generally experienced higher line speeds, with 44 per cent having access to line speeds of 1,500 kbit/s or greater, compared with 32 per cent of non-metropolitan consumers.

Duration and frequency of online activity by age Online activity can be segmented by age group into the following patterns (Table 2.4): – 35–49 year olds spent the most time online, averaging 50 hours and 45 minutes over the quarter; – 2–18 year olds spent the least time online (30 hours and 50 minutes); – 18–34 year olds spent an average of 45 hours and 15 minutes online during the quarter and viewed the most pages per hour (80 pages per hour); and – 50+ year olds spent a long time online, but viewed pages at a slower pace (61.7 pages per hour).

Table 2.4: Online activity by age, quarter ending 1 March 2007 Age bracket Pages per person Sessions per Time per person pages/hour person (hours:mins:secs) Age 2–18 2,264 44.9 30:50:47 73.5 Age 18–34 3,649 73.8 45:15:37 80.6 Age 35–49 3,761 92.4 50:45:00 74.1 Age 50–99 2,978 96.4 48:22:04 61.7 Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007

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Online content and media activity According to Roy Morgan Single Source data (April 2006–March 2007), consumers most commonly used the internet for applications that do not require high levels of bandwidth —email, followed by online banking, web browsing, bill payment and news (Figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8: Consumer internet use by application, April 2006–March 2007

Banking transactions

General browsing/surfing

Paying bills

News information

Weather information

Instant messaging

Downloading music

Playing games

Job hunting

Downloading tv programs/movies

Downloading podcasts/video clips

010 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Incident of use (%) Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=38,653 According to Nielsen//NetRatings, Google was the most popular website, reaching 92 per cent of internet users.27 This is not surprising, given that Google is a globally recognised online brand and is often the first port of call for people wishing to search for online content or engage in many different internet activities. Wikipedia was another of the most popular websites, indicating the increasing popularity and prevalence of user-generated content. Nielsen//NetRatings research also reveals that consumers are spending more time on activities such as buying and selling over the internet (for example, using eBay) and online social- networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Over the quarter ending March 2007, the average internet user spent about three hours and 44 minutes on classifieds/auction sites and two hours and 25 minutes on social networking sites.

Bandwidth-intensive recreational online activities The main uses of the internet generally promote more efficient ways of communicating, finding information and accessing services. Although entertainment and recreational activities such as downloading music, television shows or podcasts, and playing games are not as widespread (see Figure 2.8), they are bandwidth-intensive and account for the majority of internet traffic.

27 Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007.

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Online entertainment and media activity When consumers access the internet for media and entertainment, they are likely to download music. Music downloads are the most common online multimedia activity, with 53 per cent of consumers having downloaded music at least once and 27 per cent downloading music regularly. Downloading and streaming video content is less common, with only 34 per cent of users having downloaded or streamed video and about 12 per cent doing so regularly28 (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9: Proportion of internet users engaging in online media activity, quarter ending 1 March 2007 Regulary Ever done

Download music/audio

Downloading video

Watching streaming video

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Incident of use (%) Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007 Consumers are beginning to watch video content online, primarily in the form of short video clips. When it comes to watching movies, people still prefer to use traditional media such as television and rental DVDs. Only one per cent of consumers regularly downloads a movie or uses an online movie on-demand service. Online movie viewing is limited because it requires high-speed broadband plans with high-download quotas, which are not yet widespread in Australia.

Impact on traditional media People are spending more time online and are forgoing, to a small extent, traditional media outlets such as television and radio. In 2006–07, people using the internet were asked if their uses affected other activities. Nearly 17 per cent reported that they watch less television and 12 per cent listen to the radio less often.29 The appeal of online activity is that it is interactive, whereas television and radio are passive. Figures 2.10 and 2.11 show that the use of commercial television and radio is slowly declining. Refer to Chapter 8 for a discussion in greater depth on this subject.

28 Nielsen//NetRatings, NetView, home audience data from panel measurement, Australia, quarter ending 1 March 2007. 29 Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2006–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=24,315.

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Figure 2.10: Trends in commercial television use, July 2004–March 2007 July 2004 - June 2005 July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 45

15 Percentage Incidence 10

0 Heavy commercial TV Medium commercial TV Light commercial TV No commercial TV (4+ hours per day) (2-<4 hours per day) (<2 hours per day) viewing Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2004–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=64,479 Figure 2.11: Trends in commercial radio use, July 2004–March 2007 July 2004 - June 2005 July 2005 - June 2006 April 2006 - March 2007 45

15 Percentage Incidence 10

0 Heavy Medium Light No commercial commercial radio commercial radio commercial radio radio listening (4+ hours per day) (2-<4 hours per day) (<2 hours per day) Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2004–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample=64,479

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Consumer satisfaction and complaints

Customer satisfaction with telecommunications services The following consumer satisfaction survey data (Tables 2.5 and 2.6) is sourced from Roy Morgan Research Single Source and covers two time periods, July 2005 to June 2006 and April 2006 to March 2007. This data shows that the majority of consumers are happy with their communications services and are unlikely to switch their current services to a different provider.

Table 2.5: Consumer satisfaction with telecommunications services, July 2005–March 2007 Exceeded my Mostly met my Sometimes met Rarely met my expectations expectations my expectations expectations July April July April July April July April 2005– 2006– 2005– 2006– 2005– 2006– 2005– 2006– June March June March June March June March 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 Local telephone 8.20% 8.70% 73.30% 73.70% 13.50% 13.10% 4.90% 4.50% company STD telephone 7.50% 7.80 74.70% 74.90% 13.20 12.80% 4.60% 4.50% company International telephone 7.10% 8.00% 74.30% 73.80% 13.40% 13.00% 5.30% 5.20% company Mobile phone 9.90% 9.50% 72.10% 73.70 13.40% 12.40% 4.60 4.40% service provider Internet service 11.20% 9.90% 68.90 71.50% 15.30% 14.00% 4.60% 4.50% provider Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample= 46,585

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Table 2.6: Consumer switching behaviour, July 2005–March 2007 Respondents were asked ‘How likely would you be to switch companies, if you were able to buy that service from another company?’ Excludes ‘no answer’ and ‘doesn’t apply’ Very or fairly likely Neither likely nor Very or fairly unlikely to switch (%) unlikely to switch (%) to switch (%) July 2005– April 2006– July 2005– April 2006– July 2005– April 2006– June 2006 March 2007 June 2006 March 2007 June 2006 March 2007 Local telephone 13.2% 13.0% 27.9% 27.4% 58.8% 59.6% company STD telephone 12.8% 12.6% 28.3% 27.7% 58.9% 59.7% company International 11.5% 11.5% 29.1% 28.3% 59.5% 60.2% telephone company Mobile phone 13.9% 13.2% 28.2% 25.7% 57.9% 61.1% service provider Internet service 16.5% 15.7% 38.3% 26.0% 55.2% 58.3% provider Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, July 2005–March 2007, 14+ years old, sample= 46,585

Telecommunications consumer complaints and code breaches Australia has three bodies with responsibilities for taking consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services: the ACCC, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), and the Telephone Information Service Standards Council (TISSC). ACMA’s role is to take action on systemic issues affecting telecommunication consumers, rather than individual complaints. A key premise of the communications legislation is that service providers should, within the legislated policy settings, take responsibility for their relationships with their customers or audiences. Self-regulation involves development of codes of practice by industry, with industry managing code compliance. Industry codes may be submitted to ACMA for registration under the relevant legislation. This introduces a co-regulatory model, where ACMA can take action to enforce compliance with a registered code, such as investigating reported non-compliance or issuing directions. The TIO manages a member-funded scheme providing for the resolution of disputes between residential and small business customers and their carriers and CSPs. Carriers and CSPs, including ISPs, are required to be members of the scheme. ACMA and the TIO have a close working relationship to give force to the self-regulation goal of the Telecommunications Act. In 2006–07, the TIO recorded 156,802 complaint issues about fixed, mobile and internet services, an increase of 23 per cent on 2005–06 and 130.5 per cent over the past three years (see Appendix 2.4 for detailed TIO complaints data). This increase is dominated by a 109 per cent rise in complaints about internet services. In addition, the TIO handled complaints under the Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme for the first time during 2006–07 (see Chapter 4).

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Australian Competition and Consumer Commission The ACCC administers the Trade Practices Act 1974. This includes telecommunications- specific anti-competitive conduct provisions under Part XIB and the telecommunications access regime under Part XIC, including the declaration of services, the arbitration of disputes and the development of pricing principles for declared services. In 2006–07, the ACCC received 6,963 complaints about communications issues relating to the Trade Practices Act. The source of these complaints is displayed in Figure 2.12.

Figure 2.12 Communications complaints to the ACCC, 2006–07

Wired telecommunications network operation 4,449 Other telecommunications networks 892 Other telecommunications services 242 Internet service providers and web search portals 1,224 Pay television operation 156

Source: ACCC data The ACCC changed its methodology for categorising complaints during 2006–07, which means that it is not possible to make valid comparisons with complaints data from previous years.

Telephone Information Services Standards Council The Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC) is an industry body that sets standards for and handles complaints about the content and advertising of premium rate services, which are accessed using a telephone number beginning with 190. Premium rate services can be accessed by voice or fax, and include telephone counselling, psychic lines and telephone sex services. The role of TISSC is not defined under the legislation administered by ACMA, but is instead defined through agreements between Telstra, as the provider of billing services for premium rate services, and the providers of premium rate services.

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Figure 2.13 shows the number of complaints resolved by TISSC about content and advertising between 2002–03 and 2006–07. The continued decrease since 2002–03 and 2003–04 reflects the effects of regulatory measures to restrict internet diallers (which automatically re-routed calls to 190 numbers) and the migration of some voice and fax premium rate services to mobile premium services.

Figure 2.13: Premium services complaints resolved by TISSC, 2001–02 to 2006–07 3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: TISSC In 2006–07, TISSC found that 366 services were in breach of its code of practice. The categories of content breaches are illustrated in Figure 2.14.

Figure 2.14: Premium rate services – breaches of TISSC code, 2006–07

False, misleading or out of date content 26% Adult content on open access 1902 number prefix 18% Absense of information about call duration warning signal at start of times service 14% Absence of 5 minute call duration warning 9% Unnecessary delay on service 8% Other 25%

Source: TISSC The major category of advertising breaches was the omission of service provider identification (either single or multiple services) in advertising, as illustrated in Figure 2.15.

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Figure 2.15: Premium rate services – categories of advertising breaches, 2006–07

Lack of prominent, clear, correct of legible call cost 20% Lack of service/content provider details (single service) 20% Lack of service/content provider details (multiple services) 11% Lack of warning about higher mobile charges 12% Misleading/deceptive claims 11% Other 26%

Source: TISSC

Industry compliance with telecommunications codes

Telecommunications codes – development and review Under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act, ACMA registers codes developed by industry bodies. At 30 June 2007, ACMA had registered 27 telecommunications codes, comprising: – 24 codes developed by the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF), which is now a division of Communications Alliance (see Appendix 2.2 for details of ACIF code activity in 2006–07); – the Cabling Requirements for Business Code, developed by the Cabling Industry Committee; – the Australian eMarketing Code of Practice, developed by the Australian Direct Marketing Association; and – the Internet Industry Spam Code of Practice, developed by the Internet Industry Association (IIA) with the Western Australian and South Australian Internet Associations.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Of the 156,802 complaint issues recorded by the TIO in 2006–07, 54,157 related to ACIF codes, representing an increase of 162 per cent on 2005–06 and up 700 per cent since 2004–05. Apart from the rise in internet service complaints, there was also a large increase in complaints related to the Complaint Handling Code. This reflects the approach taken by the TIO, where complainants are asked whether they were referred to the TIO by their provider if they were dissatisfied with outcome of their complaint (see Appendix 2.4).

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Communications Alliance, the peak communications industry association, notes that the total number of code-related complaints, relative to the total number of services in operation, remains below 0.05 per cent per quarter. The number of confirmed code breaches remains low and has recently fallen, as demonstrated in Figure 2.16.

Figure 2.16: Quarterly TIO possible and confirmed code breaches, June 2004–June 2007 Possible Confirmed 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 07 The TIO confirmed a total of 348 ACIF code breaches in 2006–07, down 49.4 per cent on the 688 breaches in 2005–06. Figure 2.17 shows the distribution of these complaints by code. In part, this reflects a change in practice, where the TIO stopped investigating code breaches at level 2 from 1 July 2006. This means that code breaches can only be confirmed for complaints investigated at levels 3 and 4. Appendix 2.4 contains an explanation of the TIO complaint levels.

Figure 2.17: Confirmed ACIF code breaches, 2006–07

Complaint handling 29% Billing 28% Customer information on prices, terms and conditions 14% Customer transfer 12% Credit management 11% Other 6% Source: TIO data

30 The majority of complaints to the TIO are initially classified as Level 1 complaints. If a complaint cannot be resolved at Level 1, either because the TIO determines that the proposed outcome is not fair or reasonable, or because the TIO has not sighted enough evidence to determine whether the proposed outcome is fair or reasonable, a complaint is raised to Level 2. If a complaint is not resolved in a fair and reasonable way at Level 2, the case is escalated to Level 3. Level 3 complaints involve formal investigation and collection of all relevant evidence. A complaint may be escalated to Level 4 if the member has failed to respond to a Level 3 complaint within the required timeframes. A complaint may also be escalated to level 4 if the TIO determines that the outcome of a Level 3 complaint is not fair and reasonable, or the TIO has not sighted enough evidence from the member to determine that an outcome is fair and reasonable.

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The TIO has noted several trends in the complaints it received over the 2006–07 year.

Customer service Complaints about customer service comprised just over 15 per cent of all issues raised with the TIO in 2006–07. No direct comparison to customer service issues in the 2005–06 financial year is possible because customer service complaints in that period also included issues related to complaint handling. Despite a decline for fixed-line and mobile telecommunications suppliers, complaint numbers related to wait times for customer service continued to be an issue for internet suppliers, with over 4,000 such complaints recorded. While one ISP accounted for the majority of these complaints, internet suppliers are still over-represented in this category. Complaints relating to claims of receipt of incorrect or inadequate advice are also of concern, with more than 10,000 such complaints recorded. Similarly, the TIO recorded approximately 8,500 complaints relating to an alleged failure to action a request. The increasing prevalence of bundling of contracted services and discounted products, where the discount is dependent on the take-up of multiple products, has contributed to the high number of complaints relating to incorrect or inadequate advice. Complaint handling Many of the complaints about this category relate to claims that a supplier failed to action undertakings made to a customer. Nearly 4,000 complaints of this nature were received in 2006–07, accounting for almost 20 per cent of internet, landline and mobile complaints in this category. More than 10 per cent of all complaints issues recorded related to the alleged failure of suppliers to refer dissatisfied customers with unresolved complaints to the TIO. Credit management The overall proportion of credit management complaints has decreased substantially in the 2006–07 financial year. This is not due to a decrease in credit management complaints, which did not fluctuate from 2005–06 to 2006–07, but rather to increases in complaints received in other categories. Complaints relating to the credit management of mobile services accounted for approximately half of all credit management complaints. More than 25 per cent of mobile credit management complaints and more than 20 per cent of fixed-line credit management complaints related to over-commitment and the alleged failure of suppliers to negotiate, or re-negotiate, a reasonable payment arrangement that took into account the individual circumstances of the customer. Customer transfer There was a significant increase in the number of complaints involving the transfer of internet services. In 2005–06, the TIO received 213 complaints about the transfer of an internet service. In 2006–07, this increased to 741, almost half of which related to a transfer delay. Mobile transfer complaints this year also largely related to delay. At almost 20 per cent of landline transfer complaints, transfer delay was also a large contributor to this category.

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Billing and payments Complaints relating to billing and payments remain the largest source of complaint to the TIO, accounting for 22.9 per cent of all complaints received in 2006–07. Direct debiting of payments has emerged as a large source of concern, and it appears to be an issue for all service types, particularly for internet accounts. Approximately one third of internet direct- debit complaints related to unauthorised direct debits, and almost half to direct debits not being cancelled on request. One ISP accounted for 60 per cent of all internet direct debit complaints, with the next highest accounting for 10 per cent, which suggests that the issue is not widespread across the internet industry. Faults Complaints about mobile phone handset faults accounted for nearly 70 per cent of mobile faults and 10 per cent of all mobile complaint issues recorded in 2006–07 by the TIO. Internet faults issues more than doubled in 2006–07. Direct comparison with 2005–06 data is not possible due to the changes to the keywords used by the TIO. Fixed-line faults complaints represented almost 25 per cent of faults complaints recorded by the TIO in 2006–07. Contracts Complaints about mobile phone service contracts continued to represent the majority of contract complaints received by the TIO, and the actual number of complaints received about mobile contracts remained similar to that of 2005–06. The biggest change was in internet service contract complaints, which increased by almost 150 per cent. Complaints about variations to existing contracts increased across all service types and now account for one quarter of all contract complaints. The spread of contract variation complaints is roughly even across all service types. This is in part a reflection of the industry’s movement towards the bundling of contracts. Service connections The majority of complaints received about service connections involved internet or fixed-line telephone services, with mobile phone service connections representing only a small percentage of the total service connection complaints received. Complaints about internet service connection increased by more than 90 per cent on the 2005–06 financial year. Complaints about the connection of fixed-line telephone services increased by approximately 20 per cent from 2005–06. Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme From 1 December 2006, the TIO began taking complaints as the escalated complaint- handling body for the Mobile Premium Services Industry (MPSI) Scheme. Since then, the TIO has recorded 6,894 complaints under the scheme, with a total of 10,083 complaint issues. Complaint numbers for mobile premiums services have trended downwards since March 2007.

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Approximately 60 per cent of MPSI complaints related to claims that charges were incurred for services that were not requested. Almost 10 per cent related to a supplier either not actioning, or refusing to action, an ‘opt out’ request.

Broadcasting complaints

Broadcasting industry codes The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 requires industry groups responsible for representing the various broadcasting industries to develop codes of practice applicable to that section of the industry in consultation with ACMA. The various sectors of the broadcasting industry and the national broadcasters (the ABC and SBS) have codes of practice that cover most aspects of program content, including: – classification (the portrayal of violence, sex and nudity, language, drugs and suicide); – discriminatory material; – accuracy and fairness in news and current affairs; and – the handling of complaints. ACMA may register broadcasting industry codes under section 123 of the Broadcasting Services Act. While ACMA investigates complaints about non-compliance with the codes of the national broadcasters, it does not register these codes.

Broadcasting code complaints and investigations ACMA provides an escalated complaints handling mechanism for matters relating to broadcasting codes. ACMA is required to investigate complaints about broadcasters that relate to possible non-compliance with a code, if the complainants: – have directed their complaints directly to the broadcaster in the first instance; and – consider the broadcaster’s response to be inadequate or a response has not been received within 60 days. Complaints about alleged breaches of the legislation or licence conditions may be made directly to ACMA, which is required to investigate them. Broadcasting code complaints and investigations 2001–02 to 2005–06 ACMA tracks the number and details of complaints it receives by phone and in writing (including those made using a complaint form available on the ACMA website). The total number of complaints received in 2006–07 (telephone and written) was similar to the number received in 2005–06 (see Table 2.7). The received complaints do not necessarily progress into investigations because the complaints may be outside ACMA’s jurisdiction or are beyond the 60-day time frame for complaints. ACMA also reports annually on the number and details of investigations completed. Of the 136 investigations completed in 2006–07, 63 per cent resulted in a finding of no breach.

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Table 2.7 ACMA broadcasting complaints and investigations, 2002–03 to 2006–07

2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 No. of telephone complaints 1,574 1,999 2,219 578 444 No. of written complaints 586 699 684 737 886 No. of investigations completed 106 106 153 142 136 No. of investigations resulting 50 27 59 34 45 in breach finding No. of investigations resulting 56 79 94 108 91 in non-breach finding Source: ACMA

Radiofrequency interference complaints ACMA investigates complaints about radiofrequency interference with the operation of radiocommunications equipment by industry and consumers. Interference is divided into two categories: domestic systems interference and radiocommunications interference.

Domestic systems interference Domestic systems interference refers to interference to the reception of radio or television broadcasting, usually in domestic premises. It also encompasses audio interference caused by nearby radio transmitters, such as those used by citizen band or amateur radio operators, or from other radio services with a transmitter located nearby.

Table 2.8 Domestic systems interference – complaints, 2006–07

Activity Number of households affected Domestic systems interference 2,438 Type of affected service Number of services affected Both radio and TV 7 Radio 13 TV 60 Terrestrial analog radio 118 Terrestrial analog TV 396 Terrestrial digital radio 25 Terrestrial digital TV 160 Total 779 Note: One ACMA compliance activity can have multiple affected services.

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Table 2.9: Domestic systems interference – sources of interference, 2006–07

Interference source Number of ACMA compliance activities Internal combustion engine 1 Pulsed devices 6 Industrial equipment 7 Computer equipment 8 Site infrastructure excluding Tx/Rx equipment 10 Transmitter – class licence 10 Lighting devices 17 Receiver 18 Transmitter – apparatus licence 24 Electrical infrastructure 43 Household equipment excluding computers 54 No source – ACMA provided advice only 67 Masthead/distribution amplifier 87 Unknown 100 Summary 452 Note: No source was entered if advice only was provided by ACMA. Table 2.10: ACMA enforcement actions for domestic systems interference complaints, 2006–07 Type of compliance Number of Section of Section description enforcement action enforcement Radiocommunications actions Act 1992 Advice notice (RF 169) 1 197 Causing interference 1 46 Unlicensed operation of radiocommunication devices

35 197 Causing interference Warning notice 1 113 Contravention of (RF 168) conditions 6 197 Causing interference etc.

Total 44

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Radiocommunications interference Radiocommunications interference is interference affecting a radiocommunications receiver that may be typically used in commercial, public, safety and recreational services.

Table 2.11: Radiocommunications interference – types of service affected, 2006–07 Type of affected service Number of ACMA compliance activities General 266 CDMA mobile 111 Emergency position indicating radio beacon 69 GSM mobile 54 Telstra Next G™ mobile (3G 850 MHz) 53 Public protection 46 Non-assigned 22 Amateur 19 3G mobile 3 3G mobile (not 800 MHz) 3 Total 646 Note: Each complaint has only one type of affected service. Table 2.12: Radiocommunications interference – sources of interference, 2006–07

Interference source Number of ACMA compliance activities Unknown 173 Transmitter—apparatus licence 145 Transmitter—class licence 116 Masthead/distribution amplifier 100 Transmitter unlicensed 28 Receiver 23 Transmitter—spectrum licence 14 Site infrastructure excluding Tx/Rx equipment 11 Electrical infrastructure 10 Household equipment excluding computers 9 Lighting devices 8 Foreign vessel 4 Industrial equipment 3 Computer equipment 1 Foreign country 1 Total 646

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Table 2.13: ACMA enforcement action for radiocommunications interference complaints, 2006–07 Type of Number of Legislation Section Section description compliance enforcement enforcement actions action Advice Notice 5 Radiocommunications 113 Contravention of (RF169) Act 1992 conditions 3 Radiocommunications 194 Interference likely to Act 1992 endanger safety or cause loss or damage 2 Radiocommunications 197 Causing interference Act 1992 76 Radiocommunications 197 Causing interference Act 1992 1 Radiocommunications 197 Causing interference Act 1992 13 Radiocommunications 46 Unlicensed operation Act 1992 of radiocommunication devices Warning notice 7 Radiocommunications 113 Contravention of (RF168) Act 1992 conditions 1 Radiocommunications 192 Interference likely to Act 1992 prejudice safe operation of vessels, aircraft or space objects 1 Radiocommunications 193 Interference to certain Act 1992 radiocommunications 35 Radiocommunications 197 Causing interference Act 1992 3 Radiocommunications 46 Unlicensed operation Act 1992 of radiocommunication devices 27 Radiocommunications 46 Unlicensed operation Act 1992 of radiocommunication devices 1 Radiocommunications 47 Unlawful possession of Act 1992 radiocommunications devices 3 Telecommunications 411 Connection of customer Act 1997 equipment or customer cabling. – breach of section 376 standards Total 178

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Further information about consumers and consumer protection

www.acma.gov.au/commsreport

Appendixes 2.1 Consumer and audience usage statistics 2.2 ACIF code activity in 2006–07 2.3 Telecommunications complaints to the ACCC 2.4 Complaints to the TIO 2.5 Radiocommunications complaints

Data Updates – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Catalogue 8153.0 Internet Activity Survey, March 2007 – Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census of Population and Housing – ACMA, Digital Media in Australian Homes 2006 – ACMA register of telecommunications codes – ACMA reports on breaches of broadcasting codes – television operations (investigations, regularly updated) – ACMA reports on investigations into potential breaches by licensees (radio) – Commercial Radio Australia national surveys, www.commercialradio.com.au – Oztam (Australian Television Audience Measurement) Television Ratings Guide (regular reporting for rating periods), www.oztam.com.au – TIO Talks (quarterly newsletter including complaint statistics) – TISSC complaints summary (quarterly)

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Documents – Australian Broadcasting Authority (now ACMA), Understanding Community Attitudes to Radio Content, October 2003 – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Measures of a Knowledge-based Economy and Society, Australia 2003 – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Population Projections, Australia, 2004 to 2101 – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household and Family Projections, Australia, 2001 to 2026 – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Social Trends, 2006 – ACMA, Consumer Satisfaction Survey 2005, November 2005 – ACMA, Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006 – Lifelounge Pty Ltd, Urban Market Report™ 2006

Organisations Advertising Standards Bureau (www.advertisingstandardsbureau.com.au) Australian Broadcasting Corporation (www.abc.net.au) Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au) Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (www.amta.org.au) Australian Narrowcast Radio Association (www.anra.org.au) Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (www.astra.org.au) Commercial Radio Australia (www.commercialradio.com.au) Communications Alliance (www.commsalliance.com.au) Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (www.cbaa.org.au) Free TV Australia (www.freetvaust.com.au) Internet Industry Association (www.iia.net.au) NetAlert Limited (www.netalert.gov.au) Nielsen//Net Ratings (www.nielsen-netratings.com) Roy Morgan Research (www.roymorgan.com.au) Special Broadcasting Service (www.sbs.org.au) Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (www.tio.com.au) Telephone Information Services Standards Council (www.tissc.com.au)

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Traditionally, each sector of the Australian communications industry has a distinct industry structure and regulatory policies. Separate Acts of Parliament and, until recently, separate regulators reflected those inherent distinctions. The free-to-air broadcasting industry has no contractual relationship with its audience, whereas the telecommunications and internet industry is based on provider/customer relationships. The focus of broadcasting regulation has been on content and its ownership/control, and little focus on the supply of services. Telecommunications regulation in contrast has a great deal of attention paid to where and how services are supplied. These factors are reflected in how each industry’s performance is measured and reported. However, in a converging communications industry, new measures of performance will be required to match the emerging technologies and services.

The Australian telecommunications industry 2006–07 was an important year in the ongoing development of the Australian telecommunications industry. Industry developments and changes to consumer behaviour have shown the increasing importance of the internet in the lives of Australian consumers, changing the way Australians communicate with one another, undertake commercial transactions such as paying bills or shopping online and spend their leisure time. Australian consumers now have greater access to third generation (3G) mobile networks, with all four mobile phone carriers operating 3G networks upgraded to the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) protocol. Broadband (non-dial-up) service take-up increased from 3.1 million to 4.3 million subscribers between June 2006 and March 2007, with the increased take-up largely a result of consumers migrating from dial-up to non-dial-up services.1 Broadband services have been the focus of attention, as commercial and government interests explore further opportunities for the development of broadband services in Australia. In June 2007 the Government established an Expert Taskforce to develop and manage an assessment process for the roll-out of new commercial open access high speed broadband network infrastructure in capital cities and major regional centres. In regional Australia, the Australia Connected program announced by the Australian Government aims to provide 99 per cent of the population with access to broadband by June 2009. This will be provided using a mix of technologies including ADSL2+ and WiMAX broadband services. At 30 June 2007, there were 169 licensed telecommunications carriers, and 1,231 carriage service providers (CSPs) registered with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. Using data gathered for the universal service obligation (USO) eligible revenue calculation, the telecommunications industry revenue is estimated at approximately $24.6 billion.

1 ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, June 2006 and March 2007. Total subscriber numbers may be underestimated as surveys are based on ISPs with 10,000 or more subscribers.

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Fixed line telephones There have traditionally been three main models for supplying fixed line telephone services in Australia: – direct connect—customers are connected directly to a carrier’s network; – access-based—CSPs use their own network in combination with services provided by other carriers; and – resale—CSPs purchase end-to-end wholesale telecommunications services and resell to retail customers. These traditional models are being challenged today by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, which provide fixed-line telephone services across digital data or broadband networks instead of the traditional circuit-based analog networks. VoIP networks have had an impact on the corporate market, where it is increasingly common for voice and data services to be carried over common network infrastructures, and are becoming widespread in the small-to-medium enterprise and residential markets. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to reliably estimate the number of fixed-line services in operation. ACMA received information from nine carriage service providers—AAPT, Neighbourhood Cable, Optus, Powertel, Primus, Soul, SwifTel, Telstra and TransAct—about their supply of the standard telephone service (STS) in 2006–07. These CSPs supplied the vast majority of residential and business STSs in 2006–07. Based on their responses, ACMA estimates that there were approximately 10.92 million fixed-line telephone services in operation, a 2.9 per cent reduction since 30 June 2006.

Table 3.1: Number of fixed-line telephone services in operation (million), 2004–05 to 2006–07 All CSPs 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Retail (own network) 9.38 8.75 8.69 Wholesale 2.08 2.50 2.23 Total 11.46 11.25 10.92 Telstra services only 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Residential (retail) 5.59 5.46 5.53 Business (retail) 2.45 2.32 2.25 Wholesale 2.08 2.16 1.98 Total 10.12 9.94 9.76 Source: ACMA

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Fixed voice market participants An estimated2 369 fixed-line voice service providers are operating in Australia. Of these, 166 offer services over the conventional public switched telephone network (PSTN) and 242 offer VoIP-based services (with 74 companies providing both PSTN and VoIP services).

VoIP market While specific VoIP providers were not included in ACMA’s data request to industry, survey data collected on behalf of ACMA by Woolcott Research indicates that about 15 per cent of survey respondents had used a VoIP service in the past 12 months. A number of VoIP providers are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the information they provide to the ASX provides some insight into growth in the VoIP market. Engin reported that it had 58,000 paying subscriber lines at the end of December 20063, while Mynetfone reported 35,000 subscribers at the end of June 2007.4

Mobile phone services There were 21.26 million mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007, up from 19.76 million the year before, an increase of 7.6 per cent (this refers to terrestrial mobile services only and does not include satellite services). For the first time, there is more than one mobile service in operation for every person in Australia. Strong competition in the mobile industry has made mobile phones and mobile plans cheaper, facilitating the trend in greater mobile phone use. The ubiquity of mobile plans with no up-front payment for handsets and the prevalence of capped mobile plans have also contributed to this trend.

Pre-paid and post-paid services There were 10.15 million pre-paid and 10.65 million post-paid mobile phone services at 30 June 2007.

Table 3.2: Number of mobile phone services in Australia (million), 2005–06 and 2006–07*

2005–06 2006–07 Pre-paid 9.7 10.15 Post-paid 9.6 10.65 Total 19.3 20.80 *Does not include Telstra, Vodafone or Hutchison‘3’ wholesale services. Therefore totals do not equate to those quoted elsewhere in this report.

2 Market Clarity Database, April 2007. 3 Engin, Half-year results, December 2006, slide 2. 4 Media release to ASX, 5 July 2007.

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3G market growth There were approximately 4.56 million 3G mobile services in Australia at 30 June 2007, an increase of 192 per cent from 1.56 million at 30 June 2006. Take-up figures have been affected by Telstra’s plan to close its CDMA network.

3G data rates All four mobile carriers upgraded their 3G networks to the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) protocol during 2006–07. Depending on network configuration, HSDPA can provide download speeds of up to 14.4 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 1.9 Mbit/s.

Satellite services Satellite mobile services are provided by Iridium, Globalstar, MobileSat, Inmarsat, Optus and Telstra. ACMA does not collect industry-wide data for satellite services.

Internet Internet take-up According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey of Internet Activity, Australia had 6.43 million internet subscribers (dial-up and non-dial-up) at 31 March 2007. This comprised 761,000 business and government subscribers, and 5.67 million household subscribers. There were 4.34 million non-dial-up (or broadband) subscribers, and 2.09 million dial-up subscribers.5 Consumers continue to migrate to non-dial-up services, with non-dial-up subscribers increasing by 16 per cent between September 2006 and March 2007, and dial-up subscribers decreasing by 16 per cent. Non-dial-up subscribers now comprise more than two thirds of Australia’s internet subscribers—67 per cent at March 2007, compared with 60 per cent at September 2006. Consumers continue to upgrade to higher non-dial-up download speeds, with 1.56 million subscribers using a 1.5 Mbit/s or greater service, compared with 1.09 million subscribers at the end of September 2006, an increase of 43 per cent in six months.

Table 3.3: Internet subscribers by bandwidth of connection, March 2007

Total internet subscribers Number of subscribers (000) % of subscribers Less than 256 kbit/s 2,097 33 256 kbit/s to less than 512 kbit/s 1,399 22 512 kbit/s to less than 1.5 Mbit/s 1,376 21 1.5 Mbit/s or greater 1,556 24 Total all access speeds 6,429 100 Source: ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, March 2007

5 ABS, 8153.0 – Internet Activity, Australia, June 2006 and March 2007. Total subscriber numbers may be underestimated as surveys are based on ISPs with 10,000 or more subscribers.

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As more consumers take up high-speed broadband plans and increase their use of high- bandwidth applications, pressure mounts on traditional Australian internet pricing models.

There has also been a shift in the types of data traffic.6 In 2006, peer-to-peer (P2P) protocols were reportedly responsible for more than 50 per cent of global internet traffic. P2P is most commonly used for downloading and transferring music and video files.

Traffic for video and audio streaming is also considerable.7 According to Ellacoya Networks (manufacturers of deep-packet inspection gear for carriers), http traffic this year is starting to exceed P2P traffic in North America for the first time, with http traffic accounting for 46 per cent of traffic and P2P traffic accounting for 37 per cent.8 Of the http traffic, 40 per cent was due to streaming video or audio (with YouTube accounting for more than half).

Internet domain name allocations The allocation of internet domain names provides an indicator of the adoption of an online presence by Australian businesses, organisations and individuals. Since 2000, auDA (.au Domain Administration Ltd) has administered the .au country code top level domain, excluding the gov.au domain which is administered by the Australian Government Information Management Office. As the Australian domain name administrator and industry self-regulatory body, auDA sets policy on matters such as domain name registration, renewal and transfers, registration of registrars and resellers, new second-level domains and dispute resolution. The .au domain space administered by auDA is divided into five second-level domains available to the public, charities or privately owned organisations. These are the ‘.com.au’, ‘.org.au’, ‘.asn.au’, ‘.net.au’ and ‘.id.au’ domains. In 2006–07, 914,771 domain names were registered in these second-level domains, compared with 706,128 in 2005–06, an increase of 29.5 per cent. Figure 3.1 shows the steady increase in the number of .au domain names registered since 2002.

6 Current estimates are that P2P internet traffic is between 60 per cent (CNet, 23.2.2006 ‘MPAA sues newsgroup, P2P search sites’, http://news.com.com/MPAA+sues+newsgroup%2C+P2P+search+sites/2100-1030_3-6042739.html) and 72 per cent (www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;75779762;fp;2;fpid;4, 30/5/2006) of total global internet traffic. 7 Streaming video and audio is generally viewed when downloaded. P2P downloads are generally stored and viewed at a later time. 8 Nate Anderson, ‘The YouTube effect: HTTP traffic now eclipses P2P’, 19 June 2007, http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070619-the-youtube-effect-http-traffic-now-eclipses-p2p.html

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Figure 3.1: Number of .au domain names registered, 2002–03 to 2006–07 1000

800

600

400

200

0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Note: excludes gov.au domain names. Source: auDA and AusRegistry The .com.au second-level domain remains the most popular, accounting for 795,368 or 87 per cent of .au domain names registered at 30 June 2007. The number of .com.au domain names registered increased by 29.8 per cent compared with the previous year. This growth suggests the increasing adoption of an internet presence by Australian small businesses. Figure 3.2 shows the breakdown in registrations by publicly available category of second- level domain in 2006–07.

Figure 3.2: .au second-level domains (2LDs), 30 June 2007

asn.au 0% id.au 1% com.au 87% net.au 9% org.au 3%

Note: excludes gov.au domain names. Source: auDA and AusRegistry New community geographic second-level domains, which were launched in August 2006, preserve Australian geographic names for use by the relevant community. They are registered within the relevant state or territory second-level domain, for example, ballarat.vic.gov.au. At 30 June 2007, 25 community geographic domain names had been registered.

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Registrars are accredited by auDA to provide services to people who want to register, renew or make changes to domain names. The number of registrars at 30 June 2007 remains unchanged at 25. In contrast, there were 2,395 resellers at 30 June 2007 compared with 1,925 the previous year, an increase of 470 or 24 per cent. Resellers process registrations and renewals through a registrar and often bundle registration services with other services. Table 3.4 shows the increase in number of registrars and resellers since 2002. There has been relatively little change in the number of registrars compared with the increase in the number of resellers.

Table 3.4: Number of registrars and resellers, 2002–03 to 2006–07 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 auDA accredited registrars 19 20 21 25 25 Notified resellers 664 1,030 1,732 1,925 2,395 Source: auDA In February 2007, auDA commenced a major review of the policy framework for the allocation and use of domain names in the .au domain space. The review, which is being conducted by an independent advisory panel of stakeholder representatives, is expected to report in November 2007.

Broadband over power line While the main proponents of BPL are the electricity utilities and equipment vendors, a number of the major telecommunications carriers are also examining options for deployment of BPL for in-house broadband services provided over existing telecommunications infrastructure. BPL equipment is changing rapidly, with BPL equipment vendors continually upgrading performance and reducing power requirements for distribution of data services. Some vendors have looked at adding ‘hard filters’ to BPL equipment to reduce emissions and minimise disruption to radiocommunications services in certain bands. BPL network topology design has undergone significant change over the last 12 months, with several carriers recognising the limitations of the technology for back-haul and moving to more traditional technologies such as wireless and optical fibre cable for data distribution. Recent discussions within industry and government have introduced the concept of the ‘smart grid’. The smart grid employs electricity network demand-side management techniques to reduce the cost of electricity to consumers, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, minimise electrical infrastructure costs and reduce electricity wastage. BPL is one of the broadband data technologies being promoted as enabling smart grids.

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Carrier licensing Since the telecommunications market was opened to full competition in July 1997, the number of licensed carriers has grown to 169 (from two general and one mobile carrier). ACMA issued 25 new carrier licences during 2006–07 and 13 carrier licences were surrendered during the year. Figure 3.3 shows carrier licence trends for the past 10 years.

Figure 3.3: Trends in issued and surrendered carrier licences, 1997–98 to 2006–07 Issued Surrendered Active 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

The high number of carrier licences issued over the past three years is attributed to the rollout of wireless local area networks and the continuing provision of government subsidised programs. The reduction in both the carrier licence application charge and the fixed component of the annual licence charge implemented in 2004 may also have made it easier for smaller providers to enter the market.

Nominated carrier declarations A nominated carrier declaration is required where the owner of a network unit used to supply carriage services to the public nominates a licensed carrier to assume responsibility for all carrier-related obligations for that network unit. A nominated carrier declaration enables service providers to install network units without taking on all the associated responsibilities. During 2006–07, seven nominated carrier declarations were issued and five declarations were revoked, making a total of 65 declarations in force at the end of June 2007.

Trial certificates The carrier licensing requirements do not apply where ACMA has issued a certificate stating that the network unit is solely for trial use. A trial certificate can be granted for a maximum period of six months with the possibility of further extensions. In September 2006, ACMA issued a trial certificate to SP Ausnet to conduct a trial of broadband services in Mount Beauty, Victoria, for a six-month period ending March 2007. The company subsequently applied for, and was granted, a six-month extension until September 2007.

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Allocation of numbers smartnumbers® The allocation rates and costs of smartnumbers® (13, 1300 and 1800 numbers) are an indicator of growth in this relatively new and emerging telecommunications market segment. Businesses find smartnumbers® attractive as a marketing tool because of their distinctive and memorable pattern (for example, 1800 111 222) or because they can be translated into phonewords when using the standard alpha-numeric keypad.

smartnumbers® are allocated through a web-based auction system that consists of public auctions and a separate process for income-tax exempt charities. At 30 June 2007, a total of 23,194 smartnumbers® had been allocated through public auctions and 251 smartnumbers® had been allocated to charities since smartnumbers® were first released. Since the new system was introduced, the revenue from public auctions was $27,275,437 and from charity auctions was $85,469. Since the introduction of auctions in 2004, the level of demand for smartnumbers® has levelled off. About 250 numbers are publicly auctioned each fortnight and, since 2004, approximately 25 per cent of the numbers (those not bought by charities) have resulted in competitive (multiple) bids. During 2006–07, ACMA made changes to improve the efficiency of the smartnumbers® auction system and clarify current regulatory arrangements. The following changes came into effect on 19 May 2007: – the introduction of a cooling-off period that allows applicants to withdraw their nomination numbers before the auction; and – clarification of the strategic link requirements for eligible charity applications for a number.

Telephone number allocations The only number types allocated by ACMA in 2006–07 were geographic and digital mobile numbers, and a CSP identification code. There was an increase in the volume of both geographic and digital mobile numbers allocated.

Geographic numbers The allocation of geographic numbers increased during 2006–07, compared with 2005–06. As Figure 3.4 shows, the allocation of geographic numbers has declined since 2000. An increase in new numbers allocated occurred in 2004 with the emergence of VoIP services, which can be provided on geographic numbers. In 2006–07, geographic numbers were predominantly allocated for VoIP services—2.89 million out of a total 3.23 million. Two new CSPs were allocated geographic numbers for VoIP services, with one receiving a national allocation. The majority of numbers for VoIP services were allocated to existing CSPs, suggesting that the allocations for 2006–07 were to service increased competition between existing players offering a VoIP service rather than demand for fixed-line services. A new location-independent service is expected to reduce the volume of geographic numbers allocated during 2007–08.

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Figure 3.4: Geographic number allocations, 1992–2007 10k 9k 8k 7k 6k 5k 4k 3k 2k 1k 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Only 23,000 geographic numbers were surrendered during 2006–07.

Data network access service numbers The trend towards broadband services and VoIP is noticeable in the allocation of data network access service (DNAS) numbers9, which are used mainly for the provision of dial-up internet services. No DNAS numbers have been allocated since 2005–06, which reflects the trend away from dial-up internet services visible since 2002–03.

Digital mobile numbers In 2006–07, demand for mobile numbers increased. Numbers were allocated predominantly to meet demand for pre-paid services. The cumulative total of digital mobile number allocations is now more than double the population of Australia.

Other numbers In 2006–07, ACMA allocated one CSP identification code to be used for the routing of calls. This code can also be used for selecting carriers by customer pre-selection or dialling an override code.

9 DNAS numbers are 5 or 10 digits beginning 0192 or 0198.

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The Australian broadcasting industry The Australian broadcasting industry and its levels of activity are described by the characteristics of the licensing categories, data about key activities and trends in advertising expenditure across the industry’s commercial sectors. Australia also has two substantial national television and radio broadcasters, and a community sector, which add diversity to the industry. Legislation reforming longstanding restrictions on foreign and cross-ownership of the broadcasting industry was passed in October 2006. This legislation also introduced new regulations on local content. Broadcasting services in Australia are subject to the regulatory regime set out in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. The only exception to this is the national services, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which operate under their own legislation and charters.10 The Broadcasting Services Act identifies seven generic categories of broadcasting services: – national – commercial – community – subscription broadcasting – subscription narrowcasting – open narrowcasting

– international.11

National broadcasting services National broadcasting services are free-to-air radio and television services provided by the ABC and SBS. Both organisations are funded by the Australian Government on a triennial basis, although SBS has some revenue from advertising.

10 Note that both the ABC and SBS are subject to some aspects of the complaints regime of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. 11 An international broadcasting service may also fall into another category of broadcasting services.

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio The ABC provides the following radio services: – Local Radio, which is provided on nine metropolitan and 51 regional stations throughout Australia; – Radio National, a national talk network; – News Radio, a national rolling news and parliamentary broadcast network; – Classic FM, a national classical music network; – Triple J, a national youth network; and – Radio Australia, an Asia–Pacific network broadcast via shortwave and satellite, and online.

Television The ABC provides the following television services: – ABC TV, a national free-to-air analog channel, which is simulcast in standard definition and high definition digital; – ABC2, a digital free-to-air channel featuring new and time-shifted ABC programming; and – ABC Asia–Pacific, free-to-air satellite television.

Other services The ABC’s New Media and Digital Services coordinates its online content, including ABC Online, ABC Broadband and DIG internet radio.

Special Broadcasting Service SBS was established to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia’s multicultural society.

Radio SBS Radio broadcasts in 68 languages to a five signal network in all capital cities and key regional centres.

Television SBS Television broadcasts programs in more than 60 languages. SBS provides an all-news digital channel, the World News Channel, which broadcasts 20 hours a day, and SBS Essential, an electronic programming and information guide. SBS estimates that its analog service reaches 95 per cent of the Australian population and its digital services 80 per cent.

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Other services SBS Online provides programming from SBS television and radio, as well as additional and enhanced television and radio content.

Commercial broadcasting services Commercial broadcasting services are free-to-air services that provide programs that are aimed at a general audience. They are usually funded by advertising revenue, operated for profit or as part of a profit-making enterprise, and are privately owned. Commercial radio and television broadcasting services are licensed to operate within a specified area, and have regulations to limit concentration of their ownership and control.

Ownership and control of commercial television services The pattern of commercial television broadcasting licence ownership shows a divide between capital city and regional area licences. Three networks—Seven, Nine and Ten— dominate capital city television licence ownership. Regional television licence ownership is dominated by Prime Television (with stations affiliated with the Seven Network), Southern Cross Broadcasting(with most stations affiliated with the Ten Network) and WIN Corporation (with stations affiliated with the Nine Network). Imparja Television holds licences in the remote central and eastern Australia licence areas.

Nine Network The Nine Network operates commercial television stations in the metropolitan mainland markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin). The Nine Network also acquired the NBN licence in northern NSW.

Seven Network The Seven Network operates commercial television stations in the five metropolitan mainland markets and one regional network covering Queensland.

Network Ten The Network Ten group operates commercial television stations in the five metropolitan mainland markets.

Audience share Audience share is the most important metric of the broadcasting industry. For commercial broadcasters, it drives advertising revenue and hence profitability. Over the 10-year period from 1996 to 2005, the Nine Network was the number one free-to-air television network in Australia, with a 10-year average share of 31.2 per cent audience share. The Nine Network was followed by the Seven Network and Network Ten, with audience shares of 28.4 and 21.3 per cent respectively.12 Over the same period, the national broadcasters, on average, combined for an audience share of 19.1 per cent (ABC 15.0 per cent; SBS 4.1 per cent).

12 Australian Film Commission, ‘What Australians are watching: Free-to-air TV – Ratings by network’, at www.afc.gov.au/gtp/wftvratingsnetwork.html

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At mid-2007, the Seven Network had a 29.2 per cent audience share among the five networks for the 6.00 pm to midnight period.13 Among the commercial broadcasters, Seven was followed by the Nine Network and Network Ten, with audience shares of 27.5 and 21.5 per cent respectively. The ABC and SBS attracted audience shares of 16.2 and 5.6 per cent respectively.

Ownership and control of commercial radio services The pattern of commercial radio broadcasting licence ownership continues to show a divide between capital city and regional area licences. The Austereo Group, Australian Radio Network (ARN) and DMG Radio own a significant number of capital city commercial radio broadcasting licences. Macquarie Media Group (MMG), Broadcast Operations and Grant Broadcasters are still the three largest collections of regional commercial radio broadcasting licences. Eleven radio licence owners control five or more commercial radio broadcasting licences —ACE Radio Broadcasters, ARN, Austereo Group, Broadcast Operations, DMG Radio, Fairfax/Rural Press, Grant Broadcasters, MMG, PRIME, Redwave Media and Southern Cross Broadcasting. Four companies—PRIME, the Seven Network, Southern Cross Broadcasting and WIN Corporation—control radio and television licences in separate markets. Another 18 radio licence owner/controllers hold fewer than five licences each.14

Commercial broadcasting industry revenues and profitability ACMA gathers annual financial data such as revenue and profitability from the Australian commercial broadcasting industry, and publishes it as the Broadcasting Financial Results.

Commercial television revenue and profitability Commercial television networks recorded $3,989.8 million in revenue in 2005–06, a decrease of 3.1 per cent over the previous year. The main driver of service revenue for the industry continues to be the sale of airtime to advertisers, which accounts for about 89.1 per cent of the total revenue generated by the industry. Metropolitan television markets reported a 5.5 per cent decrease in revenue in 2005–06, while regional television markets reported a 5.7 per cent increase in revenue generated over the same period. Of the total revenue, $3,915.1 million was generated by the three major television networks and their affiliate licensees. The breakdown is as follows: – Nine Network and affiliates—$1,470.1 million (37.6 per cent); – Seven Network and affiliates—$1,296.9 million (33.1 per cent); and – Ten Network and affiliates—$1,148.1 million (29.3 per cent). Table 3.5 provides a breakdown of industry revenue performance for metropolitan and regional television markets.

13 OzTAM data based on ratings performance over weeks 7–28, excluding Easter. 14 On 20 July 2007, MMG came into a position to exercise control of Southern Cross Broadcasting (Australia) Limited (SCB) as a result of acquiring company interests exceeding 15 per cent under MMG’s proposed takeover of the issued shares of SCB. As a result of the takeover by MMG of all of the issued share capital of SCB, the numbers of commercial radio groups will be reduced to 10 and the SCB commercial radio and television licences will become part of the MMG group.

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Table 3.5: Revenue performance in metropolitan and regional television markets, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Market 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change Metropolitan 2,603.9 2,756.17 2,952.4 3,241.9 3,062.2 -5.5 Regional 629.2 695 771.6 877.4 927.6 5.7 Total 3,233.1 3,451.1 3,724 4,119.3 3,989.8 -3.14 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 The commercial television industry achieved aggregate profits of $366.7 million in 2005–06 (a decrease of 36.4 per cent over the previous year). Both metropolitan and regional markets reported a decrease in profitability for the second consecutive year: – metropolitan television markets reported a 31.3 per cent decrease in profit before interest and tax (PBIT) in 2005–06 – regional television stations reported an 8.9 per cent increase in PBIT over this period. Table 3.6 shows profit performance in the commercial television industry from 2001–02 to 2005–06.

Table 3.6: Profit before interest and tax in television markets, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Market 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change Metropolitan 492.4 581 644.8 572.3 392.9 -31.3 Regional 150.2 180.4 229.1 209 227.6 8.9 Total 642.6 761.3 873.9 781.3 620.5 -20.6 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 Commercial radio revenue and profitability In 2005–06, the commercial radio industry generated revenue of approximately $1 billion, an increase on 2004–05. In 2005–06, the sale of airtime generated $929.5 million in service revenue, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the 12 months and accounting for 93.2 per cent of revenue generated by the radio industry. Table 3.7 shows revenue performance since 2001–02.

Table 3.7: Revenue performance in metropolitan and regional radio markets, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Market 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change Metropolitan 505.1 526.3 587.4 654 686.7 5 Regional 225.3 247.2 265.1 290.9 294 4.6 Total 730.4 773.5 852.5 944.9 980.7 3.8 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 In 2005–06, the FM sector generated $721.8 million in revenue—a 3.9 per cent increase from the previous reporting period and representing 72.3 per cent of the total revenue generated by the radio industry. The AM sector generated revenue of $276 million, representing a 10.2 per cent decrease from the previous reporting period (Table 3.8).

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Table 3.8: Revenue performance for FM and AM radio stations, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Market 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change FM 506.8 544.6 598.7 694.4 721.8 3.9 AM 223.6 228.9 253.8 250.5 276 10.2 Total 730.4 773.5 852.5 944.9 997.8 5.6 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 Profits decreased in the metropolitan radio industry, with a figure of $128.9 million in PBIT, a decrease of 4.3 per cent over the previous financial year (Table 3.9). Regional radio stations recorded a significant increase in PBIT of 30.7 per cent over the same period. Table 3.9 shows the PBIT generated by metropolitan and regional radio markets each year from 2001–02 to 2005–06.

Table 3.9: Profit before interest and tax in radio markets, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Market 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change Metropolitan 90.0 70.5 114.8 134.7 128.9 -4.3 Regional 35.8 55.3 34.2 69.6 91 30.7 Total 125.9 125.8 149 204.3 219.9 26.4 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 Continuing the trend of recent years, the FM sector generated a significant proportion of total profits in the commercial radio industry in 2005–06, with a PBIT for the year of $186.2 million. This strong performance reflects the FM sector’s ability to attract the larger share of industry revenue. Profit growth, as measured by percentage gain in PBIT over the last 12 months, was similar for the two sectors. The AM sector reported 6.3 per cent PBIT growth compared with PBIT growth in the FM sector of 7.9 per cent. Table 3.10 shows profit generated by both sectors for the financial years 2001–02 to 2005–06.

Table 3.10: Profit before interest and tax for FM and AM radio stations, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Market 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change FM 119.2 107.1 126.6 172.6 186.2 7.9 AM 6.7 18.7 22.4 31.7 33.7 6.3 Total 110.1 125.8 149 204.3 219.9 14.2 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 Advertising expenditure The sale of advertising is the major source of revenue for commercial broadcasters, contributing 89.1 per cent of the industry’s revenue. As the major source of industry revenue, the overall level of advertising expenditure and changes to the expenditure for each category are of major importance to the commercial broadcasting industry.

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Data from the Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA) shows that advertising expenditure across the main media categories (print, television, radio, outdoor and cinema) has, with the exception of the 2000–01 year, risen consistently over the past decade (Figure 3.5). The CEASA report for the year ended 31 December 2006 estimates that total advertising expenditure in 2006 increased by three per cent over 2005 expenditure, to $11.9 billion. When the classified directories and online categories are excluded, advertising expenditure increased by 1.2 per cent to $9.6 billion.

Figure 3.5: Distribution of advertising expenditure across main media, 1997–2006 print media television radio online teleoutdoor and transportvision cinema 14k

12k

10k

0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Source: Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia, year ended 31 December 2006 In 2006, the print (51 per cent), television (29 per cent), radio (eight per cent) and online (eight per cent) media industries attracted the majority of advertising expenditure (Figure 3.6).

Commercial free-to-air television advertising Advertising expenditure on free-to-air television fell by 0.3 per cent in 2006 to $3.2 billion. As PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in its Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook 2007–2011 report noted, ‘Despite continued fragmentation of the entertainment and media markets, free-to-air TV will retain its appeal as a powerful communications medium.’15 This view is further reinforced by the year-on-year increase in audience figures for 2006, reversing the trend of the previous 12 months. PWC has forecast that the local market will grow by 2.9 per cent in 2007.16 Based on analysis of global trends, PWC has forecast that the global TV network market will total $278 billion in 2011, growing at a compound annual rate of 4.6 per cent from 2006. For Australia, PWC has forecast a compounded annual growth rate of 3.4 per cent, with free-to-air television advertising revenues expected to reach $3.8 billion by 2011.

15 PricewaterhouseCoopers, Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook 2007–2011: Forecasts and commentary of 11 industry segments, p.58. 16 PricewaterhouseCoopers, Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook 2007–2011: Forecasts and commentary of 11 industry segments, p.63.

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Figure 3.6: Proportion of 2006 advertising expenditure breakdown by main media category

Television 29% Radio 8% Online 8% Outdoor transport 3% Cinema 1% Print media 51% Source: Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia, year ended 31 December 2006 Table 3.11 provides a breakdown of the advertising expenditure across metropolitan and regional areas for each Australian state and territory.

Table 3.11: Free-to-air television advertising expenditure by states and territories, year ended 31 December 2006 Location: city/state Metropolitan service ($ million) Regional service ($ million) Sydney/New South Wales 916.9 312.3 Melbourne/Victoria 683.6 111.2 Brisbane/Queensland 414.4 173.8 Adelaide/South Australia 195.8 26.9 Perth/Western Australia 247.7 38.0 Northern Territory/Tasmania n/a 61.8 Total 2,458.4 724.0 n/a: not available Source: Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia, year ended 31 December 2006 The CEASA figures show that advertising expenditure on commercial television is dominated by the eastern seaboard states, with New South Wales alone accounting for more than $1.2 billion of revenue, followed by Victoria ($795 million) and Queensland ($588 million).

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Table 3.12 Advertising expenditure on television, 2005 and 2006 Television platform 2005 total % total 2006 total % total ($000) advertising ($000) advertising expenditure expenditure Metropolitan television 2,514,620 26.53% 2,483,458 20.86% Regional television 701,502 7.4 724,016 6.08% Subscription television 159,980 1.69% 212,264 1.78% Total television 3,376,102 35.62% 3,419,738 28.72% Source: Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia, year ended 31 December 2006 Table 3.12 provides a year-on-year comparison of the CEASA figures for advertising expenditure on television. Advertising expenditure on commercial television has remained about the same. Regional television reported a small increase in 2006 of 3.2 per cent, while metropolitan television reported slightly less (1.2 per cent) advertising expenditure than in the previous year. Subscription television increased its percentage share of total advertising expenditure. For the 2006 year, subscription television recorded advertising expenditure of $212 million, an increase of 32.7 per cent over the previous year’s expenditure of $160 million. Overall, there has been a decrease in television’s share of total advertising expenditure (excluding directories and online) from 35.62 per cent in 2005 to 28.72 per cent in 2006. The financial impact of this percentage decline will be ameliorated to some extent by the growth in total advertising expenditure across the main media noted earlier (Figure 3.5).

Commercial radio advertising CEASA figures show that advertising expenditure on radio (excluding community radio) grew by three per cent in 2006 to 924.8 million. According to the latest data available (June–July 2007) from the commercial radio industry peak body, Commercial Radio Australia, metropolitan radio advertising revenue totalled $619.5 million for the 2006–07 financial year. This represented a 3.7 per cent increase from the previous year.17 Table 3.13 shows the share of revenue across the metropolitan markets.

Table 3.13 Advertising expenditure on radio, 2005 and 2006

Revenue Change on 2005 Adelaide $58.3 m 6.8% Brisbane $94.9 m 4.8% Melbourne $174.4 m 3.9% Perth $70.5 m 13.7% Sydney $221.4 m -0.3% Source: Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia, year ended 31 December 2006

17 PricewaterhouseCoopers radio revenue performance figures, cited in Commercial Radio Australia media release, ‘March Radio Ad Revenue Up 9%’, 12 April 2007, at www.commercialradio.com.au/

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Online advertising CEASA figures show that online advertising revenue in Australia grew by 61.5 per cent in 2006 to $1 billion. This increase was characterised by strong growth in all advertising expenditure categories. Revenue in the general ($303 million) and classifieds ($299 million) categories accounted for 30.2 and 29.9 per cent of total advertising revenue, respectively. The search and directories category, which accounted for the remaining 39.9 per cent, represented the fastest growing component of online advertising, with an increase of 81.4 per cent over the previous year.

Community broadcasting services Community broadcasting services are free-to-air services that serve the needs and interests of particular communities.18 The key differences between community and commercial services are that community services must not be operated for profit or as part of a profit-making enterprise, and they must encourage the participation of community members in all aspects of the operation of the service and the selection and provision of programs. ACMA allocates five-year licences to provide community radio and television services that use the broadcasting services bands, using an allocation process based on merit. Licences may also be allocated to community radio and television services that do not use the broadcasting services bands.

Community radio services Since 1992, the number of community radio broadcasting licences has increased from 102 to 358 (at June 2007). The services represent a range of community interests (Table 3.14). Most local communities in Australia have at least one community radio service. Another 38 temporary community broadcasting licences are in effect. Temporary broadcasting services may be licensed for a period of up to one year and may share spectrum with other temporary community broadcasting licensees. There are 10 Indigenous services, seven Christian services, one for seniors in the community, one with a community interest of sports and music and one serving youth. The remaining 18 temporary services represent the general community in the licence area.

18 An exception is Aurora TV, a community television service available on the Foxtel subscription television service.

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Table 3.14: Community radio broadcasting services by community of interest served, June 2007

Community interest Number Percentage of total Aboriginal 83 23.18 Arts 1 0.28 Community access 1 0.28% Country and sport 2 0.56% Educational 5 1.40% Educational/specialised music 3 0.84% Ethnic – general 6 1.68% Ethnic – Portuguese 1 0.28% Gay and lesbian 1 0.28% General geographic area 170 47.48% Mature age 2 0.56% Music – fine music 4 1.12% Music – progressive 2 0.56% People aged 50+ yrs 2 0.56% Print handicapped 12 3.35% Religious – Christian 34 9.49% Religious – Islamic 1 0.28% Senior citizens 3 0.84% Torres Strait Islanders 16 4.47% Youth 8 2.23% Youth and students 1 0.28% Total 358 100.00% Source: ACMA Community television services In 2004, ACMA allocated four permanent community television (CTV) licences to serve Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Each represents the general community within the licence area. The Brisbane CTV licensee is Briz31 Ltd, which has a broad membership base and links with Queensland University of Technology and the Seymour Group (a private development and investment company). The Melbourne CTV licensee is Melbourne Community Television Consortium Ltd (MCTC), which comprises 33 not-for-profit community groups. MCTC provides programs across a range of genres and in 20 different languages.

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In Perth, the CTV licensee is Channel 31 Community Educational Television Ltd, known as Access 31. Membership of Access 31 is open to individuals, groups and corporations. The Sydney CTV licensee is Television Sydney Ltd (TVS), which has two member organisations: – ETC TV (Education Training Community Television Limited) is a corporation with two members – Metro Screen and University of Western Sydney; and – SLICE TV (Sydney Local Information Community Educational Television) is a community organisation with open membership. Another 79 community television services serve remote Indigenous communities. Two trial community broadcasting services operate under the open narrowcasting class licence in Adelaide and Lismore. They are operated by C31 Adelaide Ltd and LINC TV Inc respectively. Both are community groups with membership open to the general community.

Subscription broadcasting services ACMA may issue licences to provide subscription broadcasting television services on application and payment of a determined fee. These licences do not have geographical limitations. There are currently 2,588 subscription broadcasting licences on allocation. Since 1992, 2,818 licences have been allocated, of which 230 have been surrendered.

Subscription television At 30 June 30 2007, there were 2.082 million subscribers to subscription television services in Australia.19 Foxtel, which is owned by Telstra (50 per cent), News Corporation (25 per cent) and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (25 per cent), is Australia’s largest subscription television provider. Foxtel reported a subscriber base of 1.292 million, an increase of 13.1 per cent since 30 June 2006. The company’s total subscriber base, including wholesale customers, had grown to 1,443,000, an increase of 12.4 per cent over the last financial year.20 Austar, Australia’s leading regional subscription television provider, reported a subscriber base of 639,128 at 30 June 2007.

19 Mediaday ‘Numbers mount up for Foxtel’, Issue Number 5099, 9 August 2007, p.1. 20 Foxtel media release, ‘FOXTEL accelerates growth in subscribers and profits to record highs’, 9 August 2007, p.1.

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Open narrowcasting services An open narrowcasting service is a free-to-air broadcasting service whose reception is limited: – by being targeted to special interest groups; – by being intended only for limited locations; – by being provided during a limited period or to cover a special event; – by providing programs of limited appeal; or – for another reason. ACMA has determined a class licence for the operation of open narrowcasting services. Persons providing such a service are not required to obtain a broadcasting licence. However, if they intend to use the radiofrequency spectrum to provide the service, they must obtain an apparatus licence under the Radiocommunications Act 1992, which authorises the operation of a transmitter. Since the 1992 enactment of the Radiocommunications Act, 248 apparatus licences authorising transmission of high-power open narrowcasting radio services, and two licences authorising transmission of open narrowcasting television services, have been allocated. Of the 2,418 licences issued to provide low-power open narrowcasting services: – 1,827 are current; – 149 have been surrendered; – 60 have been cancelled; and – 382 have expired.

Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services ACMA has granted licences to remote Indigenous communities to provide 83 community radio services and 79 television broadcasting services. Many of these services operate part-time to provide culturally appropriate programming that meets the information, cultural, educational and entertainment needs of these communities. Programming may be produced by the community or retransmitted by Indigenous program providers. See Chapter 6 for a fuller discussion.

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International broadcasting licences This licence category applies to any service targeted to audiences outside Australia using a radiocommunications transmitter located inside Australia. Ten international broadcasting licences have been allocated to two licensees: – four to Heralding Christ Jesus’ Blessings (HCJB) Australia; and – six to CVC Network Ltd, the media arm of Christian Vision, a UK non-profit charitable company. Both licensees provide Christian services to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other parts of the Asia–Pacific region.

Enhanced broadcasting services Digital broadcasting Completing the switch to digital broadcasting will be an important step in the full digitalisation of Australia’s communication services. ACMA is responsible for some digital switchover tasks, including assessing digital signal coverage and reception. It will also plan for the possible usage of spectrum that will become available following switch-over. ACMA also has powers to develop digital terrestrial television transmission and reception standards and industry codes of practice. Digital television Digital television offers benefits for viewers including improved picture and sound quality and wide-screen images. Other potential benefits include more channels and a variety of program enhancements, such as electronic program guides, multiple camera angles, interactivity, time-shifting of programs, alternative audio commentaries and program-related information. Free-to-air digital television commenced in January 2001 in the five mainland state capital cities and at least one digital free-to-air service is now available to about 96 per cent of Australians. It is estimated that more than 91 per cent of the Australian population now has access to the complete set of digital television services for their region or area. This includes the majority of all metropolitan state capital and major regional centres around Australia.21 Regional areas presently without digital transmission are expected to be able to receive transmission signals by the end of the regional simulcast period. A simulcast start date or duration has not yet been set for remote areas. New broadcasting services are appearing. The ABC and SBS are providing new digital only services (ABC2 and SBS Digital 2). Free-to-air commercial broadcasters were permitted to provide a new high definition digital multi-channel from 2007 (due to the removal of the simulcast requirement on high definition programming). Commercial broadcasters can provide one standard definition multichannel from 2009 and full multichannels from analog switchover. Each of these new digital services will make the digital experience more attractive and will increase the incentive for viewers to switch to digital. Another incentive to convert to digital is the increased amount of high definition television programming that is available to viewers with digital high definition receivers.

21 Digital Broadcasting Australia, Information Bulletin [May–June 2007] www.dba.org.au/newsletter/IB-MayJun07-full.asp

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The rollout of digital television transmission equipment is well advanced. The full rollout of broadcaster-operated main and repeater station transmitters is complete in metropolitan licence areas and is scheduled to be completed by 2011 in regional licence areas. It is not yet clear how analog transmission facilities that are installed, owned and operated by communities to provide television services will operate in a digital environment. Conversion strategies for community television broadcasters and television narrowcasters, such as tourist information channels, are still to be finalised. On 26 June 2007, the then Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts released a discussion paper on issues associated with the operation of existing self-help analog terrestrial television re-transmission sites in a digital environment.22 However, the penetration of digital consumer equipment into the Australian market is still far from complete. Sales reported by Digital Broadcasting Australia’s member companies that supply products to retailers and installers indicate that the cumulative total sales figure since digital television transmissions began is more than 2,547,000. Allowing for homes with more than one digital broadcast capable television, this translates to a market penetration of approximately 28 per cent of Australian homes, an increase from 20 per cent of households in June 2006. The ACMA survey conducted in October 2006 (reported in Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006) reported that 29.6 per cent of Australian households had adopted digital free-to-air television. ACMA will repeat the survey in 2007–08 to provide a continuing data series on national digital television adoption. The survey showed that, while awareness of eventual analog switch-over is reasonably high, many Australian households still require basic information about the transition to digital television.

Figure 3.7: Awareness of analog free-to-air television switch-off, October 2006

Don’t know 3% No 30% Yes 67% Base: NTOTAL=1,537 Source: ACMA Digital Media in Australian Homes–2006

22 www.dcita.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/70278/Digital_conversion_of_self-help_television_retransmission_sites_-_discussion_paper.pdf

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More than 180 models of digital television receivers are available (approximately 100 standard definition and 80 high definition models). Standard definition set-top boxes retail in Australia from around $90 and high definition set-top boxes from around $290. The price of basic receivers continues to fall.23

Digital radio On 10 May 2007, the Parliament passed the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Act 2007 that, among other things, gives effect to the government’s digital radio policy announced in October 2005. The legislation facilitates the introduction of digital radio services, which will be done initially in the six state capital cities, by commercial radio broadcasters, national broadcasters and wide-coverage community radio broadcasters. In May 2007, ACMA endorsed the continuation of digital radio trials in Melbourne (Broadcast Australia) and Sydney (Commercial Radio Australia) to 30 June 2008 and 31 December 2008 respectively. Both trials use the digital audio broadcasting (DAB)/DAB+ technology within VHF television channel 9A. ACMA allocated a licence to TJH Systems to operate a trial of the digital radio mondiale (DRM) technology in Wollongong, using the unused Sydney MF-AM band frequency 1386 kHz. DRM is a digital radio technology supported internationally for frequency bands below 30 MHz, including for spectrum in the non-broadcasting services bands (non-BSB), and is considered a complementary technology to DAB. One trial using DRM in a non-BSB spectrum band, commonly referred to as the MF NAS band, commenced in Sydney.

Channels A and B The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Act 2006 was passed on 18 October 2006 as part of the government’s media reform package. Consistent with a desire to increase digital media services, the Act facilitates the provision of a range of new digital services, including the allocation of two radiocommunications licences known as Channel A and Channel B. The datacasting transmitter licences (a type of apparatus licence) will be issued under the Radiocommunications Act 1992 and will be allocated for 10-year terms with the possibility of a further five-year renewal. The licences for Channel A will allow the provision of open narrowcasting, services provided under a datacasting licence, and community television. The licences for Channel B will allow the provision of a wider range of services, including mobile television. ACMA currently plans to allocate the licences using a price-based system, with the successful bidder required to pay in full before the licence is issued. Seven MHz of broadcasting spectrum is available nationally for both licences. Frequencies vary from area to area, but will generally be located in UHF television bands IV or V, that is, 526–820 MHz.

23 DCITA, Ready, Get Set, Go Digital—A Digital Action Plan for Australia, page 7.

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The licences for Channel A include the following key characteristics: – Channel A will be permitted to transmit free-to-air services that can be received on a domestic digital television receiver. Only services provided under a datacasting licence, open narrowcasting services and community television can be offered on this channel. – Commercial television broadcasting licensees are prohibited from controlling Channel A. – Under section 109A(6) of the Radiocommunications Act, the Minister may direct ACMA to specify conditions on the Channel A licences. – The licences for Channel A will be subject to an annual licence fee based on revenue, similar to the arrangement for commercial broadcasting licences. The licence for Channel B includes the following key characteristics: – Channel B will be permitted to undertake a wider range of services than Channel A, including emerging new digital services such as mobile television. – The licensee must commence a service within 18 months of the allocation unless ACMA extends the time for commencement. – Commercial television broadcasting licensees will be permitted to control Channel B, but they will not be permitted to use it to provide services capable of being received by a domestic digital television receiver. Commercial television broadcasting services can be re-transmitted to mobile devices. – Bidders for Channel B will need to have made a written access undertaking that has been accepted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The undertaking is to allow third parties access to the transmitters authorised by the Channel B licence. An accepted undertaking will become binding on a person who is issued a Channel B licence.

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Further information about the Australian communications industry

www.acma.gov.au/commsreport

Appendixes Appendix 3.1 Telecommunications carrier licensing data Appendix 3.2 TIO scheme membership data Appendix 3.3 Telecommunications numbering data

Data updates – ACMA, Register of Licensed Carriers and Nominated Carrier Declarations (updated regularly) – ACMA, licensed broadcaster listing – Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Member List – Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, Industry Statistics – AusRegistry, Monthly AusRegistry General Report – Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, subscription TV trends reports

Documents – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Internet Activity Survey, March 2007 – Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Telecommunications Market Indicator Report 2005–06, August 2007 – ACCC, Snapshot of Broadband Deployment, September 2006 – ACMA and ACCC, Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2006–07, June 2007 – ACMA, Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006, May 2007 – ACMA, Cabling Provider Rules 2000 – ACMA, Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06, September 2007 – Australian Mobile Telecommunications Industry: Economic Significance & State of the Industry, Report by Access Economics Pty Ltd for Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, July 2007

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– Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Examination of Policy and Regulation Relating to Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Services, November 2005 – Australian Government initiative, Backing Australia’s Ability – Building our Future through Science and Innovation – Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2007–2011, 2007

Organisations auCD (.au Community Domains Pty Ltd) (www.aucd.org.au) Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (www.amta.org.au) auDA (.au Domain Administration Ltd) (www.auda.org.au) Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (www.astra.org.au) Commercial Radio Australia (www.commercialradio.com.au) Communications Alliance (www.commsalliance.com.au) Free TV Australia (www.freetvaust.com.au) Internet Industry Association (www.iia.net.au)

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Universal service obligation 4 The universal service obligation (USO) is a safeguard for consumers, ensuring that all people in Australia, wherever they reside or carry on business, should have reasonable access, on an equitable basis, to standard telephone services: payphones, prescribed carriage services and digital data services.

USO levies and payments All telecommunications carriers in Australia are required to make a proportionate contribution based on eligible revenue towards the cost of providing the USO. The Minister determines the amount of the subsidy for supplying the USO. In 2006–07, the subsidy was $157 million, compared with $171 million in 2005–06. To determine each carrier’s contribution to the USO levy, ACMA uses the concept of ‘eligible revenue’. Eligible revenue is the formal expression of the telecommunications earnings of a carrier and its related parties. Carriers are required to lodge their eligible revenue returns (ERRs) to ACMA for each year that they hold a telecommunications carrier licence. ACMA then assesses the ERRs and advises carriers of their eligible revenues for each financial year. Each carrier’s contribution to the USO is calculated according to its share of the total eligible revenue of all carriers. For the period 2006–07, Telstra, as universal service provider and digital data service provider, was assessed by ACMA as being entitled to a total levy credit of $55,045,596. Table 4.1 sets out the four largest USO liabilities and entitlements for 2006–07, based on eligible revenue for 2005–06. Out of 167 carriers, 29 were assessed as having nil eligible revenue for 2005–06 and were not required to contribute to the costs incurred. The levies of the remaining carriers (other than those listed in Table 4.1) ranged between $2.06 and $1,183,075.96.

Table 4.1: Liabilities and entitlements for the four largest participating carriers, 2006–07 (nearest $) Total cost claims ($) Levy debit ($) Levy payable ($) Levy receivable ($) AAPT 0 3,291,054 3,291,054 0 Optus 0 31,727,674 31,727,674 0 Telstra 157,693,419 102,647,823 0 55,045,596 Vodafone 0 8,328,514 8,328,514 0

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Public payphones Payphone services in Australia are provided under the universal service obligation (USO) to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live or conduct their business, has reasonable access to a payphone. Telstra is the current universal service provider. ACMA monitors its performance and also receives information about the number of payphones supplied or operated by other providers.

Numbers of payphones and payphone sites During 2006–07, the total number of payphones (both Telstra operated and privately operated) in Australia fell by 14 per cent (or 8,368 payphones) to 49,862. This included a decrease of 16 per cent to 25,313 in the number of Telstra-operated payphones; and a decrease of 15 per cent to 19,484 in the number of Telstra-operated payphone sites (some sites have more than one payphone). There was also a decrease of 13 per cent (or 3,590) in the number of customer operated payphones in 2006-07 to 24,549. At 30 June 2007, 51 per cent of payphones were operated by Telstra and the remaining 49 per cent were privately operated payphones provided by telecommunications companies, such as TriTel Australia Pty Ltd, or other businesses, such as hotels, clubs and convenience stores. TriTel Australia owns and operated 916 payphones in 2006-07. 92 per cent (839) of TriTel payphones were located in urban areas. The overall reduction in the number of payphones since 2002–03 is shown in Figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1: Number of payphones in operation, 2002–03 to 2006–07 Telstra operated Non Telstra operated 40k

35k

30k

25k

20k

15k

10k

0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: Telstra and TriTel The overall reduction in the number of payphone sites with one or more Telstra payphones is shown in Figure 4.2.

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Figure 4.2: Number of Telstra payphone sites, 2002–03 to 2006–07 4 30k

25k

20k

15k

10k

0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: Telstra The number of Telstra payphone sites in each state and territory is shown in Figure 4.3. Telstra’s website contains a payphone locator where consumers can find the location of their nearest payphone. Figure 4.3: Number of Telstra payphone sites in each state and territory, 30 June 2007 7k

0 NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA Source: Telstra As well as Telstra operated payphones, there are 5,376 privately operated payphones in rural areas; and 464 privately operated payphones in remote areas, with 62 of these in remote Indigenous communities. The distribution of Telstra payphones by geographical category—urban, rural, remote and remote Indigenous community—is shown in Figure 4.4.

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Figure 4.4: Distribution of Telstra payphones by geographic category, 2006-07 Urban Rural Remote RICs 4.5k 4.0k 3.5k 3.0k 2.5k 2.0k 1.5k 1k 5 0 NSW NT QLD SA TAS VIC WA Source: Telstra

Payphone serviceability Telstra determines a payphone to be unserviceable if, as a result of a fault, it is not possible to make all types of calls using all payment mechanisms offered at that payphone. On average across Australia, Telstra payphones were unserviceable for six per cent of the time during 2006–07—no change on the previous year.

Fault repair performance targets Timely repair of payphone faults is an important component of the USO provision of payphone services. Telstra is required to use ‘reasonable endeavours’ to repair unworkable Telstra payphones according to the service location within the following timeframes from notification of the fault: – urban areas—one working day; – rural areas—two working days; and – remote areas—three working days. Telstra’s fault repair performance During 2006–07, Telstra’s performance in repairing faults was as follows: – urban areas—88 per cent of repairs were completed on time; – rural areas—85 per cent of repairs were completed on time; and – remote areas—70 per cent of repairs were completed on time.

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For repairs not completed on time: 4 – 99 per cent of urban area repairs were completed in up to and including five working days of the required timeframe; – 97 per cent of rural area repairs were completed in up to and including five working days of the required timeframe; – 91 per cent of remote area repairs were completed in up to and including five working days of the required timeframe. For more information about payphone fault repairs, refer to Appendix 4.1.

Installation of payphones Under the USO, communities or members of the public can apply for installation of a Telstra-operated payphone in a public place. During 2006–07, there were 154 applications for installation of a new Telstra-operated payphone, of which 63, or 41 per cent, were accepted. For more information about Telstra’s performance in installing new payphones at sites where infrastructure is not readily available during 2005–06 and 2006–07, refer to Appendix 4.1.

Payphones for people with disabilities Communications Alliance and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission have developed a new guideline on payphone accessibility for people with disabilities. The guideline states that providers should work with organisations representing people who are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment to identify appropriate locations for payphone teletypewriters (TTY) in metropolitan or regional areas. Priority is to be given to provision of TTY payphones at locations such as medical, judicial and educational institutions, shopping centres and transport terminals. At 30 June 2007, Telstra had 221 TTY payphones in operation, a decrease of 23 from the previous year.

Telstra's payphone rationalisation program Since June 2006, ACMA has played an enhanced role in handling complaints about payphone removals. ACMA becomes involved where complaints have been through Telstra’s complaints process and are still unresolved, and the payphone in question is the last one at a particular site. ACMA also manages payphone relocation issues, where members of the public request a Telstra payphone to be relocated away from their property or business. During 2006–07, Telstra removed 1,664 payphones from service after public consultation, including 1,062 in urban areas, 581 in rural areas and 21 in remote areas. Telstra also cancelled the proposed removal of 34 payphones after consultation, including 21 in urban areas, 12 in rural areas and one in a remote area.

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Digital data service obligation The digital data service obligation (DDSO) is the obligation to ensure that digital data services are accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or conduct business. The DDSO consists of two obligations: – the general DDSO (GDDSO) for people in general digital data service areas (approximately 96 per cent of the population); and – the special DDSO (SDDSO) for the approximately four per cent of Australians who usually live or work at a distance of more than 4.5 kilometres from their local telephone exchange. Telstra is currently the sole provider of both the GDDSO and the SDDSO. Both services provide a digital data capability that is broadly comparable to the 64 kilobits per second (kbit/s) service supplied as part of a designated basic rate ISDN service.

General DDSO The GDDSO service provided is Telstra’s ISDN service. During 2006–07, Telstra met its obligation by providing basic rate ISDN services under the GDDSO to more than 96 per cent of the population.

Special DDSO The SDDSO provides that customers unable to obtain the GDDSO have access to a service providing the equivalent of a 64 kbit/s download connection speed. To fulfil the SDDSO, a one-way satellite internet service is provided to customers to enable them to download data using the satellite link and to upload data through a dial-up modem on the customer’s telephone service. A rebate, funded by the telecommunications industry under the universal service regime, is paid to customers for the purchase and installation of satellite equipment. The rebate is 50 per cent of the cost of purchase and installation of equipment or $765, whichever is lower. Six connections were requested in 2006–07. Appendix 4.2 contains more information about the SDDS.

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The NRF monitors performance at the following three levels: 4 – Level 1—national and geographical area level, based on Telstra’s field service areas (FSAs); – Level 2—disaggregated parts of the network known as cable runs; and – Level 3—individual service level, which includes all Telstra services covered by the CSG (that is, residential and small business customers with five lines or less). Level 1 is designed to inform the public broadly about network reliability performance. Under Levels 2 and 3, Telstra can be required to remediate poorly performing parts of its network. During the 2006–07 reporting period, Telstra’s licence conditions were amended to strengthen the NRF. The new licence conditions, which came into effect on 1 October 2006, provide for better targeting of poorly performing areas of Telstra’s network through the adoption of a narrower, more targeted definition of a cable run and facilitate more effective remediation.

Level 1—national and field service area performance Under the NRF level 1 arrangement, Telstra is required to report on performance nationally and for each FSA in Australia. Level 1(a) of the NRF reports on the percentage of services that did not have a fault in the reported month.

Figure 4.5: Level 1(a) – percentage of Telstra CSG services that did not experience a fault, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 100.0 99.8 99.6 99.4 99.2 99.0 98.8 98.6 98.4 98.2 98.0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Source: ACMA, Telstra

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Level 1(b) covers the percentage of time in a month that services (on average) are available. A service is considered available if it is not awaiting repair. The performance is calculated based on the total amount of time associated with fault repairs and then averaged across all services, whether or not they had a fault in the month.

Figure 4.6: Level 1(b) – average percentage of time Telstra CSG services were available, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 99.97 99.96 99.95 99.94 99.93 99.92 99.91 99.90 99.89 99.88 99.87 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Source: ACMA, Telstra Level 1(c) covers the average number of hours that fault-affected services were unavailable in the month. Unlike Level 1(b), this measure only considers services that had one or more faults in the month.

Figure 4.7: Level 1(c) – average time (in hours) that fault-affected Telstra CSG services were unavailable, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 70

30 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Source: ACMA, Telstra

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During 2005–06, the FSAs with the best performance against the various Level 1 measures were generally located in the central business districts of capital cities, followed by metropolitan 4 areas, with the worst performance in less densely populated rural and remote areas. FSAs prone to tropical rainfall or frequent lightning strikes, in particular, have a lower percentage of fault-free services reported under Level 1(a). These trends continued in 2006–07.

Level 2—exchange service area performance Before 1 October 2006, Telstra was required to report to ACMA each month on ESAs that breach certain fault thresholds. An ESA is an area served by a Telstra telephone exchange; Telstra has 5,058 ESAs in its network. Fault reporting thresholds varied according to the size of the ESA. See Table 4.4.4 in Appendix 4.4 for more detail on fault thresholds. Reporting under the previous Level 2 arrangements was not fully effective in identifying ESAs with systemic poor performance. Service areas that breached the Level 2 thresholds (based on the number of services with faults in two consecutive months) were often found to have unrelated and one-off faults, with no clear implications for reliability problems within the wider area. It was also easier for larger ESAs to breach the threshold levels, irrespective of actual reliability. New arrangements for Level 2, effective from 1 October 2006, require Telstra to report on and undertake remediation work on the 40 lowest performing cable runs (a set of 10 or 100 copper wire pairs within a physical cable sheath) each month. Telstra must select the cable runs according to established criteria. See Table 4.4.5 in Appendix 4.4 for more detail. Following remediation, these cable runs are assessed over a six-month period against a criterion of a 90 per cent decrease in the volume of network events. Failure to achieve a 90 per cent reduction results in closer scrutiny by ACMA, as well as further remediation and assessment. Telstra was required to report on the outcomes of remediation from May 2007 and it is too early to report on any trends in performance under the new Level 2 reporting arrangements.

Level 3—individual service performance Telstra is required to take action to prevent an individual CSG-eligible service from experiencing: – four or more faults in a rolling 60-day period; or – five or more faults in a rolling 365-day period. Telstra is required to report to ACMA any services that breach these thresholds. ACMA examines Telstra’s actions for improving performance and, where necessary, requests Telstra to carry out further remediation of the services. Telstra has reported a drop in the number of breaches of the 60-day threshold (388 breaches in 2006–07 compared with 448 breaches in 2005–06). The Level 3(a) graph below shows that the number of services experiencing four or more faults in a rolling 60-day period may vary widely from month to month.

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Figure 4.8: Level 3(a) – number of Telstra CSG services with four or more faults in a rolling 60-day period, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 70

0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Source: ACMA Breaches of the 365-day threshold are relatively more common, but have declined significantly from the previous financial year (1,129 breaches in 2006–07 compared with 2,237 breaches in 2005–06 and 1,836 in 2004–05). However, this decrease may be attributed to the commencement of new NRF licence conditions from 1 October 2006. These changes have introduced new arrangements for subsequent monitoring of services contravening Level 3 thresholds. Telstra is now required to provide information on services that experience further faults after remediation in a separate monitoring period report. ACMA will report on Telstra’s performance under these new arrangements in 2007-08.

Figure 4.9: Level 3(b) – number of Telstra CSG services with five or more faults in a rolling 365-day period, 2004–05 to 2006–07

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 300

250

200

150

100

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Source: ACMA

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Customer Service Guarantee Standard 4 The Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard sets out minimum service standards in respect to installation and repairs for carriage service providers (CSPs) providing basic telephone services to residential and small business customers with five or fewer services. Services subject to the CSG Standard represent a significant proportion of all fixed-line standard telephone services in Australia. ACMA receives information from CSPs that supply the majority of CSG services. The reported number of telephones covered by the CSG Standard declined from 2005–06 by nine per cent to 7.905 million in 2006–07. This decrease is consistent with the estimated reduction in fixed-line services over this period. The CSG outlines timeframes for the connection and fault repair of standard telephone services and a range of enhanced call-handling features. If a CSP fails to meet the performance standards, compensation may be payable to the consumer. Table 4.2 sets out the CSG timeframes within which service providers must connect telephone services, repair faults and arrive for appointments. The CSG timeframes vary according to the location of the customer (urban, minor rural, major rural or remote area) and, in the case of connections, whether or not infrastructure is readily available.

Table 4.2: Customer Service Guarantee timeframes from 31 October 2006 CSG timeframe (working days) In place connection New service connection Fault repair Close to Not close to infrastructure infrastructure Urban 2 5 20 1 Major rural 2 10 20 2 Minor rural 2 15 20 2 Remote 2 15 20 3 Source: ACMA The performance of the main carriers in meeting the CSG timeframes for new service connections is set out in Table 4.3. Carriers’ performance ranged from 96 per cent (AAPT) to 89 per cent (Primus). Telstra performed by far the most new connections.

Table 4.3: National new service connections within CSG timeframes by carriage service provider, 2006–07

Telstra Optus Primus AAPT Number 440,526 83,164 750 12,596 Percentage 94% 92% 89% 96% Source: industry data from Telstra, Optus, Primus and AAPT

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Table 4.4 displays Telstra’s performance for meeting CSG timeframes for fault repairs, for different geographical categories and for different states and territories.

Table 4.4: Telstra fault repairs within CSG standard timeframes, 2006–07

Urban Rural Remote National 90% 90% 88% New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory 90% 90% 88% Victoria 91% 92% 90% Queensland 92% 89% 89% South Australia 88% 91% 97% Western Australia 87% 89% 89% Tasmania 90% 92% n/a Northern Territory 91% 92% 86% n/a: not applicable Source: Telstra Optus’ fault repair performance ranged from 96 per cent in the Northern Territory to 91 per cent in Victoria. AAPT’s performance was above 95 per cent in all states and territories. As a result of missing CSG Standard timeframes during 2006–07, Telstra made 167,179 compensation payments, totalling $5.312 million. Optus made 26,063 payments worth $1.204 million. AAPT made 5,003 payments worth $0.37 million while Primus made 2,859 payments worth $0.24 million. Telstra provided 2.54 million CSG connections and fault repair appointments. Of these, six per cent did not meet the timeframes. Optus was late with six per cent of its CSG activities, excluding resale connection activities on behalf of other service providers. AAPT was late for two per cent of its CSG activities. Detailed CSG performance data is provided in Appendix 4.3.

Mass service disruptions Under the CSG Standard, a CSP can claim an exemption from connection and fault repair requirements by giving public notice of a mass service disruption (MSD). Many of the mass service disruptions for which CSPs can claim an exemption relate to extreme weather events. For example, 3,190 Telstra services were affected by the storms in the Newcastle region of New South Wales in June 2007. In October 2006 ACMA amended the CSG Standard to change the requirements for public notices of MSDs issued by CSPs. The amendments included definitions of extreme weather conditions such as lightning, hail and heavy rainfall. The public notices must provide evidence that the extreme weather conditions outlined in the public notice meet the new definitions set out in the standard.

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During 2006–07, Telstra declared 13 MSDs, 12 of which were due to extreme weather conditions and the remaining MSD was due to damaged cables or networks. The average 4 number of Telstra services affected was 2,302, for an average exemption period of eight working days. Optus declared 15 MSDs during 2006–07, 14 of which were due to extreme weather conditions and one was due to damaged cables or networks. The average number of services affected was 15,257 for an average duration of nine working days. TransACT declared one MSD for 2006–07. Figure 4.10 shows the trend for MSDs for 2002–03 to 2006–07. Figure 4.10: Number of mass service disruptions (Telstra and Optus only), 2001–02 to 2006–07 Telstra Optus 140

120

100

0 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA

Priority assistance ‘Priority assistance’ is the priority telephone connection and repair service for people with a diagnosed life-threatening medical condition who are at risk of suffering a rapid and life-threatening deterioration in their condition. Telstra offers the service as a requirement of its licence conditions, while the carriers AAPT and Primus voluntarily offer priority assistance services in line with the industry code, ACIF C609:2003 Priority Assistance for Life Threatening Medical Conditions Industry Code, which was registered in October 2003. A new code was introduced in July 2007. Table 4.5: Number of priority assistance customers as at 30 June 2007

2005 2006 2007 Telstra 148,602 169,877 188,802 AAPT 1,124 989 3,104 Primus 2,364 2,120 2,026 Source: Telstra, AAPT, Primus

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Priority assistance customers are given faster connection and fault repair of their fixed-line telephone service. A service must be connected or a fault repaired within 24 hours in urban and rural areas (an area with a population of more than 200 people) or 48 hours in remote areas (areas with a population of fewer than 200 people). Appendix 4.5 contains more details of priority assistance performance.

Telstra’s local presence plan As part of its licence conditions (Carrier Licence Conditions (Telstra Corporation Limited) Declaration 1997 (Amendment No 2 of 2005), Telstra is required to maintain a local presence in regional, rural and remote Australia, to the extent that this is broadly compatible with its overall commercial interests. The local presence plan must set out the range of activities and strategies that Telstra will deploy in regional, rural and remote Australia to fulfil its obligation. Telstra’s local presence plan came into effect on 1 July 2006 and is currently in force until June 2009. Telstra will be required to revise the plan and re-submit it to the Minister for approval every three years. As part of its licence conditions, Telstra must report annually on the progress of its local presence plan. The first report has been received from Telstra and is currently being assessed.

Interim and alternative telephone services Under the USO, Telstra customers must be given access to an interim or alternative telephone service when there is an extended delay in connecting or repairing their standard service. An interim service is a voice service that generally uses mobile or satellite technology and is charged at standard telephone service rates. An alternative service can be supplied in various ways, such as through call diversion to a mobile or another fixed-line telephone service. Telstra is not obliged to charge standard telephone service rates for these services and costs can vary according to arrangements with customers. In cases where circumstances are beyond its control, such as damage to a CSP’s facilities, natural disasters or extreme weather conditions, Telstra is not required to provide an interim or alternative service. Other CSPs are not required to offer interim and alternative services for extended delays in connecting services or repairing faults, although they may choose to do so to limit the compensation payable to customers under the CSG Standard. During 2006–07, Telstra supplied: – 3,526 interim or alternative services to customers experiencing a significant delay in connection; and – 96 per cent received their interim or alternative service within the 30 working days target. The TIO received few complaints in 2006–07 about interim and alternative services. Table 4.6A shows the number of complaints between 2003-04 and 2005-06. The TIO changed how it categorises complaints in 2006-07, and this is shown in Table 4.6B.

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Table 4.6A: Complaints to the TIO about interim and alternative services, 2003–04 to 2005–06 4 Complaint category (up to 30 June 2006) 2003–042 004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Inadequate/ incorrect advice regarding 1 7 1 Category interim/alternative service for USO services deleted Faults/ delay/ USO/ interim/alternative 3 0 16 See table 4.6B below Provision/ delay/ USO/ 7 9 7 See table interim/alternative 4.6B below Source: ACMA, TIO Table 4.6B New complaint category (effective as of 1 July 2006) 2006–07 Delay in provision of, or refusal to provide or the quality of an interim 139 or alternative service for CSG services

Source: ACMA, TIO

Disability equipment scheme The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 requires service providers to ensure that equipment supplied as part of their service allows equivalent access for consumers with a disability. Telstra specifies the services it will supply to people with a disability in its USO Standard Marketing Plan and supplies specialised equipment through its Disability Equipment Program. Optus and Primus also maintain a disability equipment program. Telstra In response to input from Telstra’s Disability Equipment Program Consumer Advisory Group and other key disability stakeholders, Telstra introduced new equipment and additional features: – an auxiliary power pack with battery back up for the Big Button multi-purpose phone— people with severe dexterity or mobility issues can use the phone with an auxiliary switch, such as a puffer, lever or ‘jellybean’ switch; – Hotkey dialling for use with the auxiliary switch; and – a lower sheen version of the user guide for the Big Button multi-purpose phone, to improve legibility. The number of requests for TTYs and associated equipment such as visual signal alerts has continued to fall, largely because most of the demand for this equipment has already been met. Another reason for the decreasing demand may be the introduction of cheaper mobile telephony options (SMS, MMS and videoconferencing) and their adoption by customers who would have traditionally used TTYs. The introduction of volume control as a universal design feature on Telstra’s standard phone (the T1000) led to increased accessibility for customers with a hearing disability. This has resulted in a corresponding reduction in the demand for equipment such as the general purpose alarm or double adaptor.

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Telstra’s Big Button multi-purpose phone includes hands-free, voice aid and volume-control functionality as standard features. While Telstra records the number of Big Button multi-purpose phones supplied under its Disability Equipment Program, it does not record requests for hands-free and voice-aid functionality. However, the number of hands-free and voice-aid phones supplied by Telstra appears to have decreased significantly since July 2005, when the Big Button multi-purpose phone was introduced, most likely because it meets the need for hands-free and voice-aid functionality. The number of Big Button multi-purpose phones requested and supplied during 2006–07 has fallen marginally. Because of its range of accessible features, the Big Button multi-purpose phone is the most requested piece of equipment in Telstra’s Disability Equipment Program. Telstra expects this to remain so into the foreseeable future.

Optus Optus does not track the number of handsets provided to customers with a disability. A handset with volume control and big buttons is available at point of sale to customers who require these features. The handset is ordered through Optus customer service as for other standard equipment. Customers on Optus’ local access resale plan (service delivered via Telstra’s network) can access additional disability equipment through Telstra’s Disability Equipment Program. Optus has introduced the Doro corded handset as a standard offering for customers with a hearing or vision impairment. The handset includes volume control, hearing aid compatibility and large buttons. TTYs are also available from Optus.

Primus Primus received 46 requests in 2006–07 for disability equipment and provided this equipment in response to 38 requests.

National Relay Service The National Relay Service (NRS) enables people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment to access a standard telephone service on terms and in circumstances that are comparable to other Australians. There is also an outreach component to raise awareness of the NRS and offer training in its use. The NRS legislative obligations are outlined in Part 3 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999. The NRS provides several communication services that enable: – a person with a speech impairment to speak to another person, with the relay officer repeating any part of the message that has not been understood; – a person to communicate in text, utilising a teletypewriter (TTY), with the relay officer relaying the message as voice to another party;

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– a person with a speech impairment to listen to phone conversations and type their responses for relaying in speech by the relay officer; 4 – a person with a hearing impairment to communicate by voice, with the operator typing the spoken response; and – access to a text emergency service via the number 106.

Use of the NRS There has been a gradually declining trend in the use of the NRS over the past three years, which continued in 2006–07. Such a decline in use is thought to be attributable to more widespread use of text-based communication methods in the community, which may replace the need to make a call via the NRS. There was a 7.23 per cent decline in the number of call minutes relayed by the NRS in 2006–07, following a 6.4 per cent decline in the previous year. There was also a decline in the number of calls received by the NRS and the number of outbound calls placed on behalf of callers.

Figure 4.11: National Relay Service activity, 2002–03 to 2006–07

Calls to the NRS Outbound calls relayed call minutes 4.0m

3.5m

3.0m

2.5m

2.0m

1.5m

1.0m

0.5m

0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: National Relay Service providers The NRS is provided under contract to the Australian Government. Until 30 June 2006, the Australian Communication Exchange Limited (ACE) provided both the relay service and the outreach service, which provides information, support and training for the NRS to users and potential users of the service. From 1 July 2006, ACE has continued to deliver the NRS Relay Service. However, as a result of a competitive tender process undertaken by the former Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) during 2005–06, the outreach service has been delivered by WestWood Spice, a specialist marketing and communications agency.

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NRS levy The NRS is funded by a quarterly levy on eligible telecommunications carriers. Carriers holding a carrier licence and covered by the most recent eligible revenue assessment made by ACMA before the start of each quarter are eligible to pay the levy. A Ministerial Determination restricts payment of the levy to carriers that have eligible revenue of $10 million or more in the most recent eligible revenue assessment made before the start of each quarter. ACMA is responsible for collecting the NRS levy on behalf of the government. In 2006–07, the cost of providing the NRS was $14.8 million (inclusive of GST and subject to final reconciliation of the June 2007 quarter), an increase of more than 15 per cent on the costs in 2005–06, although still below the total cost of providing the service (more than $16 million) in 2004–05. The cost increase was due to additional expenditure on marketing and an increase in the per-call-minute costs negotiated under the new contract.

Emergency call service The telecommunications industry is required to provide, free of charge, access to the emergency call service on most standard telephone services. The emergency call service is an operator- assisted service that connects callers to police, fire or ambulance services in life-threatening or time-critical situations. The providers of the emergency call service are: – Telstra—for calls made to the primary emergency call number 000 and to the international emergency number 112 for GSM and WCDMA mobile phones; and – Australian Communication Exchange—for calls made to the 106 text service for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. This section outlines the volume and type of calls to the emergency call service numbers, along with the performance of the emergency call persons in answering emergency calls.

Emergency call service: 000 and 112 There were 12,139,526 calls offered to the 000 and 112 emergency service numbers in 2006–07, an increase of 550,749 calls (up by five per cent from 2005–06). Table 4.7: Call volumes to emergency call service numbers 000 and 112, 2002–03 to 2006–07

2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Total number of calls offered 11,332,701 12,741,247 10,807,627 11,588,777 12,139,526 Source: Emergency call person (Telstra) Over the last five years: – calls from mobile phones increased from 50.9 per cent to 62.2 per cent of all emergency calls; – calls from fixed-line telephones declined from 48.0 per cent to 37.1 per cent of all emergency calls; and – misdials from fax machines continued to decline from 1.1 to 0.3 per cent of all emergency calls—this is attributed to the introduction of a system to automatically terminate calls to 000 where too many digits are dialled, which eliminated faxes destined for international numbers.

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Table 4.8: Call origin by service type for calls to 000 and 112, 2002–03 to 2006–07 4 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Facsimile 129,948 192,054 49,328 27,741 31,626 Payphone 847,295 782,767 526,521 555,624 540,120 Other fixed 4,587,111 4,531,340 3,292,050 3,620,865 3,936,864 Mobile 5,768,344 7,262,227 6,912,810 7,274,901 7,547,031 Total 11,332,698 12,768,388 10,780,709 11,479,131 12,055,641 Source: Emergency call person (Telstra)

Telstra’s performance in answering emergency calls ACMA’s Telecommunications Emergency Call Service Determination 2002 sets out the speed, efficiency and reliability standards for the emergency call person’s handling of calls to 000 and 112, as follows: – 85 per cent of emergency calls answered within five seconds; and – 95 per cent of those calls answered within 10 seconds. Telstra continues to perform above the legislated requirement for emergency call answering, with 97 per cent of all calls to 000 and 112 answered within five seconds and 98.8 per cent answered within 10 seconds in 2006–07 (see Appendix 4.7).

Factors affecting the effectiveness of the emergency call service A significant proportion of calls made to the emergency call service do not relate to genuine emergencies. Non-genuine calls arise as a result of misdials, automatically generated calls from incorrectly programmed fax machines or modems, callers reporting matters which are not emergencies, and hoax and malicious calls. Measures introduced to reduce the handling time for non-genuine calls since 2002 include: – Diversion of caller no response (CNR) calls to an interactive voice response. Of the 3.2 million CNR calls to 000 and 112 in 2006–07, only 220,000 (6.8 per cent of all CNR calls) continued the call by pressing ‘55’ to be connected to an emergency service organisation (ESO). Without the interactive voice response, Australian emergency services would have needed to answer an additional 2,980,000 calls during 2006–07. – A system to redirect calls to a recorded voice announcement where excess digits are dialled after 000. – A recorded voice announcement that is deployed if extreme events lead to peak traffic conditions, such as a major storm or bushfires. – Diversion of callers seeking state emergency service (SES) assistance to a recorded voice announcement advising them that the 000 service does not redirect calls to the SES and they need to call the SES directly.

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Calls connected to emergency service organisations Emergency call persons transfer emergency calls to the relevant state or territory emergency service answering point, which arrange for the dispatch of an emergency response. Over the past five years, the number of calls to 000 and 112 has grown by approximately six per cent, while the proportion of calls transferred to an ESO has increased from 35 per cent in 2002–03 to 43 per cent in 2006–07. Figures 4.12 and 4.13 show the proportions of transferred and not transferred calls from mobile and fixed–line phones.

Figure 4.12: Mobile call transfer connection rates, 2006–07

connected 2.3m 30% not connected 5.2m 70%

Source: Emergency call person (Telstra) Figure 4.13: Fixed-line call transfer connection rates, 2006–07

connected 2.8m 63% not connected 1.6m 37%

Source: Emergency call person (Telstra)

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Table 4.9: Emergency call connected to ESOs – 000 and 112, 2002–03 to 2006–07 4 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006-07 Calls not transferred–mobile 5,191,580 5,937,501 5,317,618 5,398,883 5,248,640 Calls not transferred–fixed 2,192,464 2,815,14 1,266,661 1,508,728 1,673,144 Calls connected 3,948,657 4,015,738 4,196,430 4,571,520 5,133,857 Source: Emergency call person (Telstra) Compared with 2005–06, the proportion of mobile calls connected in 2006–07 increased by two per cent (to 56 per cent), and the proportion of fixed-line calls connected decreased by one per cent (to 86 per cent).

Emergency call service – 106 text service The Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) is contracted by the Commonwealth to provide the National Relay Service for people who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment (see National Relay Service in this chapter). The service includes a text-based emergency call service on the number 106.

Use of the text emergency call service During 2006–07, 228,141 calls were made to the emergency call service number 106, a drop of 20.1 per cent from the previous year. ACE attributes the reduction in call volumes to the introduction of measures to reduce misdials and hoax calls, including the termination of calls with excess digits. Of the 228,141 calls made to 106 in 2006–07, less than 0.15 per cent per cent related to a genuine emergency. The reason for the high proportion of non-genuine emergency calls is believed to largely be a result of callers misdialling while attempting to call other geographic or special services numbers. The way in which the genuine calls have been relayed is shown in Table 4.10. TTY calls continue to be the most common call type.

Table 4.10: Calls to 106 by call type, 2002–03 to 2006–07

2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Hearing carryover 2 2 0 3 3 Modem 6 3 1 1 4 Voice carryover 26 17 14 16 14 Teletypewriter 254 267 262 303 313 Voice 0 9 14 15 9 Unclassified 21 0 0 0 0 Total 309 298 291 338 343 Source: Emergency call person (ACE)

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Performance of ACE The NRS contract includes two performance indicators, which ACMA measures quarterly, for the handling by ACE of emergency calls to 106: – at least 99 per cent of 106 calls answered within 10 seconds; and – no more than an average of five text emergency service calls per 1,000 (0.5 per cent) into the NRS to receive a busy signal. As shown in Table 4.11, ACE consistently met the targets for calls answered within 10 seconds and for call blocking for all quarters of 2006–07. The average annual call blocking percentage improved from 0.33 per cent in 2005–06 to 0.09 per cent in 2006–07.

Table 4.11: Australian Communication Exchange 106 emergency call service quarterly performance, 2006–07

Q3 2006 Q4 2006 Q1 2007 Q2 2007 % calls answered in less than 10 seconds 99.9% 99.9% 99.9% 99.9% Call blockage percentage 0.17% 0.06% 0.12% 0.01% Source: Emergency call person (ACE)

Accuracy of the Integrated Public Number Database When emergency calls are transferred to state and territory emergency service organisations, the service name and address information sourced from the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) (see Role of the Integrated Public Number Database in this chapter) is carried with the call. Access to address information improves emergency service response times, especially for calls made from fixed-line services. ACMA has been undertaking audits of the accuracy of the address information in the IPND to improve the accuracy of information received by ESOs. The most recent audit of the IPND in November 2006 revealed that 94.5 per cent of records were found to be of a quality that can be regarded as having ‘high or good usability’ when compared with the referential database, G-NAF (Geocoded National Address File), an improvement of 3 per cent from the 2005 audit and 4.8 per cent from the 2004 audit.

Number portability The capacity to port telephone numbers facilitates competition by allowing consumers to select the CSP whose services are best suited to their needs, without having to change their telephone number. Industry participants develop more competitive service offerings to attract new subscribers from their competitors.

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Low volumes of ports do not necessarily mean that competitive benefits are not being realised, since consumers may benefit by CSPs retaining customers through improved 4 services or prices. Conversely, high porting volumes may be the result of special promotions or unrelated changes to the industry, for example, the closure of a network. Number portability is available on the following services: – local numbers (from 1 January 1998); – freephone and local rate numbers (from 16 November 2000); and – mobile numbers (from 25 September 2001).

Local number portability During 2006–07, the total volume of local numbers ported was 703,216, an average of 58,601 per month (see Figure 4.14). This represents a 0.7 per cent increase on local numbers ported in 2005–06, and is 5.6 per cent of the total number of local telephone services in operation in Australia. Porting of local numbers has increased markedly in the past three years which may reflect the impact of increasing competition, together with the attraction of bundled service offerings, for example, combined telephone and ADSL broadband package, which were not available in previous years. Increasing awareness in the community of local number porting options and rights may also have contributed to the increase.

Figure 4.14 Local number ports, 2001–02 to 2006–07 800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA The majority (71 per cent) of local number ports continue to be classified as complex ports1, which suggests that the bulk of local number porting is most likely to be business customers. However, this is down from over 90 per cent in 2005-06 which suggests an increased focus by CSPs on the residential market segment.

1 Complex ports rely on a manual process that is project-managed by the CSP, typically requiring some physical work to be undertaken at the customer’s site or the provision of a new transmission link to the customer’s site.

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Freephone and local rate number portability Freephone and local rate numbers (FLRNs) are used by organisations to market their business with a number which may be called at no or low cost. Industry Number Management Services Pty Ltd has been delegated the management of these numbers on ACMA’s behalf, including allocation and surrender of numbers. There were 10,750 FLRNs ported during 2006–07, a 15.9 per cent decrease on the 12,777 ports in 2005-06 (see Figure 4.15). This decrease reversed the previous year’s increase and possibly suggests a return to a trend of decreasing rates of FLRN porting. The FLRNs ported in 2006-07 represent 4.4 per cent of the total number of FLRNs in operation. Since November 2000, when portability for FLRNs was introduced, a total of 71,134 services have been ported (to 30 June 2007).

Figure 4.15: Freephone and local rate number ports, 2001–02 to 2006–07 16

0 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: Industry Number Management Services Pty Ltd

Mobile number portability Mobile number portability (MNP) enables a customer to port their number within minutes, in circumstances where all participants’ systems are operating efficiently, because there is no need for network development to facilitate a number port. However, transaction delays by one industry participant may impact adversely on the porting performance of all industry participants. During 2006–07, there were 1,313,241 mobile numbers ported, a decrease of 12.1 per cent (see Figure 4.16). Of those, 1,093,208 were inter-network ports and 220,033 were intra-network ports. Intra-network ports include ports occurring in the same network between different service providers, for example, between resellers on the same network. As a proportion of the total number of mobile phones in operation, 6.2 per cent of mobile numbers were ported in 2006-07. Since the introduction of MNP in September 2001, approximately 6.1 million mobile numbers have been ported.

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The 2006-07 reduction in porting may be explained by better customer retention strategies implemented by mobile providers and associated product packaging, including longer term 4 contracts. Also, a possible trend to higher value and content rich packages offered on 3G networks may also discourage consumers to port due to the limited availability of equivalent or substitute content packages.

Figure 4.16: Mobile Number Ports, 2002–03 to 2006–07 16

0 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA

Pre-selection and call over-ride Pre-selection and call over-ride features encourage CSPs to compete for customers with cheaper call prices, attractive pricing plans and service features. Pre-selection means that customers are not tied to the provider of their standard telephone service for specific call types. Customers have the ability to nominate an alternative CSP to supply all calls in the pre-selection basket, including: – national long distance calls; – international direct-dial calls (0011); – certain operator-assisted services; – international ring-back pricing code (0012) calls that advise a customer of the cost of a recently completed call; and – calls from fixed to mobile phones. However, customers can also use a four-digit over-ride code to bypass their pre-selected service provider to use another provider on a call-by-call basis. The regulatory framework provides for ACMA to grant exemptions to CSPs from complying with statutory pre-selection obligations. No exemptions were sought and provided in 2006-07.

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Protection and regulation of the online environment Research commissioned by ACMA on children’s use of electronic communications shows that 96 per cent of children use the internet at home, and that 59 per cent of children have a mobile phone. Children and young adults readily accept the internet as a key communications tool and the use of the internet for social networking has grown rapidly. Online content is widely accessible across many different platforms in the Australian communications environment, delivering substantial benefits for all parts of the community. However, the online environment presents the potential for children to be exposed to harmful content or to inappropriate contact by adults. Two key strategies have been identified by the government to foster a safer online environment: – protection from harmful content and inappropriate contact through regulation and co-regulatory processes; and – consumer empowerment and education.

Protection from harmful content and contact The regulation of new media, such as online or audiovisual content, has evolved from content regulations that applied to broadcasting and other traditional entertainment media. Based on the principle that what is illegal offline should also be illegal online, the current classification framework set out under the National Classification Scheme serves as the reference point for the assessment of online content. The regulatory framework comprised: – Schedule 5 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, which provides for the regulation of stored internet content; and – the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No.1), which provides for the regulation of premium content services offered via mobile phones; and – Schedule 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act which extends the regulatory framework for stored internet content to a broad range of content services delivered over convergent devices. Schedule 7 will commence on 20 January 2008.

The codes of practice for the fixed-line and mobile telecommunications industry in Australia2 apply to internet service providers (ISPs), internet content hosts (ICHs) and mobile carriers. These codes, which were developed by the Internet Industry Association (IIA), contain measures to assist consumers in their use and their children’s use of internet content.

2 The Internet Industry Codes of Practice are available at www.acma.gov.au/webwr/aba/contentreg/codes/internet/documents/iia_code.pdf

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Online content safety measures covered by the codes include requirements that ISPs, ICHs and mobile carriers take steps to: 4 – manage children’s access to online content and restricted mobile content (for example, ISPs must ensure that children do not open online access accounts without adult consent); – provide safety information to users on methods of supervising and controlling children’s access to online and mobile content (for example, filtering software); and – advise users about making or escalating complaints to ACMA about prohibited online or mobile content. ACMA published its Safety Measures Notice in 2006 which provides instructions to industry on safety measures mobile chat room providers might use to address the general risk of illegal contact between children and adults. The obligation to provide safety measures commenced on 11 July 2006.

Empowerment and education ACMA works with industry to provide consumers with appropriate skills, tools and resources for managing access to online content. As part of the Protecting Australian Families Online initiative announced by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts on 21 June 2006, the National Filter Scheme provides all Australian families with a free internet content filter, and ISPs will be required to offer free filters to new and existing customers. ACMA also provides a range of advice and assistance to families about internet safety, primarily through its Cybersmart website (www.cybersmartkids.com.au) and related printed resources. The www.cybersmartkids.com.au website contains sections on mobile phones, instant messaging, webcams and weblogs, as well as other emerging social networking technologies. A complementary online activity, ‘Cybersmart Detectives’, a program for use in schools, teaches children how to stay safe when online. As well as these educational initiatives to protect and empower consumers, ACMA operates a complaints hotline for offensive internet content, and collaborates with international agencies to expedite the processing of illegal material referred through this mechanism.

Investigation of consumer complaints about potentially prohibited content Under Schedule 5 of the Broadcasting Services Act, ACMA investigates all valid complaints about stored online content, such as websites, newsgroup postings and file sharing content that is likely to be classified RC, X18+ or, if hosted in Australia, R18+ (this is known as ‘potentially prohibited’ material). During 2006–07, ACMA received 602 complaints about potentially prohibited internet content. Of these, 477 resulted in completed investigations, 262 of which resulted in the location of 499 individual items of potentially prohibited internet content. Since 2000, when Schedule 5 of the Broadcasting Services Act took effect, ACMA has investigated almost 4,500 individual items of potentially prohibited internet content. Almost 60 per cent has been found to relate to child pornography or paedophilia.

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Figure 4.17 demonstrates the breakdown of the content type categories investigated. Approximately 95 per cent of potentially prohibited content investigated by ACMA is hosted overseas.

Figure 4.17: Potentially prohibited items investigated by content type, January 2000 to June 2007 R 18+ x 18+ RC sexual violence RC other RC sexual fanatasy RC child pornography/paedophilia 3.0k

2.5k

2.0k

1.5k

1.0k

500

0 Source: ACMA Potentially prohibited content – ACMA’s role If potentially prohibited content is hosted in Australia, ACMA will direct the ICH to remove the content from the internet. If the content is hosted overseas, ACMA will notify the suppliers of approved filters in accordance with the procedure set out in the registered industry code of practice, to block access to the content for users of those filters. During 2006–07, final take-down notices were issued for five items of Australian-hosted prohibited internet content and a total of 494 overseas-hosted prohibited or potentially prohibited items were referred to suppliers of internet software filters. The predominance of potentially prohibited content originating from outside Australia has been a consistent trend over the life of the scheme. Since January 2000, ACMA has taken action on more than 4,100 items of overseas-hosted internet content, compared with approximately 360 items of Australian-hosted content. Appendix 4.9 has data on internet content investigations between 2002 and 2007.

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Figure 4.18: Potentially prohibited items investigated, January 2000 to June 2007 4 Australian hosted Overseas hosted 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA Further investigation of sufficiently serious content If potentially prohibited internet content is ‘sufficiently serious’ (that is, illegal material such as child pornography), ACMA refers the material to the appropriate law enforcement agency or affiliated overseas internet hotline. For content hosted outside Australia, ACMA refers details of child pornography to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and/or an Internet Hotline Providers’ Association (INHOPE) member hotline for investigation. ACMA referred 369 items of illegal internet content to law enforcement agencies and/or INHOPE member hotlines in 2006–07. Of these 369 items, one item was referred to police services in Australia. The predominance of referrals of illegal content to overseas authorities has been a consistent trend over the life of the scheme. Since January 2000, ACMA has referred over 2,800 individual items of content for law enforcement investigation, of which 93 per cent has been referred to overseas authorities. Since the scheme commenced (to 30 June 2007), ACMA has referred over 1,550 items of ‘sufficiently serious’ overseas hosted online child pornography to an INHOPE hotline.

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Figure 4.19: Illegal internet content referred, January 2000 to June 2007 Referrals to Australian police Referrals to overseas police/INHOPE hotline 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA

International collaboration Because of the global nature of the internet, international cooperation is a key component of effective regulation. Schedule 5 charges ACMA with the responsibility to liaise with overseas regulatory and other relevant bodies about co-operative arrangements for the regulation of the internet industry. In the course of implementing Australia's co-regulatory scheme for internet content, ACMA has participated in a wide range of international regulatory meetings and networks. ACMA has had particular regard to the operation of the Safer Internet Action Plan (SIAP) of the European Union, which has objectives and elements similar to the Australian co-regulatory scheme. The plan comprises strategies in the areas of hotlines, filtering, education and awareness. SIAP established and funds INHOPE, which has 28 member hotlines from 25 countries. ACMA has been a member of INHOPE since 2000.

Telecommunications privacy provisions The Privacy Act 1988 sets out a national scheme governing the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information by private sector organisations. The Privacy Act seeks to balance privacy protection against competing social interests such as facilitating the free flow of information and the right of business to operate efficiently. ACMA has regulatory obligations that interact with the Privacy Act, including: – Telecommunications Act 1997—Part 13 provides for the confidentiality of personal information and the contents of communications, including restrictions on how telecommunications carriers and CSPs may use and disclose personal information; and – Spam Act 2003—establishes a scheme for regulating commercial email and other electronic messages.

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The Attorney-General’s Department administers the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, which prohibits the interception of telecommunications except where 4 authorised. The obligations placed on carriers and CSPs by the Telecommunications Act to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies include facilitating lawful interception. Under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act, ACMA has registered industry codes addressing privacy issues such as the handling of personal information in the IPND and e-marketing.

Disclosures of personal information under the telecommunications act Industry entities, including carriers, CSPs, the IPND manager (Telstra) and emergency call persons, must not disclose or use personal information except in limited circumstances including: – assisting in investigations conducted by law enforcement or national security agencies, ACMA, the ACCC or the TIO; – addressing a threat to a person’s life or health; or – satisfying the business needs of other carriers and CSPs. ACMA requires all carriers and CSPs to report annually on the quantity and type of disclosures made under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act. The federal Privacy Commissioner is responsible for monitoring industry compliance with the record-keeping requirements associated with any disclosures.

Figure 4:20: Disclosure of personal information under the Telecommunications Act, 2001–02 to 2006–07

Under law or as witness (ss. 280 & 281) 2% Enforcement of law (s. 282) 73% Threat to life or health 0% With consent (s. 298) 25% Other 0%

Source: carriers The number of disclosures of personal information in 2006–07 was 1,165,318, an increase of 220,951 (or 23.4 per cent) over the previous reporting year. Law enforcement (section 282) comprises the largest category of disclosures and is discussed in more detail below.

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Disclosures made with the knowledge or consent of the person concerned (section 289) have increased sharply from 133,765 in 2005–06 to 289,621 in 2006–07 (a 54 per cent increase). This increase continues a trend noted in the 2005–06 report, which can be explained in part by carriers disclosing customer details for credit-worthiness checks. The aggregated totals of the quantity and type of disclosures made under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act for 2006–07 are shown in Appendix 4.8. Among the major CSPs, Telstra makes more disclosures than the other carriers both because of its market share and because of its role as the IPND Manager (see Figure 4.21).

Figure 4.21: Disclosures of personal information by carrier, 2006–07

Telstra 61% Virgin Mobile 9% Vodafone 9% Optus 5% Other 16%

Source: carriers

Supporting law enforcement The telecommunications industry, including internet service providers, is obliged to provide reasonably necessary assistance—usually the provision of information about consumers of telecommunications services and their communications—to government agencies, including law enforcement and national security agencies. The information is used to assist government agencies undertake criminal investigations, enforce laws imposing civil penalties, protect the public revenue and safeguard national security.

Disclosures of customer information to government agencies To protect the privacy of telecommunications customers, restrictions are placed on the disclosure of customer information by the telecommunications industry. Civil and criminal law enforcement agencies must establish or certify that the information they request is reasonably necessary to enable them to perform their law enforcement functions. The telecommunications industry provides two kinds of information to agencies: – customer data provided under the Telecommunications Act 1997; and – content of communications provided by lawful interception under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

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Under section 282 of the Telecommunications Act, telecommunications customer data may be disclosed to enforcement agencies by the telecommunications industry: 4 – without certificate—where the service provider is satisfied that it is reasonably necessary for enforcement of the criminal law or a law imposing a pecuniary penalty or protection of public revenue; or – certified—where the enforcement agency certifies that it is reasonably necessary for enforcement of the criminal law or a law imposing a pecuniary penalty or protection of public revenue. ACMA encourages the telecommunications industry to seek certification for requests wherever possible as this places the decision making with qualified law enforcement professionals and removes the exercise of discretion from telecommunications service providers. In 2006–07, 50 per cent of the 844,949 disclosures to law enforcement agencies were uncertified, compared with 52 per cent in 2005–06, 53 per cent in 2004–05 and 60 per cent in 2003–04. Data on disclosures of customer information is in Appendix 4.8.

Disclosures of customer information to agencies under other laws In 2006–07, the number of disclosures authorised by or under law (section 280) increased by 7,898 (57.9 per cent) (see Figure 4.22).

Figure 4.22 Disclosures authorised by or under law (section 280) 25k

20k

15k

10k

0 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA

Interception The content of communications between users of telecommunications services is strictly protected in Australia, as one of the most crucial areas of privacy protection. Lawful interception may only be provided to law enforcement and national security agencies in accordance with a warrant under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. Interception for other purposes is prohibited, with criminal penalties for breaches.

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Cost of providing assistance Division 2 of Part 15 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 obliges carriers and carriage service providers to ensure that their networks, facilities and carriage services are capable of enabling a communications to be intercepted when presented with an interception warrant issued under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act. This obligation includes a requirement to develop, install and maintain the interception capability. Section 314 of the Telecommunications Act set outs the terms and conditions on which carriers and carriage service providers are required to provide help to an agency involving an interception capability or a special assistance capability required under Division 2 of Part 15 of the Act. The telecommunications industry is generally permitted to recover from enforcement agencies the cost of providing assistance. However, the industry cannot recover the cost of providing interception capability in the network. In 2006–2007, the cost of providing interception was $8,250,803. This represents an increase of $2,501,695 or 43.5 per cent over the 2005-06 cost.

Figure 4.23: Cost of maintaining interception capabilities ($m), 1998–99 to 2006–07 $14m

12m

10m

0 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA

Role of the Integrated Public Number Database The IPND is an industry-wide database of all listed and unlisted public telephone numbers, customer name and address information, and the name of the customer’s CSP. It is managed by Telstra under its carrier licence conditions. Telstra reported that the IPND contained 48,083,674 connected records at 30 June 2007, an increase of 2,084,054 records (or 4.5 per cent) over the past 12 months. At 30 June 2007, 38 carriers and CSPs were listed as data providers to the IPND, compared with 31 at the same time last year. The increase in data providers over the past 12 months was due partly to new market entrants and partly to existing CSPs becoming registered data providers and submitting their data to the IPND themselves.

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Personal information contained in the IPND is a primary source of data disclosed under the Telecommunications Act, although personal information can also be sought directly from, 4 and disclosed by, carriers and CSPs in some circumstances. To maintain the privacy of the personal information contained in the IPND, Telstra is only permitted to disclose information from it for specified purposes and to registered data users. Approved purposes include the operation of the emergency call service, assisting enforcement agencies or safeguarding national security, providing directory assistance services and publishing public number directories. Carriers and CSPs are generally complying with the obligations detailed in Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. Incidents of non-compliance tend to be of a one-off nature and are generally indicative of inadequate care being taken in project-planning phases, for example, when planning marketing campaigns.

Australian Internet Security Initiative There is growing recognition within industry and government that to effectively tackle the problem of spam, it is important to ensure a secure computing environment. This is reflected in data from Messagelabs Intelligence, which estimated that in 2006, spam generated by ‘botnets’ (groups of ‘zombie’ computers—computers infected with malicious software, such as a computer virus or trojan horse that can be controlled remotely from anywhere in the world) represented over 80 per cent of all spam in circulation.3 Once infected, zombie computers can be used to commit online crimes without the computer owner knowing, such as sending spam, hosting offensive material or taking part in distributed denial of service attacks. In response to the growing threat posed by infected computers, in the 2007 budget the Australian Government committed—among other e-security initiatives—funding of $4.7 million over four years to expand the Australian Internet Security Initiative (AISI). Under the AISI, ACMA provides daily reports to participating Australian ISPs about compromised computers residing on their networks. The ISPs then contact their customers to inform them that their computer is infected and help them restore it to correct operation. The original pilot of the AISI involved six ISPs, which ACMA extended to 25 ISPs in October 2006. Under the next expansion of the AISI, ACMA will invite all Australian ISPs to participate in the initiative and increase the number of sources of compromised computers that feed into the AISI.

3 www.messagelabs.com/publishedcontent/publish/threat_watch_dotcom_en/intelligence_reports/ 2006_annual_security_report/DA_175657.html, accessed 12 June 2007.

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Spam monitoring and compliance ACMA, as the organisation responsible for the enforcement of the Spam Act 2003, handles complaints and enquiries from members of the public lodged at the spam website at www.spam.acma.gov.au. During 2006–07 ACMA received: – 1,831 written complaints, of which 1,325 (77 per cent) related to email spam and 506 (23 per cent) related to SMS spam; – 1,103 written enquiries and approximately 900 verbal enquiries on the spam telephone hotline; and – 25.8 million reports of spam submitted via the SpamMATTERS reporting button (30 May 2006 to 30 June 2007). Figure 4.24: Historical trends in monthly complaints received by ACMA, July 2005 to June 2007 complaints (total) enquiries (total) 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 2005 2006 2007 One notable trend during 2006–07 was the significant growth of complaints relating to mobile services, which increased from 18.9 per cent of all complaints received in 2005 06 to 23 per cent of all complaints received in 2006 07. The spike in June 2006 relates to the launch of ACMA’s SpamMATTERS program (see below).

Enforcement In 2006–07, ACMA carried out about 20 mid-level and major investigations related to the Spam Act. In October 2006, the Federal Court imposed fines of $4.5 million and $1 million respectively on Clarity1 Pty Ltd and Mr Wayne Mansfield for breaching the Act by sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages and using harvested address lists. ACMA submitted to the Federal Court that Clarity1 Pty Ltd and Mr Mansfield sent out at least 231 million commercial emails in 12 months after the Spam Act commenced in April 2004, with most of these messages unsolicited and in breach of the Act. ACMA also joined forces with the Dutch telecommunications regulator OPTA to investigate an Australian who is alleged to have used servers based in the Netherlands to send more than two billion spam emails in mid-2005. This investigation is ongoing.

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ACMA’s enforcement activities have seen Australia continue to fall in the world rankings of spamming countries. In the 2006 calendar year, the anti-spam and e-security company 4 Sophos ranked Australia 28th on its list of the top spam relaying countries. This compares favourably with Australia’s 10th placed ranking in March 2004, just before the enforcement provisions of the Spam Act came into effect, and a ranking of 21 in calendar year 2005.

SpamMATTERS ACMA launched the SpamMATTERS program on 30 May 2006. The program has been extremely successful and at 30 June 2007 had over 210,000 registered users, who had submitted over 25.8 million items of email spam. SpamMATTERS is a tool that allows spam to be reported to ACMA with one click of a computer mouse. Selecting the SpamMATTERS button instead of the delete key will simultaneously delete spam and report it. Spam reported using the SpamMATTERS button is provided in a format that assists forensic analysis, helping ACMA to rapidly identify emerging spam campaigns and provide information to authorities fighting spam related crime. The SpamMATTERS button can be downloaded directly from the ACMA website. The data generated through SpamMATTERS was used in several ACMA investigations in 2006–07. ACMA provided weekly reports of SpamMATTERS data to members of the Seoul–Melbourne anti-spam Memorandum of Understanding group to assist them to fight spam. Two special reports were provided to China, which acted promptly to address significant spamming activity originating from its jurisdiction.

Cooperating with industry The Internet Industry Spam Code of Practice came into force on 16 July 2006. Developed by the internet industry and registered with ACMA in March 2006, the code is designed to complement the Spam Act by providing an outline of best practice for spam. Under the code, internet and email service providers must provide spam-filtering options to their subscribers. They must also give end-users information about how to deal with spam and have a process for handling complaints from subscribers. In March 2007, the Internet Industry Association announced a review of the code and invited comments in response to a range of issues it raised. Comments closed in April 2007. The Australian eMarketing Code of Practice 2005 outlines best practice to follow for electronic promotional practices. Since registering the code in March 2005, ACMA has been involved in the committee that oversees the code and serves as the registrar for signatories to it.

Consumer education and protection ACMA participates in the Australian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT), along with 17 other government organisations. In 2006–07, ACMA was actively involved in ACFT’s major campaign, ‘Scams Target You’, which focused on encouraging consumers to protect their phones and computers. The campaign was designed to raise consumers’ awareness of the potential scams that occur when they use their phones or computers. Practical advice on measures consumers can take to protect themselves from such scams was provided as part of the campaign.

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Cabling regulation All individual cablers who perform customer cabling work that is connected or is intended to be connected to the telecommunications network must be registered with an ACMA- accredited registrar, of which there are five.4 On 30 June 2007, there were 58,398 registered cablers. Figure 4.25 shows that the total number of customer cablers in the industry has remained relatively stable since 30 June 2002. The growth in the total number of cablers prior to 30 June 2002 reflects the regulatory policy change introduced on 3 October 2000, which required cablers in the data, security and fire industries to register under the Telecommunications Cabling Provider Rules 2000 for the first time.

Figure 4.25: Number of licensed or registered cablers, 30 June 2000 to 30 June 2007. 70k

60k

50k

40k

30k

20k 42,078 49,870 56,112 55,405 57,502 55,042 56,958 58,398 10k

0 30 Jun 00 30 Jun 01 30 Jun 02 30 Jun 03 30 Jun 04 30 Jun 05 30 Jun 06 30 Jun 07 Source: ACMA The five accredited registrars provide cablers with registration and other associated services. Registrars offered three types of cabler registration during 2006–07: – Open—covering all types of residential and commercial cabling work; – Restricted—covering a restricted range of cabling work typically conducted in residential and small business settings; and – Lift—covering telecommunications cabling for lift installations. Cablers must meet ACMA competency requirements which address health, safety and network integrity issues prior to being granted registration.

4 Australian Cabler Registration Service (ACRS); Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL); BICSI Registered Cablers Australia Pty Ltd (BRCA); Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia); TITAB Australia Cabler Registry Services (TITAB ACRS).

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Enforcing compliance with cabling regulatory requirements 4 ACMA is responsible for investigating complaints about non-compliant cabling work or work performed by unregistered cablers. Where appropriate, ACMA conducts investigations and inspections of cabling work arising from these complaints. The legislation allows ACMA to take graduated responses to non-compliance. During 2006–07, ACMA compliance work resulted in the issuing of: – one notification of non-compliant cabling; – three advice notices; – two warning notices; and – one telecommunications infringement notice. No prosecutions were undertaken during the reporting period.

Communications infrastructure regulation

Installation of telecommunications facilities Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 authorises licensed telecommunications carriers to install low-impact facilities without state or local council planning approval. Facilities are low-impact if they are specified in the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 1997. ACMA monitors industry compliance with its obligations to install infrastructure in accordance with conditions set out in the Telecommunications Act and Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997.

Figure 4.26: Facility installation complaints received by ACMA and TIO, 2004–05 to 2006–07 Complaints to the TIO Complaints and enquiries to ACMA 600

500

400

300

200

100

0 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Source: ACMA and the TIO

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Under the Telecommunications Codes of Practice, an owner or occupier of land can object to the installation of a low impact facility on their land. Where the objection is not resolved by the telecommunications carrier, the objector can refer the objection to the TIO. The TIO can also investigate complaints that a carrier failed to give notice as required by the Telecommunications Code of Practice or about the manner of entry onto land. In 2006–07, the majority of land access complaints to the TIO related to damage to property by carriers. Thirty-nine complaints related to the failure of a carrier to give notice to the landowner or occupier. During 2006–07: – 14 objections to a notice of intention to engage in a low-impact facility activity were referred to the TIO from three carriers—Telstra, Vodafone and PIPE Networks; – the TIO found no valid grounds for objection for nine objections, and finalised the objections without giving direction to the carriers; – the TIO issued one direction to a carrier about those objections; and – two objections were withdrawn, and a further two were not finalised at 30 June 2007.

New cabling activity ACMA monitors and reports to the Minister on carriers’ efforts to place facilities underground. Carriers install new cable infrastructure for maintenance, customer lead-ins, new trunk routes and to service new suburbs. Consistent with previous years, most new cabling installations were underground in 2006–07. It is the carriers’ policy to place cables, including broadband telecommunications and ducting cables, underground in preference to aerial cabling where practicable. Over the past few years, Telstra has been responsible for most of the new cabling installations. In 2004–05, 89 per cent (10,595 kilometres out of a total of 11,991 kilometres) of underground cables installed around Australia were installed by Telstra. Only 26 per cent of the total aerial cabling activity of 396 kilometres installed in 2005–06 was by Telstra. In 2006–07, Telstra has advised that 99 per cent of all its new cabling is underground. Besides facilities access agreements with power, gas, road and rail utilities or with other carriers, many carriers have reported actively seeking opportunities for cost-effective installations underground through shared trench arrangements and the use of existing conduits owned by other utilities and carriers. New aerial cabling is only installed by carriers such as Telstra in instances where existing aerial cable requires replacement for maintenance purposes or it is only feasible to install aerial cable due to local conditions—for example, when rocky ground prevents the excavation of trenches. Other carriers have listed additional factors for consideration such as council and statutory authority approval, environment and right-of-way requirements, facilities access agreements, construction costs, building lead times and location.

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Removal of overhead cables 4 Under Clause 51, Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act, carriers are required to remove overhead telecommunications lines from poles within six months of the non-communications lines (such as an electricity cable) being permanently removed. Local government authorities may grant extensions of time or exemptions. In 2006–07, TransACT sought ACT government approval for an exemption to the requirement for underground cable for an aerial run of 160 metres in Fyshwick that does not presently have overhead electrical conductors above it. Given the nature of the TransAct network associated with this run, TransAct will require some time to properly plan the best approach for removing the aerial asset. Approval has not yet been granted by the ACT government. Carriers may elect to place the removed lines underground to provide ongoing services to their customers or to not replace the cables. Optus has informed ACMA that approximately 30 per cent (or four kilometres) of the removed aerial HFC cable network has not been placed underground because it was either located in an area with no customer impact or was uneconomical to place underground. Telstra reported that there have been no changes to its cable installation policies and that it is compliant with the obligation to remove aerial cable within six months of the last non-telecommunications cable being removed.

Electromagnetic emission regulation The use of wireless networks continues to expand, and in some cases replace, fixed-line telecommunications services. ACMA has regulatory arrangements in place to require that wireless infrastructure and associated devices comply with the standard that regulates electromagnetic emissions (EME) from wireless devices and facilities developed by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).

Wireless facilities Wireless facilities must comply with requirements of the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Apparatus Licence) Determination 2003, which makes EME exposure limits mandatory for such installations. Licensees must have their facilities assessed against the EME exposure limits and, for particular installations, hold specified records that show compliance. Significant penalties apply for breaches of the EME arrangements.

Mobile phone towers The Industry Code ACIF C564:2004 Deployment of Mobile Phone Network Infrastructure (the Infrastructure Code), which was registered by ACMA in April 2005, requires carriers to adopt a ‘precautionary approach’ when siting, designing and operating radiocommunications infrastructure to minimise EME exposure. Under the Infrastructure Code, carriers must consult with the community and local government when planning to install certain kinds of facilities, including some mobile phone towers.

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Carriers must provide members of the public with information about EME for specific sites upon request. The Mobile Carriers Forum (MCF) has made EME reports available online on the radio frequency national site archive at www.rfnsa.com.au. The archive provides a listing of all mobile phone base station facilities built or upgraded since April 2003. The MCF is an industry group comprising the four mobile carriers responsible for mobile phone infrastructure installation in Australia: Hutchison, Optus, Telstra and Vodafone. ACMA investigates complaints against the Infrastructure Code and may take regulatory action under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act. Information about complaints made under the code is provided in ACMA’s annual report for 2006–07.

Mobile phones and portable wireless devices To help ensure the safety of mobile phones and portable wireless devices such as cordless phones, manufacturers and importers must have their products assessed against the EME standard, label products with a compliance mark and maintain compliance records for inspection. The arrangement is underpinned by the Radiocommunications (Electromagnetic Radiation – Human Exposure) Standard 2003 (the EME Standard) and the Radiocommunications (Compliance Labelling – Electromagnetic Radiation) Notice 2003. Under the Radiocommunications Act 1992, suppliers can incur penalties of up to $165,000 for supplying a non-standard device.

Developments in regulated obligations on the telecommunications industry

USO review On 27 June 2007, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts announced a review of the universal service obligation (USO) and cuts to telecommunications industry regulatory ‘red tape’. The USO review will look at the current industry obligations and determine whether the load is being equally shared amongst telecommunications providers. The review will also consider whether it is appropriate for Telstra to be the USO provider in all circumstances. An issues paper has been released as part of the review and is available at www.dbcde.gov.au/uso.

New compensation rates for CSG customers On 31 October 2006, ACMA increased the compensation payable to customers for CSG breaches by about 21 per cent. Residential customers will receive daily compensation of $14.52 up until the sixth day of delay, when compensation increases to $48.40 a day. Businesses receive $24.20, then $48.40 daily. The changes also reduce the ability of service providers to claim for exemption in cases of predictable weather events and require them to provide documentary evidence to substantiate claims for exemptions due to extreme weather events.

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Table 4.12: Customer Service Guarantee compensation rates, from 31 October 2006 4 CSG timeframe (working days) Compensation payable per working day that connection or fault repair is late In place New service connection Fault repair Days 1–5 Day 6 connection onwards Infrastructure Infrastructure Residential Business close not close customers customers Urban 2 5 20 1 $14.52 $24.20 $48.40 Major rural 2 10 20 2 Minor rural 2 15 20 2 Remote 2 15 20 3 Source: ACMA

Integrated public number database In 2006, amendments were made to Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 2007 on the disclosure of information or a document from the IPND. These changes came about as a consequence of long-standing concerns about the alleged misuse of IPND data by public number directory publishers. The amendments required ACMA to produce a legislative instrument to establish and administer a scheme for authorising the use and disclosure of information from the IPND for the publication and maintenance of a public number directory and for research of a kind specified by the Minister. ACMA made the Telecommunications Integrated Public Number Database Scheme (the IPND Scheme) on 22 March 2007. The IPND Scheme provides for the making and assessment of applications, the period for which authorisations will be in force and the notification of decisions under the scheme. It also provides for the imposition of conditions on the grant of authorisations, and outlines the process for when authorisations end. Users granted authorisation by ACMA are only entitled to receive details of listed telephone numbers in the IPND. ACMA must ensure that applicants intend to use IPND data for the appropriate approved purpose, and will not use it for any other purpose. ACMA also has a role in ensuring the ongoing compliance of authorised users (including issuing remedial directions and formal warnings) and has the power to revoke authorisations. ACMA has received four applications for authorisation but is yet to make a decision on them. In addition, ACMA registered the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) Industry Code ACIF C555:2007, developed by the Communications Alliance, on 15 May 2007. The IPND Code, a revision of an existing Australian Communications Industry Forum code, aligns industry practices with the requirements of the Telecommunications Act and the IPND scheme. It establishes processes for data providers, data users and the IPND manager that promote the integrity of IPND data.

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Review of the assistance to law enforcement regime The legislative regime surrounding the provision of assistance to law enforcement and national security agencies has been progressively implemented since 2005 in accordance with recommendations from the Blunn Review of the interception regulatory regime. The Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Act 2006 implemented a number of recommendations of the Blunn Report. Further amendments to access to telecommunications data were introduced to Parliament during 2006–07.

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) During 2006–07, ACMA worked in conjunction with the Department, Communications Alliance, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) to make the changes to the regulatory environment recommended in the Department’s 2005 report, Examination of Policy and Regulation Relating to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Services. ACMA has introduced the 0550 range of numbers to identify location-independent services, which differ from traditional telephone services in that their user may make VoIP calls from anywhere within Australia. This will alert emergency services to enquire about the caller’s location when an emergency call is made.

Do Not Call Register During 2006–07, ACMA oversaw the development and launch of the Do Not Call Register. This new service, which comes at no charge for consumers, allows individuals to choose not to receive a wide range of unsolicited telemarketing calls by registering their home and mobile telephone numbers. The Do Not Call Register was launched on 3 May 2007. More than 200,000 telephone numbers were listed on the register in the first 24 hours after it opened and by 30 June 2007, 1.37 million telephone numbers had been listed. People are able to register their telephone numbers if they are used primarily for private or domestic purposes. Service Stream Solutions Pty Ltd (Service Stream) has been contracted to operate the register for an initial four-year period, for up to $12.6 million, with an option for an additional three years. Companies are able to submit their calling lists to the register operator for checking against the register. This process of ‘washing’ calling lists has been available since 25 May 2007, following industry trials. The ban on unsolicited telemarketing calls to numbers listed on the register commenced on 31 May 2007. Further information about the Do Not Call Register is on the internet at www.donotcall.gov.au.

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Industry standard for telemarketing and research calls 4 On 22 March 2007, ACMA made the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007. This standard places a number of requirements on people undertaking unsolicited telemarketing or research calls on: – the days and times at which telemarketing and research calls cannot be made; – information that must be provided by the caller including their name and business – the termination of telemarketing and research calls; and – enabling calling line identification. The industry standard came into effect on 31 May 2007.

Telemarketing investigations ACMA handles complaints and investigations initiated under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and associated legislation. In its first month of operation to 30 June 2007, ACMA received 1,523 enquiries and 3,352 complaints about the operation of the register and the legislation. Of these complaints, 2,348 raised issues relating to potential breaches of the legislation.

New legislative framework for digital radio In May 2007, the Australian Parliament passed legislation to implement the government’s policy framework for the introduction of digital radio by national broadcasters and broadcasting services bands (BSB) licensees. The legislation requires ACMA to plan for the introduction of digital radio services in the six state capital cities by 1 January 2009. The legislation is based on the use of digital audio broadcasting (DAB/DAB+) technology. Although not part of the legislation, the policy framework allows for the provision of non-BSB digital radio services. ACMA has begun planning the introduction of digital radio in non-BSB spectrum, a part of which involves embargoing the use of suitable bands below 30 MHz. This is intended to avoid premature introduction of unplanned services that may compromise the benefits to the public that would otherwise result from the introduction of planned services. ACMA will undertake public consultation as part of its planning process.

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Mobile Premium Services Industry scheme On 29 June 2005, in response to a direction from the Minister to make rules to restrict access to adult content on SMS-based mobile premium services and mobile content portals, the former ACA made the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No.1). The determination: – prohibits the supply of content that is, or would be, classified X18+ or refused classification; – prohibits the supply of content, that is, or would be, classified MA15+ and R18+ via SMS-based services using numbers other than those beginning with 195 and 196; and – requires restrictions to prevent minors from accessing MA15+ and R18+ content. The determination seeks to minimise the risk to children from contact with sexual predators in mobile chatrooms by requiring mobile chat services to implement safety measures commensurate with the level of risk posed by the service. To address complaints about mobile premium services, the determination also provides for the development of a self-regulatory scheme containing rules about the provision of information about the costs, terms and conditions on which mobile and premium services are offered and an independent complaints handling body for dealing with unresolved complaints. On 28 September 2006, ACMA approved a self-regulatory scheme submitted by mobile carriage and content service providers. The Mobile Premium Services Industry (MPSI) scheme, which commenced on 28 October 2006, requires the relevant carriage or content service provider to attempt to resolve complaints in the first instance before an unresolved matter can be raised with the escalated complaints handling body. The MPSI scheme includes provision for the referral of any non-classification type complaints that the carriage or content service provider has not been able to resolve to an escalated complaints handling body, which is the TIO. Unresolved complaints relating to the classification of content can be referred directly to ACMA. The TIO began taking complaints under the MPSI scheme from 1 December 2006. It has a four-tier system of complaint recording, with level 1 matters being referred without investigation by the TIO to the service provider. This is in keeping with the requirement of the scheme that if the escalated complaints-handling body receives a complaint in the first instance, it must refer the matter to the service provider. The TIO received complaints from the public about 10,083 suspected breaches of the MPSI scheme. Of this total, about 97 per cent were recorded as level 1 complaints by the TIO; 2.8 per cent of the suspected breaches of the scheme are recorded as level 2. The remaining 0.2 per cent are recorded as level 3 and 4 matters, and were resolved after formal investigation by the TIO.

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Table 4.13: Numbers of suspected breaches of the MPSI scheme, 2006–07 4 TIO complaint levels Suspected breaches Level 1 9,822 Level 2 247 Level 3 13 Level 4 1 Total 10,083

Future live content regulation framework

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Act 2007 (the Content Services Act), which was passed by Parliament on 20 June 2007, creates a new Schedule 7 to the Broadcasting Services Act that provides a new framework for the regulation of content services delivered via a carriage service. This extends the regulatory framework for stored Internet content established under Schedule 5 of the Broadcasting Act, to a broad range of content services delivered over convergent devices, including mobile premium services. Schedule 7 will commence on 20 January 2008. The new framework imposes obligations on content providers to ensure that content services are provided in a manner that is not likely to result in children being exposed to material likely to offend a reasonable adult. ACMA will be responsible for implementing and enforcing the Content Services Act, as well as making a ‘restricted access systems’ declaration for content. ACMA will also be responsible for registering and ensuring compliance with industry codes of practice developed by relevant industry groups.

Protecting Australian Families Online and NetAlert merger with ACMA In January 2007, the then Minister for Communications Information Technology and the Arts signalled that, as part of the government’s Protecting Australian Families Online initiative, NetAlert Limited would be merged with ACMA. The merger is intended to maximise efficiencies in the online safety area, including ensuring that activities conducted under the NetAlert brand are coordinated with ACMA’s other online content roles.

Submarine cable protection Submarine cables are a vital component of Australia’s communications infrastructure, carrying the bulk of Australia’s international voice and data traffic and contributing significantly to the Australian economy. Australia’s use of international bandwidth provided by these cables is growing rapidly (see Chapters 2 and 7) as consumers and business increase their uptake of broadband internet services.

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Six operational submarine cable networks currently connect Australia to other countries. Three of these six cables are of high capacity, and carry the bulk of Australian international voice and data traffic. They are vital to Australia’s national interest and are considered to be nationally significant. See Appendix 4.10 for further information on international submarine cables.

New regulation for submarine cable protection In recent years, several cable breaks have occurred in Australian territorial waters due to fishing and anchoring activities. Such breakages or damage has had serious consequences for Australia. Schedule 3A to the Telecommunications Act 1997 permits ACMA to declare protection zones over nationally significant cables and to prohibit or restrict activities in these zones that pose a risk of damaging cables. The legislation establishes offences for damaging a cable or for breaching prohibitions and restrictions, and creates penalties for these offences. In August 2006, ACMA published proposals for two protection zones off the Sydney coast. The Northern Protection zone covers the northern branches of the Australia Japan Cable and the Southern Cross Cable as well as the area between those branches. The Southern Protection Zone covers the southern branches of the Australia Japan Cable and the Southern Cross Cable as well as the area between those branches. Another proposal for a protection zone around the SEA-ME-WE3 cable that lands near Perth was published by ACMA in October 2006. ACMA declared the New South Wales protection zones in September 2007 and declared the Western Australia zone in October 2007. The location of the zones will be noted on all relevant hydrographic charts and details of prohibited or restricted activities will be circulated widely. Figures 4.27 and 4.28 show the protection zones locations.

Figure 4.27: New South Wales submarine cable protection zones

Source: Geoscience Australia

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Figure 4.28 Western Australia submarine cable protection zone 4

Source: Geoscience Australia The legislation also provides for a permit regime that requires carriers to obtain a permit from ACMA to install a new submarine cable, within a protection zone or outside a protection zone in Australian waters. This permit regime provides for more consistent and efficient cable planning. The permit regime also encourages the co-location of new cables in existing protection zones. In February 2007, ACMA received an application from Office des Postes et Télécommunications for a permit to install a new cable, the Gondwana-1 cable, between Sydney and Noumea, New Caledonia. Once installed, the Gondwana-1 cable will lie partly within the Northern Sydney Protection Zone.

Amendment of the Electromagnetic Emissions Standard In March 2007, ACMA amended the EME Standard to adopt the test methodology known as EN 62209-1, for health assessment of mobile/cordless phones, and also to recognise the calculated methods (the use of mathematical formulae) of Australian Standard AS 2772.2 in the health exposure assessment of radio devices designed to operate more than 20 centimetres from the human body. The amendment aligns the regulatory arrangements with international best practice. Under an agreement with ACMA, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) has agreed to make specific absorption rate (SAR) measurement values for mobile phones available to the public. SAR is the health exposure measurement and under ACMA’s regulatory arrangement must not exceed two watts per kilogram averaged over 10 grams. SAR values are provided voluntarily by manufacturers as part of handset packaging. AMTA also provides the information on its website at www.amta.org.au.

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Further information about telecommunications industry performance

www.acma.gov.au/commsreport

Appendixes Appendix 4.1 Payphones data Appendix 4.2 Special digital data service data Appendix 4.3 Customer Service Guarantee data Appendix 4.4 Network Reliability Framework data Appendix 4.5 Priority assistance data Appendix 4.6 Disability equipment program Appendix 4.7 Emergency call service data Appendix 4.8 Disclosures of personal information data Appendix 4.9 Internet content investigation data Appendix 4.10 Submarine cables

Data updates – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household Use of Information Technology, 2005–06, December 2006 – ACMA/ACCC, Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2006-07, June 2007 – ACMA, NRF data (quarterly) – ACMA, Telecommunications performance monitoring data (quarterly data) – Telstra, Customer Service Reports – Network Reliability (monthly) – Telstra, Service Performance Reports (quarterly) – Telstra, payphone locator service

Documents – Attorney-General’s Department, Telecommunications Interception Act 1979 report for the year ending 30 June 2006

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– ACIF (now Communications Alliance), Industry Code C564:2004 Deployment of Mobile Phone Network Infrastructure, April 2005 4 – ACMA EME web portal (emr.acma.gov.au) – Blunn, Anthony S., Report of the Review of the Regulation of Access to Communications, August 2005

Organisations Australia Japan Cable (www.ajcable.com) ACMA submarine cables (www.acma.gov.au/subcables) Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (www.scamwatch.gov.au) Australian High Tech Crime Centre (www.ahtcc.gov.au) Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (www.arpansa.gov.au) Communications Alliance (www.commsalliance.com.au) Cybersmartkids Online (www.cybersmartkids.com.au) Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (www.dbcde.gov.au) Do Not Call Register (www.donotcall.gov.au) European Union – Safer Internet Action Plan (www.saferinternet.org) Free TV Australia (www.freetvaust.com.au) International Cable Protection Committee (www.iscpc.org) International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (www.icnirp.de) Internet Hotline Providers’ Association (www.inhope.org) Internet Industry Association (www.security.iia.net.au) International Telecommunication Union (www.itu.int) Mobile Carriers Forum (www.mcf.amta.org.au) NetAlert (www.netalert.net.au) Mobile Carriers Forum (www.mcf.amta.org.au) National Relay Service (www.relayservice.com.au) Radiofrequency National Site Archive (www.rfnsa.com.au) SEA-ME-WE3 Cable (www.smw3.com) Southern Cross Cable (www.southerncrosscables.com) SubOptic 2007 (non-profit, non-incorporated international convention for the submarine telecommunications community held in May 2007) (www.suboptic.org) World Health Organization Electromagnetic Field Project (www.who.int)

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Australian content on television Commercial television broadcasters are required by the Broadcasting Services (Australian Content) Standard 2005(Australian Content Standard) to: – broadcast a minimum level of Australian programming; 5 – broadcast minimum amounts of first release Australian drama programs, children’s programs and documentaries; and – ensure that preschool programs are Australian programs. The Australian Content Standard’s objective is to develop and reflect a sense of Australian identity, character and cultural diversity by supporting the community’s continued access to television programs produced under Australian creative control.

Overall levels of Australian content Under the Australian Content Standard, Australian programs which are produced under the creative control of Australians must comprise at least 55 per cent of all Australian programming between 6.00 am and midnight, including first release and repeat programs. For the 2006 calendar year, all metropolitan commercial network licensees exceeded the minimum 55 per cent Australian transmission quota: – Nine Network licensees transmitted more than 66 per cent in each of their three metropolitan markets of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney; – Network Ten licensees transmitted around 60 per cent in each of their markets in the five mainland state capital cities; and – Seven Network licensees transmitted around 56 per cent in each of their markets in the five mainland state capital cities.

Commercial television program expenditure Commercial television licensees spent $1.2 billion on total programming for 2005–06 (the latest data available), an increase of five per cent over the previous year. Of total programming expenditure, $869.2 million was spent on Australian programs, which represents 71.1 per cent of total expenditure and an increase of 6.9 per cent from 2004–05 (Table 5.1). However, expenditure on overseas programming increased by 0.6 per cent over the reporting period.

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Table 5.1: Total expenditure on programming by commercial television stations, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Origin of 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2002–06 2005–06 programming $m $m $m $m $m % change % change Australian drama 114.7 130.8 115.4 113.8 140.6 22.6% 23.5% programs (adults and children’s) Overseas drama 255.9 281.3 226.7 322.7 332 29.7 2.9% Total Australian 706.3 723 674.7 812.8 869.2 23.1% 6.9% Total overseas 300.7 307.3 330.8 350.6 352.7 17.3% 0.6% Total 1007 1030.3 1005.5 1163.4 1221.9 21.3% 5% Source: ACMA Table 5.2: Total expenditure on Australian and overseas programs, 2005–06 Program origin 2005–06 Total Australian 869.2 Total overseas 352.7 Total programming 1221.9 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 Within the overall regulatory framework for free-to-air television broadcasting, there are separate obligations for different categories of programming, such as drama, documentaries, children’s television and advertising. ACMA’s Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 reports on the different levels of expenditure for each programming category, which are shown in Table 5.3.

Table 5.3: Total expenditure on Australian programs by category, 2005–06 Program expenditure 2005–06 ($m) Drama (adult) 125.3 Children's programs (drama and other) 20.9 News and current affairs 166.2 Documentaries 12.4 Sport 258.8 Light entertainment – variety 138.2 Light entertainment – other 129.5 Other programming 17.7 Total Australian 8691 Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06

1 Table does not add to $869.2m due to rounding.

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Australian drama The Australian Content Standard provides for an annual and three-yearly drama point score system for first release Australian drama programs, including series, serials, mini-series, telemovies and feature films. The point score system for different program formats creates incentives to produce and broadcast the more expensive drama programs. 5 The minimum annual first release Australian drama program requirement is 250 points. All national free-to-air commercial networks met the quota during 2006: – Seven Network licensees scored at least 287 points in each of their markets in the five mainland state capital cities; – Network Ten licensees scored at least 336 points in each of their markets in the five mainland state capital cities; and – Nine Network licensees scored between 266 and 270 points in their markets in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. The minimum point requirement for first release Australian drama programs over the three-year period 2005 to 2007 is 860. ACMA will report on the performance of commercial television licensees against this requirement in 2007–08.

Expenditure on Australian adult drama Overall, the commercial television industry spent $125.3 million on Australian drama in 2005–06, an increase of $11.5 million compared with the previous year. Expenditure on overseas programming was $332 million over the reporting period. Table 5.4 shows expenditure on Australian adult drama by commercial television stations from 2001–02 to 2005–06.

Table 5.4: Expenditure on adult drama by commercial television licensees, 2000–02 to 2005–06 Type of programming 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change Australian drama 114.7 130.8 115.4 113.8 125.3 10.2% Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 Australian documentaries Commercial television broadcasters are required to broadcast at least 20 hours of first-release Australian documentary programs per year. All commercial television stations met the minimum first-release Australian documentary standards in 2006, with: – the Seven Network recording an average of 59.9 hours across its markets in the five mainland state capital cities; – Nine Network recording an average of 20.4 hours in each of its markets in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney; and – Network Ten recording 22 hours in each of its markets in the five mainland state capital cities.

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Expenditure on Australian documentaries In 2005–06, the commercial television industry spent $12.4 million on Australian documentary programs, an increase of $3.2 million since the previous year and a 35.2 per cent increase. Commercial television licensees report on the level of expenditure on Australian documentary programs by financial year, whereas data regarding the number of hours of Australian documentary programs broadcast is provided by calendar year.

Table 5.5: Expenditure on documentaries by commercial television licensees, 2001–02 to 2005–06 Type of programming 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m % change Documentary 2.9 4.4 2.2 9.2 12.4 35.2% Source: ACMA Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06

Children’s programs on commercial television The Children’s Television Standards 2005 (CTS) are designed to provide children under 14 years of age with access to quality television programs made specifically for them, including drama and non-drama. The CTS regulate the content, timing and scheduling of children’s programs and of non-programming material such as advertisements and promotions shown before, during and after these programs. In conjunction with the Australian Content Standard, the CTS also provide children with television programs that reflect their cultural experience.

Quotas for children’s television programs The CTS provide for an annual children’s program quota of 390 hours comprising: – 260 hours of children’s (C) programs; and – 130 hours of children’s preschool (P) programs. The Australian Content Standard sets out additional Australian and first-release requirements within these quotas. In 2006, all commercial television broadcasting licensees met the annual quotas for children’s programs. Appendix 5.2 contains details of broadcast data for children’s programs by commercial television licensees in 2006. The Nine Network’s QTQ Brisbane fulfilled its undertaking to broadcast an additional 30 minutes of preschool (P) programs during 2006 to make up for a breach of the CTS in 2005.

Expenditure on children’s programs Commercial television licensees spent $20.9 million on children’s programming in the financial year to 30 June 2006, a decrease of 16.6 per cent compared with the previous reporting period. Of the total expenditure on children’s programming during 2005–06, children’s drama accounted for $15.3 million (an increase of 14.4 per cent over the previous year), while other children’s programming decreased by 31 per cent, and accounted for $5.6 million of the total expenditure.

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Table 5.6 provides a breakdown of expenditure by television licensees on children’s programming.

Table 5.6 Expenditure on children’s programming by commercial television licensees, 2000–01 to 2005–06 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2005–06 $m $m $m $m $m $m % change 5 Children’s drama 9.5 13.5 15.1 9.3 13.4 15.3 14.4% Children’s 8.0 4.2 3.6 3.6 8.1 5.6 -31% programming other than drama Total 17.5 17.7 18.7 12.9 21.5 20.9 -16.6% Source: ACMA

Australian advertising The Television Program Standard 23—Australian Content in Advertising requires at least 80 per cent of the total advertising time broadcast by commercial television licensees each year, between 6.00 am and midnight, to be used for Australian produced advertisements. Exemptions apply to advertisements for imported cinema films, videos, recordings, live appearances by overseas entertainers and paid community service announcements for organisations that have a charitable, public health or educational purpose. Advertisements are classified as Australian or foreign by Commercials Advice Pty Ltd (CAD), which is wholly owned by Free TV Australia. ACMA uses CAD classification data, together with reports from the commercial television licensees, to monitor trends in Australian and foreign content in advertising. ACMA publishes annual reports on compliance with the standard on its website. The retail, entertainment (including restaurants, live shows and music) and motor vehicle industries comprised the three top product categories for Australian advertisements classified in 2006. The three top product categories for foreign advertisements classified in 2006 were for: – communications and business (including mobile phone content providers and computer companies); – motor vehicles; and – toiletries and cosmetics. A total of 50,488 Australian, 3,048 foreign and 5,342 exempt advertisements were shown in 2006, compared with 51,924 Australian, 2,827 foreign and 5,644 exempt the previous year (Figure 5.1).

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Figure 5.1: Australian and foreign advertisements classified by CAD, 2003–06 Australian Foreign Exempt 60,000

50,000

40,000

30.000

20,000

10,000

0 2003 2004 2005 2006 Source: ACMA Figure 5.2 shows that all stations broadcast more than the required 80 per cent of Australian advertising in 2006, with average national percentages per network of: – 90.40 per cent for the Seven Network for its markets in the five mainland state capital cities; – 92 per cent for the Nine Network for its markets in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney; and – 87.35 per cent for the Ten Network for its markets in the five mainland state capital cities. Between 2003 and 2006, foreign advertising has averaged well under the allowable 20 per cent for each year.

Figure 5.2: Percentage of Australian advertising broadcast, 2003–06 Seven network Nine network Ten network 93

84 2003 2004 2005 2006

Source: ACMA

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Access to broadcasting services for people with disabilities Equitable access to basic communication services for all Australians includes a requirement for provision of tailored communications services for people with disabilities. Government regulation requires free-to-air television broadcasters to transmit captions to help people with hearing impairment access television programming. 5

Captioning Free-to-air television The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 requires commercial and national television broadcasters to provide captions for: – all programming broadcast between 6:00 pm and 10:30 pm; and – all news and current affairs transmitted outside the hours of 6:00pm and 10:30pm (with some limited exemptions). Before 1 January 2007, these captioning provisions were set out in the Broadcasting Services (Digital Television Standards) Regulations 2000 and included the qualifier ‘as far as is practicable’, which has now been removed. A Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) decision in May 2003 requires commercial and national television broadcasters to caption all programs (other than sports programs) that commence in prime time, and to increase the level of captioned programming (broadcast between 6:00 am and midnight) to 55 per cent by the end of 2005 and then to 70 per cent by the end of 2007. These targets were established as part of the temporary exemption granted (for five years) to commercial and national broadcasters by HREOC from complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 about levels of captioning. Broadcasters’ reports to HREOC indicate that they are meeting the targets. The temporary exemption also requires commercial and national television broadcasters to commence a review by the end of 2006, in consultation with deafness representative organisations, of the potential for further increases in captioning at the expiry of the exemption in May 2008. Discussions between the broadcasters, deafness representative organisations and HREOC on reviewing the possibilities for further increases in captioning have commenced and are expected to continue throughout 2007.

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Subscription television In June 2004, HREOC granted subscription television (pay TV) broadcasters a temporary exemption from complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act about captioning levels for pay TV programming. The temporary exemption, which will end in July 2009, was granted on the condition that pay TV broadcasters implement their captioning rollout proposal. The proposal included: – provision of captioning on five per cent of programs across a minimum of 20 digital channels by December 2004; – increase of captioning level by five per cent every year, growing to 25 per cent in 2008; and – a condition to use ‘reasonable endeavours’ to provide captioning of 20 further channels by December 2006. Pay TV broadcasters’ reports to HREOC indicate that they have met these targets. The temporary exemption also requires the pay TV broadcasters concerned to commence a review of the implementation of the captioning rollout proposal within three years of the granting of the exemption; and to present a further captioning plan to HREOC by June 2008. Discussions between the broadcasters, deafness representative organisations and HREOC on reviewing the possibilities for further increases in captioning have commenced and are expected to progress throughout 2007.

Local information on regional television Certain regional commercial television broadcasting licensees in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria are required to broadcast a minimum amount of material of local significance under the Broadcasting Services (Additional Television Licence Condition) Notice 7 April 2003, which came into effect on 1 February 2004. Examples of locally significant material include material about people who grew up in the area, material dealing with the impact of events on the local community, and material dealing with organisations or issues of particular interest to people in the area and in a way that focuses on their interests. Licensees accrue quota points on the basis of two points per minute for local news and one point per minute for most other types of material of local significance. Each licensee must meet a minimum of 720 points per six-week period and a minimum requirement of 90 points per week in each of its local areas. Special arrangements apply over summer for the calculation of points. Licensees report periodically to ACMA on their compliance with these local content requirements. This periodic reporting, together with a preliminary evaluation undertaken in 2005 and a further independent audit program undertaken during May–June 2007 has confirmed that licensees are meeting the minimum quotas for material of local significance.

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Regulatory developments for the broadcasting industry during 2006–07

Media reform package 5 In October 2006 the Parliament passed the media reform package, which consisted of four Acts. Two Acts (Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Act 2006 and Television Licence Fees Amendment Act 2006) implemented aspects of the reforms to digital television included in the media reform package. The other two Acts (Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 and Communications Legislation Amendment (Enforcement Powers) Act 2006) implemented changes to the foreign and cross-media media ownership rules and ACMA’s powers, as well as a range of measures designed to ensure regional commercial licensees continue to broadcast material of local significance. The package received Royal Assent on 4 November 2006. Two further minor Bills passed the Parliament on 30 November 2006 to complete the package. These Bills are the Datacasting Transmitter Licence Fees Bill 2006 and the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Collection of Datacasting Transmitter Licence Fees) Bill 2006. These Bills received Royal Assent on 8 December 2006. On 26 April 2007 two consequential regulations, the Broadcasting Services (Digital Television Format Standards) Repeal Regulations and the Broadcasting Services (Digital Television Standards) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1), were approved by the Governor-General in Council.

Local information on regional television As part of the media reform package, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006 requires ACMA to impose a local content licence condition on specified regional commercial television broadcasting licensees. From 1 January 2008, the local content requirements will extend to Tasmania in addition to regional New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. ACMA has developed the new licence condition in the second half of 2007 and released it for public comment, in readiness for its implementation from1 January 2008.

Local information on regional radio The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act also introduced local presence and local content requirements for regional commercial radio broadcasters. The amendments require ACMA to impose a licence condition (effective from April 2007) that requires regional radio licensees to maintain existing levels of local presence following a ‘trigger event’. A trigger event is a transfer of a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence, the formation of a new registrable media group that includes such a licence or a change of controller of a registrable group that includes such a licence. Affected licensees must also meet minimum standards for broadcasting local news and information.

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In the first half of 2007, ACMA: – consulted with regional radio licensees on the new requirements; – completed investigations under a ministerial direction on trigger events and local content levels; and – made the Broadcasting Services (Additional Regional Commercial Radio Licence Condition – Local Presence) Notice 22 March 2007, effective from April 2007, requiring affected licensees to maintain existing levels of local presence following a trigger event. The new section 43C of the Act requires ACMA to impose a licence condition setting out minimum levels of material of local significance to be broadcast by regional commercial radio licensees during business hours from 1 January 2008. ACMA will develop and consult on the local content licence condition in the second half of 2007.

New ownership and control regulatory arrangements Schedule 1 of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act, which came into force on 1 February 2007, introduced a number of key concepts relating to media ownership, including prohibitions relating to unacceptable media diversity or three-way control situations. Schedule 2 of the Act, which contains local content protections and the repeal of cross media and foreign control rules, commenced on 4 April, 2007. Register of Controlled Media Groups A core component of the new media ownership rules is the Register of Controlled Media Groups (RCMG). The register lists the media groups in each licence area, the media operations that form part of a group and the controllers of those operations. The publication of the register on 27 March 2007 was the first major stage in the implementation of the new media ownership regulatory arrangements. The register provides new information to industry and the community about the existence of registrable media groups operating in licence areas across Australia. When the register was first published, it contained 131 media groups and the number had increased to 139 by 1 July 2007. Information used to create the Register of Controlled Media Groups Licensees of commercial television and radio services, and publishers of newspapers associated with the licence areas of these services (associated newspapers), were required to notify ACMA of the controllers of those operations as at 1 February 2007. Controllers were also required to notify ACMA. High rates of compliance were recorded for the initial notification requirements. This cooperation by industry was instrumental in enabling ACMA to publish the register without delay. Entries in the register The RCMG contains entries for all registrable media groups in each radio licence area. An entry in the RCMG lists the media operations that form part of a group and the controllers of those operations. While an entry for a media group is unconfirmed (or if a removal of a group or alteration to an entry is unconfirmed), the entry for the group will include a note indicating the unconfirmed status. The register also includes explanatory notes to assist users.

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Updates to the register Commercial television and commercial radio licensees and publishers of associated newspapers are required to notify ACMA of any changes in control within five days of becoming aware of those changes. Persons who come into a position to exercise control of such licences and associated newspapers are also required to notify ACMA within five 5 days of becoming aware of the change in control. ACMA updates the register when it is notified of relevant changes in control. Provided that a transaction creating a new group does not result in an unacceptable media diversity or three-way control situation, ACMA will update the register with an unconfirmed entry within two days of receiving notification. ACMA is then required to review and confirm, or cancel the entry within 28 days. Similar requirements apply to the removal and alteration of entries. An unacceptable media diversity situation will arise if there are fewer than five points in any metropolitan commercial radio licence area or fewer than four points in any regional commercial radio licence area. In general, each registrable media group constitutes one point, as does each separate media operation that is not part of a registrable media group. An unacceptable three-way control situation exists if a person is in a position to exercise control of a commercial television licence, a commercial radio licence and an associated newspaper in the one commercial radio licence area. Further information on media operations The Media Diversity Report supplements the information in the register. As well as the registered media groups in each commercial radio licence area, the report includes the ungrouped media operations and an estimate of the number of points in each radio licence area. ACMA published the Media Diversity Report in May 2007. Both the Register of Controlled Media Groups and the Media Diversity Report are available as searchable PDF documents from the ACMA website, and ACMA will soon commence work on second-generation interactive versions.

Digital television settings The media reform package made a range of changes to the digital television regulatory framework. – The requirement that the high definition (HDTV) channel must be a simulcast of the analogue channel was removed on 1 January 2007. – A single standard definition (SDTV) commercial multichannel will be allowed from 1 January 2009. – Content restrictions were lifted from the ABC’s and SBS’ multichannels on 5 November 2006. – ACMA has been given powers to determine technical standards for the transmission of digital television broadcasting and datacasting services and receivers for such services, and power to require industry to develop codes of practice about a range of digital television issues, including electronic program guides (EPGs), with a power to determine standards where such codes are not developed or not developed to ACMA's satisfaction.

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New digital channels The media reform package facilitates the provision of a range of new digital services. The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television) Act 2006 provides for the allocation of two licences, known as Channels A and B. Chapter 3 discusses the introduction of the new digital channels.

Digital television broadcasting services for commercial services in remote licence areas The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2006, passed in November 2006, amended the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992 to allow commercial television broadcasting licensees in remote Western Australia and remote central and eastern Australia to multi-channel their digital services where they elect jointly, or one elects individually, to provide a third commercial service under section 38B of the Broadcasting Services Act. The Act also provides licensees with an exemption from any mandatory high definition television quotas that might be applied in remote licence areas, where they elect to provide a third commercial service under section 38B of the Broadcasting Services Act and they elect to multi-channel their digital television services. These amendments provide the overall framework for a digital conversion model for commercial broadcasters in the remote licence areas. ACMA released draft digital channel plans for remaining transmission sites in remote and regional Western Australian and for remaining transmission sites in remote central and eastern Australia for public comment in June 2007.

Anti-siphoning The anti-siphoning provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act empower the Minister to list events that the Minister believes should be available preferentially to free-to-air television for viewing by the general public. The aim of the anti-siphoning list is to prevent events of national or cultural significance, that people have come to expect to be available on free-to air television, from being exclusively acquired or ‘siphoned off' by subscription television with the effect of reducing their availability to the widest number of viewers. The anti-siphoning list covers 12 sports and 30 events (refer to Appendix 5.4 for a complete list). On 20 December 2006, the then Minister announced ‘use it or lose it’ guidelines. ACMA started reporting against the ‘use it or lose it’ guidelines from June 2007. A list of these reports is shown in Table 5.7.

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Table 5.7: Anti-siphoning reports provided to the Minister and events covered First report – July 2006 2006 Australian Open tennis tournament 2006 Davis Cup tie VB One-Day Cricket series One cricket test match 5 Second report – August 2006 2006 Commonwealth Games and netball test matches held as part of the Games Third report – September 2006 2006 Winter Olympics Fourth report – November 2006 2006 AFL matches (rounds 1–17) 2006 NRL matches (Rounds 1–21) 2006 Rugby Union test matches 2006 French Open Tennis Tournament 2006 Davis Cup tie 2006 US Masters golf tournament 2006 FA Cup Final 2006 Soccer World Cup 2006 Netball test matches 2006 F1 Grand Prix 2006 V8 Supercar Championship series (Rounds 1–6) Fifth report – June 2007 2006 AFL matches 2006 NRL matches 2006 Bundaberg Rum rugby union series 2006 British Open golf tournament 2006 Davis Cup tie 2006 Moto Grand Prix 2006 Indy Car race 2006 V8 Supercar Championship series

Children’s Television Standards ACMA is currently reviewing the CTS and released an issues paper on 26 June 2007. Submissions to the CTS review closed on 31 August 2007. The CTS review will assess whether the CTS are operating effectively in the current television environment. Any revision of the CTS will ensure that they remain current, continue to promote quality children’s free-to-air programs on commercial television and continue to protect children from the potentially harmful effects of inappropriate television. Completion of the review and gazettal of the new CTS are expected in the first half of 2008.

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Further information about broadcasting industry performance

www.acma.gov.au/commsreport

Appendixes 5.1 Expenditure on Australian drama programs by subscription television 5.2 First release Australian children’s drama broadcast data 5.3 Australian music on commercial and community radio 5.4 Free-to-air sports broadcasting data

Data updates – Advertising Standards Bureau complaints statistics – Broadcasting Financial Results 2005–06 (may be purchased from ACMA) – ACMA, Australian Content Standard compliance results (including the Children’s Television Standards) (compiled annually) – Australian Film Commission, Get the Picture: Key statistics on Australia’s cinema, video, television and interactive media markets – Australian Music Performance Committee annual reports – ACMA, Anti-siphoning Monitoring Investigation, interim reports to the Minister

Documents – ACMA, broadcasting content requirements – ACMA, Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006, May 2007 – ACMA, Television Program Standard 23—Australian Content in Advertising – Australian Film Commission, Australia’s Audiovisual Markets, 2005 – Broadcasting Services (Australian Content) Standard 2005 – Children’s Television Standards 2005 – Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines, September 2004 – Community Broadcasting Foundation, Community Broadcasting Database 2007 – DCITA, Anti-siphoning rules for Pay TV and Sport

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Organisations Australian Broadcasting Corporation (www.abc.net.au) Australian Film Commission (www.afc.gov.au) Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (www.amrap.org) 5 Advertising Standards Bureau (www.advertisingstandardsbureau.com.au) Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (www.astra.org.au) Commercial Radio Australia (www.commercialradio.com.au) Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (www.cbaa.org.au) CBOnline Project (www.cbonline.org.au) Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (www.dbcde.gov.au) Film Finance Corporation (www.ffc.gov.au) Free TV Australia (www.freetv.com.au) Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (www.hreoc.gov.au) Screen Producers’ Association of Australia (www.spaa.org.au) Special Broadcasting Service (www.sbs.com.au)

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Telecommunications services in remote Indigenous communities Since 2002, ACMA has collected data about, and monitored the range and take-up of, telecommunications services in remote Indigenous communities in response to recommendations of the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry (RTI) in its report Connecting Regional Australia. ACMA has implemented a monitoring and reporting framework that captures specific supply-side information about telecommunications services in remote Indigenous communities. In addition to the information reported in this chapter, ACMA anticipates publishing a separate report in 2008 entitled Telecommunications in Remote Indigenous Communities, 6 providing more detailed information on the availability and take-up of telecommunications in remote Indigenous communities. In researching this report, ACMA staff visited Indigenous communities in the Tiwi Islands region of the Northern Territory to speak with community members about access to, take-up and use of, telecommunications services. A range of telecommunications services is available in remote Indigenous communities, including the standard telephone service (STS), payphones, mobile network coverage, pre-paid residential telephone services and community phones. In addition, internet facilities are available across various regions. A government initiative to improve basic telecommunications services in these communities was the Community Phones Program (CPP) rollout, which was part of the Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC). Under the CPP, Telstra was awarded a contract by the former Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts in 2005 under which it has installed 216 community phones in 124 remote communities in central Australia, Broome, Kununurra, Tennant Creek and the Tiwi Islands. Telstra has also itself installed an additional 20 community phones. The CPP comprises the following trial initiatives: – provision of community phones; – robust phone casing; – regional agents to help implement the program; – Telstra Country Calling Line and Card services; and – deployment of CDMA wireless local loop technology. A community phone is a shared telephone service using a normal telephone handset but placed in a location where there is 24-hour access, with each community responsible for the care of the phone. Community phones have a robust steel phone casing designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and resist breakages. The phones provide a card-only service in that they require pre-paid calling cards to be used. The Telstra Country Calling Line is a pre-paid residential telephone service where the customer opts to have the phone line rental charge debited from their Centrelink payments and where calls (other than emergency calls) can only be made using pre-paid cards. A tailored Country Calling Card was developed that enables people in remote Indigenous communities to make pre-paid calls from community phones, home telephones and payphones.

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From June 2006 to June 2007, the number of payphones and InContact services provided by Telstra in remote Indigenous communities decreased, while the number of STSs increased (Table 6.1). InContact services are pre-paid residential telephone services provided to selected Indigenous communities under the iConnect project, funded under the Networking the Nation program.

Table 6.1: Number of services in remote Indigenous communities, 2006–07 June 2006 June 2007 Change Number of payphones 958 949 -11 Number of STSs (fixed/home phone) 17,045 17,549 +504 Number of InContact services 536 532 -4 Number of community phones 236 236 0 Number of Country Calling Lines 38 38 0 Source: TAPRIC database Telstra explains the increase in STSs as being due to improved reporting on the number of services in communities, as well as actual improvements in the availability of services. The number of community phones and Country Calling Lines has not changed from June 2006 to June 2007, reflecting the completion of service delivery under the CPP. ACMA conducts regular monitoring of the availability of telecommunications services in remote Indigenous communities listed in the TAPRIC database, which contains detailed information on more than 1,000 community-managed Indigenous communities. ACMA maintains a telecommunications-specific version of the TAPRIC database and analyses information on telecommunications availability collected from Telstra annually on communities listed in the database. Table 6.2 provides headline figures on access to telecommunications services in these communities.

Table 6.2: Communities listed in the TAPRIC database – community access to STSs, payphones and mobile coverage, June 2007 Community access to telecommunications Communities reported Number % STS, Country Calling Line and/or inContact 630 60 Payphone (Telstra or customer-operated) and/or community phone 604 57 Terrestrial mobile coverage 278 26 Source: Telstra

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Payphone performance in remote Indigenous communities As shown in Table 6.2, not all communities have access to fixed-line telephone services, which suggests that individual residential telephone take-up is relatively low. Payphones therefore serve as a proxy ‘home phone’ for many people living in remote Indigenous communities and play a more critical role as a ‘lifeline service’ than they do in other parts of Australia. Table 6.3 shows the time taken to repair Telstra-operated payphones in remote Indigenous communities against Telstra’s Standard Marketing Plan (SMP) time frame of three working days of being notified of the fault, compared with other locations. It shows that Telstra’s 6 payphone fault repair performance in remote Indigenous communities was lower than in remote areas, and significantly lower than in rural and urban areas. The impact of payphone faults is greater in remote Indigenous communities, given the greater reliance on payphones, particularly where there is no access to other telecommunications services.

Table 6.3: Frequency distribution – time taken to repair Telstra payphones, 2006–07

Remote Indigenous Remote Rural Urban communities (%) (%) (% (%) Within time frame in Telstra’s SMP 66 70 85 88 (before the end of three full working days) – plus one working day 8 7 5 6 – plus two working days 5 5 4 3 – plus three working days 4 4 2 1 – plus four working days 3 3 1 1 – plus five working days 3 2 1 0 – plus six or more working days 10 9 3 1

Source: Telstra

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Broadcasting services in remote Indigenous communities Remote Indigenous communities can access broadcasts from two sources: – Remote Area Broadcast Services (RABS)—television and radio services delivered via satellite to either terrestrial transmitters for re-broadcasting, or directly into communities using satellite dishes; and – Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services (RIBS)—operate as community broadcasters rebroadcasting the RABS service, plus some community content. RABS are retransmissions of national and remote commercial broadcaster analog services. Terrestrial retransmission is usually by community or Indigenous groups, or local councils in areas not covered by the national or commercial broadcasters. RABS viewers receive the same television programming as those served by the terrestrial analog services transmitted by the ABC and SBS across Australia, by Imparja and Seven Central in the Remote Central and Eastern licence area, and by Prime and WIN in the Remote/Regional Western Australia licence area. The satellite broadcasts are encrypted to restrict reception to those licence areas. Users require an authorised decoder and smartcard. Imparja Television distributes National Indigenous Television (NITV), which was launched in July 2007, and eight community radio feeds. RIBS (previously known as BRACS under the Broadcasting in Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme), are licensed by ACMA as community broadcasting services. At June 2007, there were 162 licensed RIBS in remote Indigenous communities throughout Australia, comprising 79 television broadcasting licences and 83 radio broadcasting licences. A complete list of community broadcasters is available from the ACMA website. Funding of $89.9 million for communications in Indigenous communities was provided under the Backing Indigenous Ability (BIA) program. Commencing on 1 July 2006 and running for four years, the program covers both broadcasting and telecommunications services and will be implemented through specially appointed Regional Agents. The broadcasting component of the BIA program will receive $53.3 million to replace radio infrastructure and strengthen access to the cultural benefits of Indigenous television. This funding is split between the NITV ($50.0 million) and the Indigenous Remote Radio Replacement (IRRR) program ($3.3 million), which will run over three years. The Community Broadcasting Foundation will allocate the government funds for the rollout of transmitters in RIBS communities. The $36.6 million allocated to the telecommunications component of the BIA program will support telephones, internet, videoconferencing, training and online content development, primarily for remote Indigenous communities.

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Further information about services in remote Indigenous communities

www.acma.gov.au/commsreport Data updates 6 ABS, Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey), 2006

Documents – ABS, 4710.0 – Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, Australia, 2006, April 2007 – ACA, Review of Payphone Policy 2003, March 2004 – ACMA, Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2006–07, June 2007 – ACMA, Telecommunications in Remote Indigenous Communities, late 2007 – DCITA, discussion paper, Backing Indigenous Ability: Delivering a Comprehensive Telecommunications Package in Indigenous Communities, March 2006 – DCITA, report of the Review of the Indigenous Broadcasting Programme, May 2007 – DCITA, Review of the Operation of the Universal Service Obligation and Customer Service Guarantee, 7 April 2004

Organisations – Australian Indigenous Communication Association (www.aica.asn.au) – Community Broadcasting Foundation Ltd (www.cbf.com.au) – Indigenous Community Television (www.ictv.net.au) – National Indigenous Television (www.nitv.org.au) – National Indigenous Council (www.oipc.gov.au) – National Indigenous Radio Service (www.nirs.com.au) – Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (www.oipc.gov.au) – Department of Broadband, Communications and Digital EconomyIndigenous Programs (www.dbcde.gov.au/indigenous_programs) – Imparja Television (www.imparja.com) – Southern Cross Broadcasting (www.southerncrossbroadcasting.com.au)

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The telecommunications sector continued to experience rapid growth in the 2006–07 financial year, driven by continual technological change and competition. Technological changes are leading to new types of services and lower costs, with the benefits enhanced by an increasing geographical spread of available services. According to the ACIL Tasman/Gibson Quai–AAS report, the most notable development in 2006–07 was the increase in the number of broadband subscribers, and the increasing data volumes that those subscribers are consuming. The significant growth in data volumes across Australia’s internet networks is being driven by lower gigabyte (GB) costs for the different internet services and increased availability of broadband services. The year also saw an apparent increase in the rate of switching from narrowband to broadband services. The mobile phone service sector also grew strongly, driven by a rapid expansion and take-up of third generation (3G) services. Traditional fixed-line services suffered from the substitution 7 effect of the move to mobile services, declining revenues and network utilisation. The flow-on net benefits of these changes to the wider economy are substantial and experienced across all states and industries. Reforms to Australia’s telecommunications sector 10 years ago opened Australia’s telecommunications services sector to competition. This has accelerated productivity improvements in the sector, to the benefit of users of telecommunications services. Benefits are evident through service quality improvements, new types of services, faster introduction of new technologies, improved geographical coverage of services and price reductions. Economic impacts may be measured by various indicators, including gross domestic product (GDP), household consumption, employment and business profits. The additional production of an economy with price competition and innovation in the telecommunications sector—over and above the productive output of an economy without price competition and innovation in telecommunications—provides an estimate of the increased economic activity associated with developments in the sector. ACMA also asked ACIL Tasman and Gibson Quai–AAS to estimate the benefits flowing from developments in the telecommunications sector over 2006-07. The report estimated that: – economic welfare, in the form of incremental benefits to consumers and to businesses during 2006–07 associated with developments in the telecommunications sector, increased by around $0.9 billion and $176 million respectively; and – total production in the Australian economy during 2006–07 increased in the order of $1.2 billion over the baseline of an economy without price and service competition in the telecommunications sector. Other economic effects estimated to have occurred in the Australian economy during 2006–07 as a result of developments in the telecommunications sector include: – the creation of approximately 8,500 additional jobs; and – total investment in the economy increasing by over $300 million.

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The underlying factors that led to these benefits include: – direct and indirect price and service benefits that consumers gain in dealing with others (for example, retailers, banks and airlines); – higher levels of employment in expanding, telecommunications related areas of the economy, such as the electronics industry; – households gain from faster internet connections and a broader range of online applications from higher bandwidth technology; and – reduction in the cost to consumers and businesses of using the internet and most fixed-line and mobile voice services.

Developments in the telecommunications sector in 2006–07 All data received from the telecommunications service providers are based on the year to 31 March 2007, except where noted. As such, it may differ from other data collected and used by ACMA in this publication.

Internet The average consumption of data per subscriber across Australia’s internet networks continued its sharp rise during 2006–07. Combined with the strong growth in the number of broadband subscribers, this large increase in average individual data consumption drove a rapid increase in overall data volumes in the 12 months to 31 March 2007. Faster internet speeds are facilitating the greater data consumption. ADSL broadband data volumes increased by almost 79 per cent, while narrowband total data volumes remained steady (although there was a significant fall in narrowband subscriber numbers of about 37 per cent). Figure 7.1 shows the significant increases in data volumes downloaded per subscriber in 2006–2007, especially ADSL (23.8 GB) and cable (45.5 GB) subscribers. Narrowband subscribers consumed 1.64 GB per subscriber, slightly higher than in 2005–2006.

Figure 7.1: Volume of data downloaded per internet technology per subscriber, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 50

0 ADSL Cable Satellite Narrowband Source: Telecommunications carriers’ responses to ACMA’s telecommunications data request for 2006–07

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Apart from using more data intensive online applications, the significant increases in data download volumes were driven by price reductions in 2006–07 for internet services, especially broadband services. The price per unit data fell during the year by: – 17.7 per cent per GB for ADSL; – 49.6 per cent per GB for cable; – 16.1 per cent per GB for satellite broadband; – 23.3 per cent per GB for narrowband; and – 35.8 per cent for all internet subscribers. The overall increase in the affordability of internet data is shown in Figure 7.2. In 2006–07, this increase was accentuated by the shift towards the lower cost (per GB) internet 7 technologies of ADSL and cable, and a continued move away from the higher cost (per GB) narrowband services.

Figure 7.2: Average revenue per gigabyte by internet technology type, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 $350

300

250

200

150

100

0 ADSL Cable Satellite Narrowband Average Source: Telecommunications carriers’ responses to ACMA’s telecommunications data request for 2006–07 Subscriber growth in terrestrial broadband services can also be attributed to increasing broadband availability, which has enabled more of the population to benefit from the falling broadband prices. As identified in Table 7.1, national terrestrial broadband availability is estimated to have increased by 4.2 per cent in 2006–07 (excluding wireless broadband). Although New South Wales and Victoria continue to enjoy the highest availability, Western Australia and South Australia had the largest increases in availability during the year.

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Table 7.1: Terrestrial broadband availability percentage increases by state, 2006–07 2005–06 (% increase in availability) 2006–07 (% increase in availability) New South Wales/ACT 2.16 3.46 Victoria 2.79 3.43 Queensland 4.73 3.59 South Australia 4.60 7.96 Western Australia 2.72 7.62 Tasmania 13.73 4.97 Northern Territory 2.05 3.83 Australia 3.18 4.17 Note: Availability refers to the proportion of the residential population that can receive ADSL and cable terrestrial broadband. All availability growth in 2006–07 is due to expanding ADSL networks. The deployment of terrestrial broadband availability to June 2007 is shown in Figure 7.3. Metropolitan areas have higher levels of access to terrestrial broadband services than rural areas, largely due to differences in population density and business location. Regional areas, particularly in and around towns with populations of between 200 and 500 people, gained greatest benefit through increased ADSL broadband availability during the year. Figure 7.3: Terrestrial broadband availability by local government area, June 2007

Note: Terrestrial broadband refers to ADSL and cable broadband technology. It does not include wireless broadband. Source: Map/info/Exchange info, Telstra wholesale broadband coverage statistics. Basemap data from CDATA 2001 © PSMA Australia Ltd 2002. This map is conceptually consistent with those produced in the same chapter over the previous two years, although the categories of availability have changed to reflect the increasing availability

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Mobile phone services The mobile phone market in 2006–07 saw the continued emergence and significant subscriber number growth of 3G mobile technology. The costs of mobile calls and SMS continued to fall for pre-paid and post-paid residential subscribers and business subscribers during 2006–07. Average annual customer bills for 2006–07 increased by only 5.7 per cent, despite call minutes and SMS/MMS volumes increasing by 14.4 and 41.0 per cent respectively. Relative to the previous year, this represents increased value for money for customers using Australia’s mobile network in 2006–07. Total retail mobile revenue increased by 9.51 per cent to $10.2 billion in 2006–07.1 While the 3G market is significantly smaller in terms of market size, 3G revenue increased rapidly during 2006–07 (251 per cent), while the 2G segment of the market experienced very small revenue declines. Figure 7.4 shows the relative sizes and overall revenue growth 7 generated by Australia’s 2G and 3G networks in 2006–07.

Figure 7.4: Total revenue by subscriber type for Australia’s 2G and 3G mobile networks, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 7

billion $ 3

0 residential–pre and business 2G residential–pre and business 3G post paid 2G post paid 3G Source: Telecommunications carriers’ responses to ACMA’s telecommunications data request for 2006–07 By 31 March 2007, the number of mobile retail subscribers increased to approximately 20 million, which represents just over 95 per cent of Australia's population.2 Pre-paid and post-paid residential customer numbers grew by 4.3 per cent, while business customer numbers grew by 1.1 per cent. In March 2007 there were 15.9 million pre-paid and post-paid residential customers and 4.3 million business customers. There were approximately 3.2 million 3G subscribers in Australia by 31 March 2007. Total call minutes increased 14.4 per cent and the average cost per call minute fell 9.5 per cent in 2006–07. The cost per minute for pre-paid and post-paid residential subscribers fell by 0.8 per cent. The corresponding decrease for business subscribers was 23.7 per cent.

1 These figures are calculated from the mobile network providers’ responses to ACMA’s data request for 2006–07. 2 This figure is calculated on the basis of the number of mobile phone services in operation as a function of the population, and therefore differs from Figure 2.2, which is the per cent of the population which owns a mobile phone (the difference is due to some individuals owning more than one mobile phone). Also, the data above is based on a March year, not the financial year generally used in this Communications Report.

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The continued take-up of capped pricing plans is likely to have been a significant factor in the continuing strong growth of mobile voice services. The increase in pre-paid residential and business customers appears to be influenced by more aggressive 2G pricing strategies, especially in the business sector. Figure 7.5 shows the costs per call minute across customer categories for 2G and 3G mobile services during 2006–07.

Figure 7.5: Average cost per call minute for mobile, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 $0.40

$0.35

$0.30

$0.25

$0.20

$0.15

$0.10

$0.05

0 Residential–pre and Business 2G Residential–pre and Business 3G post paid 2G post paid 3G Source: Telecommunications carriers’ responses to ACMA’s telecommunications data request for 2006–07 On average, 2G subscribers received a 14.6 per cent reduction in the level of calling costs, while average per minute calling costs for 3G subscribers increased by about 43.9 per cent. It is possible that the increase in the average per call minute costs for 3G services is largely due to an increase in the video call minutes as a proportion of total call minutes. As the subscriber base for 3G services continues to increase, the potential for video calls correspondingly increases. It is only when both callers are on 3G services that video calls are possible. The value that consumers obtain from the video calling function of 3G services is a classic example of a network effect; where the value to an individual of adopting a technology is related to the adoption decisions made by other individuals.

Fixed-line developments The number of fixed-line subscribers, call volumes and call revenue continued to decline in 2006–07. Subscriber numbers decreased 2.1 per cent (residential), 4.1 per cent (business) and 2.9 per cent overall during the year. This is a slight acceleration in the decline of fixed-line revenue from the previous year. Service providers’ total access revenue (the revenue derived from ‘line-rental’ charges) continued to expand but there was a 2.5 per cent decrease in total fixed-line revenue. The changes in revenue for fixed-line services are shown in Figure 7.6.

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Figure 7.6: Fixed-line total revenue by service type, 2004–05 to 2006–07 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 $4.5 $4.0 $3.5 $3.0 $2.5 $2.0 $1.5 $1.0 $0.5 7 0 Local National International Fixed-to-mobile Basic access Data source: Telecommunications carriers’ responses to ACMA’s telecommunications data request for 2006–007 The continued decline in total call revenue for fixed-line services is being driven by falls across each of the call types. The decline was partially offset by increases in basic access charges. The greatest move away from fixed-line services appears to be to mobile services, although the continuing high growth of broadband internet suggests that voice over internet protocol (VoIP), email, internet messaging and chat rooms are also being used as alternatives. There have been cost reductions for all service types in the fixed-line voice market, with the exception of basic access (line rental). These cost reductions are due to a combination of downward pressure from access price regulation and price competition. The average cost of local calls and time-based call charges, for both residential and business customers, fell during 2006–07 by the following amounts: – local call costs decreased by 9.4 per cent to 6.0 cents per call minute; – national call costs decreased by 7.2 per cent to 10.8 cents per call minute; – international call costs decreased by 10.3 per cent to 20.4 cents per call minute; and – fixed-to-mobile call costs decreased by 4.5 per cent to 31.7 cents per call minute. The significant declines in call costs for fixed-line services during 2006–07 are shown in Figure 7.7.

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Figure 7.7: Fixed-line revenue per local, long-distance, international and fixed-to-mobile call minute, 2004–05 to 2006–07

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 $0.40

$0.35

$0.30

$0.25

$0.20

$0.15

$0.10

$0.05

0 Local National International Fixed-to-mobile Data source: Telecommunications carriers’responses to ACMA’s telecommunications data request for 2006–07 Local call minutes decreased by 9.5 per cent in 2006–07, while the number of national call minutes remained steady. International call minutes increased by about 1.4 per cent while fixed-to-mobile call minutes increased by about 4.2 per cent during 2006–07. Fixed-line subscribers paid 9.9 per cent more for basic access (connection fees), but total fixed-line call minutes fell by 4.0 per cent during the year.

Estimating benefits from telecommunications services

Methodology This analysis used the same computable general equilibrium methodology that was applied in the analysis conducted for the ACMA Communications Report 2005–06, supplemented by market reports, company annual reports and qualitative analysis. Tasman-Global Telco, a dynamic general equilibrium model, which uses a ‘technology bundle’ to represent and simulate developments in the telecommunications sector, was used to model telecommunications activity during 2006–07. The model accounts for all sectors of the economy and captures both direct and indirect effects (for example, the effect of telecommunications changes on industries that, in turn, service residential consumers). Tasman-Global Telco quantifies the economic benefits achieved through developments in the telecommunications services sector in the past year.

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ACIL Tasman estimated the benefits to consumers and businesses by assessing changes to the following five broad telecommunications service types: – local calls (local calls from fixed-line and mobile services); – non-local calls (long-distance and international calls from fixed-line and mobile services); – mobile data (SMS, MMS); – internet data (narrowband and broadband); and – other data (comprising fixed network and ISDN data). The key data sources informing this research are the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), previous ACMA reports, and data from telecommunications carriers, whose assistance is greatly appreciated. 7 The Tasman-Global Telco model compared the actual developments in the telecommunications sector in 2006–07 with the ‘reference case’ (the telecommunications sector moving in line with the rest of the economy as a whole). This actual case reflects the impacts of changes in the telecommunications sector in the past year above and beyond general economic growth. The difference between the reference and the actual cases reflects a competitive industry with rapid technological advances. A less competitive industry is likely to grow more slowly due to lower pressure for the rollout of new technologies and for price reductions.3 Figure 7.8 shows the actual and reference case paths of the economy.

Figure 7.8: Actual versus reference case, 2005–06 to 2006–07

Percentage growth in output Actual case

Reference case

Time 2005-06 2006-07

3 The 1997 reforms stimulated competition and there have been other favourable developments subsequently (for example, new suppliers emerging via new technologies). There is, therefore, less emphasis on the 1997 reforms in this report than in earlier years.

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Effects on economic welfare Changes to economic welfare can be measured by estimating changes in consumer and producer surpluses.

Consumer and small business benefits The change in consumer benefits was estimated on the basis of increases in private consumption. This is a surrogate measure of consumer surplus (defined as the difference between the value consumers place on a service or their willingness to pay minus the price actually paid for the service). The direct consumer benefits from improvements in the telecommunications sector include price reductions, increased use associated in part with price reductions, time savings from faster internet services, improvements in quality and new services. These changes result from improved productivity in the telecommunications industry as well as strategic price changes introduced by the major telecommunications providers. The indirect benefits noted by Tasman-Global Telco include the benefit to households of purchasing cheaper products from industries that have become more productive as a result of cheaper and more efficient telecommunications services. Telecommunications services are essential inputs into the operations of nearly all Australian businesses. To estimate benefits to businesses an estimate of producer surplus is calculated based on business profits. Producer surplus is the difference between the variable cost of production and the price received for a unit of service. Therefore, telecommunications developments leading to cheaper or more efficient telecommunications inputs increase productivity and reduce input costs, thus increasing business profits, which we use to approximate producer surplus. The Tasman-Global Telco model estimates that consumer benefits, as measured by real household consumption, increased by 0.17 per cent relative to the reference case in 2006–07, implying an increase in consumer benefits of $0.9 billion due to changes in telecommunications services. The model estimates that benefits to small business due to changes in telecommunications services gross operating surpluses in 2006–07 increased by 0.22 per cent relative to the reference case, implying that net benefits to small businesses grew by $176 million.

Other economic effects Gross domestic product or output The effect of the telecommunications sector on the Australian economy is an estimated increase of $1.2 billion in growth compared with the reference case in 2006–07. Although this is less than the result reported in the previous year, it is important to recognise that it does not reflect an overall slowing of the telecommunications sector in an absolute sense.

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The smaller economic benefits reported this year (as measured by GDP) reflect a higher base level of economic growth in the past year compared with the previous year, as well as an increasing void in the data that cannot readily be collected from carriers using traditional telecommunications market segment categories of ‘voice’, ‘mobile’ and ‘data’. An increasing amount of voice call traffic is now being carried on VoIP services, for which this study does not account. Compounding the VoIP issue is the move by Telstra’s competitors to increasingly migrate customers over to unconditioned local loop (ULL) services. The shift to ULL type products or service packages can blur the line between traditional voice, VoIP and internet data services, meaning that voice call minutes are being made but are not necessarily being captured within the ‘voice’ data request. Some of the effect of this shift will show up in increasing data volumes, but the additional units of data consumed cannot be recognised as of equal ‘value’ to the lost voice call minutes. Hence, there is an apparent decline in the growth rate of the sector 7 overall, even though consumers themselves may be obtaining greater value by making their voice calls through the use of data (generally a cheaper option) rather than traditional means. Furthermore, and as with all such estimates, the magnitude of this year’s numbers is dependent on the ‘reference case’ assumptions and other model assumptions stated in the main report and appendixes, and should be seen as an order of magnitude estimate rather than a precise number. In particular, and as in previous years, this estimate is sensitive to the assumptions made on how the economy would have grown in the absence of telecommunications reform. If it is assumed in the reference case that the telecommunications sector would have grown more slowly than the economy as a whole, the gap to the actual scenario would increase as would the estimate of benefits. Alternatively, a reference case with higher output growth than the remainder of the economy (that is closer to the actual scenario) would imply a lower estimate of telecommunications benefits.

Employment The impact of telecommunications services on employment growth in 2006–07 is estimated to have increased employment 0.13 per cent relative to the reference case. This is equivalent to the creation of 8,500 extra jobs across the Australian economy in the financial year 2006–07.

Sector results Nearly all economic sectors in all states and territories show increases in output compared with the reference case. The increases are especially pronounced in manufacturing industries, which perform well as a result of the flow-on or indirect economic effects, especially the electronics industry, reflecting its importance as a supplier of inputs to the communications industry.

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State/territory analysis Impacts on states and territories The estimated benefits from changes in the past year range between 0.08 per cent (Northern Territory) to 0.16 per cent (Tasmania) in gross state product (GSP) increases during 2006–07. The percentage increases in household consumption are larger compared to changes in GSP (with the number varying between the states/territories). Employment changes are generally very similar to the increases in GSP.

Table 7.2: Estimated benefits of telecommunications changes from 2005–06 to 2006–07 (percentage increases) GSP Household Employment Investment consumption New South Wales/ACT 0.15 0.19 0.1 0.14 Victoria 0.13 0.17 0.14 0.13 Queensland 0.09 0.13 0.09 0.09 South Australia 0.13 0.18 0.13 0.13 Western Australia 0.12 0.17 0.12 0.12 Tasmania 0.16 0.21 0.14 0.16 Northern Territory 0.08 0.12 0.08 0.08 Australia 0.13 0.17 0.13 0.12

Table 7.2 shows that states such as New South Wales and Victoria with strong manufacturing sectors (which are highly sensitive to changes in the telecommunications market) gain significant benefit from telecommunications changes (as measured by GSP increases). New South Wales and Victoria also have the highest levels of terrestrial broadband availability. The benefits are proportionately greatest in Tasmania, a result that is largely driven by developments in internet data. Over the past two years, Tasmania has enjoyed by far the greatest increase in broadband availability. During the past financial year, Western Australia and South Australia also enjoyed rapid increases in broadband availability.

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The states/territories benefiting least from changes to telecommunications services were generally more reliant on agriculture and mining industries and had lower base levels of terrestrial broadband availability, or a lower increase in the level of availability. Despite being relatively high users of telephony services, the Western Australian and Queensland economies only receive moderate benefits as a result of relatively smaller increases in broadband availability and because of the composition of their economies (with substantial mining and agriculture sectors). The Northern Territory benefited least from telecommunications services, most likely as a result of lower terrestrial broadband availability and only modest increases in availability over the past year.

This chapter is a summary of a report for ACMA by ACIL Tasman. Copies of the complete report are available on the ACMA website. 7

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The digital divide—the debate to date and future directions The ability of individuals to adopt and benefit from the internet and associated information and communications technology (ICT) has major social and economic benefits, influencing participation in the online economy, education and learning, access to services, political participation and social inclusion. Increasingly, policy makers are aware of the linkages between participation in the online environment and social inclusion and participation generally. Accompanying this recognition of the increasing importance of ICT to social participation are concerns about disparities within populations in their ability to access and effectively use these services. The term ‘digital divide’ has been coined to capture the notion of a type of digital inequality that exacerbates existing social and economic inequalities. The importance of access to and use of the internet and associated ICT services has been recognised as a key policy objective at all levels of government in Australia. The Telecommunications Services Inquiry 2000 and the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry 2002 examined the adequacy and availability of telecommunications services across Australia and resulted in targeted programs to address service delivery and access issues in regional 8 and remote Australia. Targeted funding of programs such as Networking the Nation, Mobile Connect, the Higher Broadband Incentive Scheme, Broadband Connect and the Australian Broadband Guarantee continue to address infrastructure issues and have resolved many of the access issues preventing the diffusion of internet use to people in non-metropolitan areas. This overview of Australian and international research on the digital divide identifies the major themes in the research to date, including the changing conceptualisation of the digital divide from a ‘digital access divide’ to a ‘digital use divide’, and the known and emerging barriers to internet adoption and use.

Background The term ‘digital divide’ has been used variously to signify a range of inequities on a global, national and community level—whether social, economic and political, or in terms of access to infrastructure—affecting access to ICT services. Early iterations of the concept used the term to describe disparities in the use of the internet and new telecommunications services across different social groups.1 The International Telecommunication Union widened the concept, proposing that it must also be understood in terms of use, reflecting differences between ICT users and non-users, and differences between the quality and intensity of use among ICT users.2 A 2007 report by the OECD3 repositioned the focus from one of a ‘digital access divide’ to a ‘digital use divide’, arguing that the digital divide as previously framed has declined with near universal access within the OECD. Current literature conceptualises the digital divide in terms of knowledge, with particular emphasis on its links to digital literacy. It is also described as a continuum within which there are a number of different divides, rather than a simple dichotomy between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.

1 National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US Department of Commerce (1999), Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide, www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/ 2 International Telecommunication Union (2005), Building Digital Bridges, www.itu.int/publications/bookshop/ 3 Montagnier, P. and Vickery, G. (2007), Broadband and ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals, Working Party on the Information Economy, OECD, DSTI/ICCP/IE(2007)4/FINAL, forthcoming, www.oecd.org

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Australia’s experience In Australia, the debate about the digital divide has reflected two distinct themes and phases. Between the mid-1990s and early 2000, the debate was positioned primarily in terms of a geographic or location-specific access divide, focusing on the perceived inequities in access between metropolitan and regional Australia. The debate centred on access to technology, and associated supply-side issues such as the quality, availability and cost of services in rural and remote Australia, together with ensuring that infrastructure was available to deliver new services. However, a body of research dating from early 2000 has argued that non-participation in the online environment is due primarily to economic and social circumstances, thus shifting the debate from being about geographic location to being about socio-economic and demographic indicators. A seminal study conducted by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) in 20004 examined the influence of socio-demographic factors on the take-up of new communications services. This study found that once socio-economic variables such as education and income level are controlled for, the influence of geography as an inhibitor to internet access disappears. Observed differences in connection rates are based on socio-economic factors, not on regional or state factors. The NATSEM study identified the major drivers of internet access and therefore participation in ICT services as: – education/qualification; – income; – age; – gender; and – occupation/employment status.

In 2001, Curtin5 argued that digital technology has not created a new social divide; rather it has built on inequities that already exist in Australian society. While living in rural and regional areas does not in itself determine internet access, there remains a regional dimension to the digital divide.

A 2002 study by McLaren and Zappala6 found that ICT access was not affected by whether a household was situated in a metropolitan or non-metropolitan area; rather, parental education was the most influential socio-economic variable. They noted that the digital divide was not solely about physical access to ICT, but was also about ensuring that people have the resources and skills to use technology efficiently and effectively.

4 Lloyd, R. and Hellwig, O. (2000), Sociodemographic Barriers to Utilisation and Participation in the Telecommunications Services and Their Regional Distribution: A Quantitative Analysis, NATSEM (Commissioned by Telstra), University of Canberra. 5 Curtin, J. (2001–02), A Digital Divide in Rural and Regional Australia?, Current Issues Brief 2001–02. 6 McLaren J. and Zappala G. (2002), The New Economy Revisited: An Initial Analysis of the Digital Divide among Financially Disadvantaged Families, The Smith Family.

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Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data points to significantly increased internet access and to accelerated diffusion of broadband services. The 2005–06 multi-purpose household survey found that 60 per cent or 4.7 million households had internet access, while 2.3 million households or 48 per cent of households with internet access had broadband access, almost double the level for the previous year.7 ABS data also shows increasing adoption of internet access in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. In 2005–06, 63 per cent of metropolitan areas and 54 per cent of non-metropolitan areas had internet access, compared with 47 per cent and 34 per cent respectively in 2001.8 However, socio-demographic inhibitors remain. Socio-demographic characters of internet users include access that is significantly higher for: – the 15–17 years age group; – household members in the top two quintiles of household income; – people with higher levels of education; and – the employed.9 8 These groups also registered relatively higher levels of broadband access. Relatively little research has been conducted in Australia since a significant jump in the broadband adoption curve dating from a price-point drop of 2004.

International research Internationally, the rapid diffusion of broadband services and its resultant effects on online activities, and the upsurge of applications and use of digital media have facilitated a new body of research and analysis, particularly by the OECD’s Working Party on the Information Economy.10 According to the OECD, there has been a decline across OECD countries in the digital access divide and narrowing of the adoption curve for ICT diffusion, and in its place an increase in the digital use or knowledge divide fuelled by broadband adoption. Broadband has acted as an essential accelerator to the use of online activities such as playing or downloading music, games, images, videoconferencing and shopping. The intensity and variety of use, and the relationship between socio-economic status, cultural experience and knowledge acquisition through the internet, is not uniform across all applications. Drawing similar conclusions to earlier Australian research, the OECD research suggests that the digital divide and different rates of ICT uptake by households and individuals reflects economic and social structures, skills, training, knowledge and income.

7 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005–06), 8146.0 Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2005–06, pp. 6, 29, www.abs.gov.au 8 ibid., p.12. 9 ibid., p.14. 10 Montagnier, P. and Vickery, G. (2007), Broadband and ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals, Working Party on the Information Economy, OECD, DSTI/ICCP/IE(2007)4/FINAL, forthcoming, www.oecd.org

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Australian research The significant jump in broadband adoption in recent years, together with new applications, greater internet speeds, new technologies and decreasing prices have undoubtedly introduced a number of new factors to discussion about the digital divide in Australia. To increase understanding about the digital divide in this current context, ACMA has commissioned the ABS to study the equity of internet access by households and individuals in Australia based on regional and socio-economic characteristics using the 2006 Census for Population and Housing. This project will provide up-to-date information and analysis on the impact of socio-economic factors and location on internet take-up, with specific breakdown of the type of connection. ACMA is also conducting ongoing research in the area of digital and media literacy, which refers to the ability of consumers to make effective use of communications and media services. Now that consumers are using ICT services to actively participate in the information economy, the scope of media literacy has extended beyond use and consumption to include participation in media creation. Increasingly, there is recognition of the overlap between research on media literacy and the digital use divide, and between policy directions addressing the digital use divide and media literacy objectives. This body of research and the further work streams that may emerge from it will serve as an important information resource for policy makers seeking to ensure appropriate levels of access and use across all sectors of the Australian community.

Trends in television audiences

Television environment Digital technology is playing an increasing part in people’s daily lives. Australians now have a greater array of choices about when, where and how they access content, including on digital subscription television channels, and more personalised media offered through the internet and mobiles. This is especially evident in households with children, of which 32 per cent have subscription television11 (compared with 26.1 per cent of all households12), 79 per cent have broadband internet (58 per cent of all households13) and 56 per cent have mobile phones with advanced features.14 With the resulting shifts in media consumption, there is increasing commentary about audience fragmentation and declines in mass television audiences. This essay examines the place of television in the current media landscape by reference to trends in television audience size and time spent viewing television in free-to-air and subscription television households. These trends are reviewed in terms of the total population of television viewers and younger viewers. Specific attention has been paid to the latter group because many of the new cultural developments in the digital media landscape are primarily identified with young people.15

11 ACMA, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007. 12 Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook 2007–2011: Forecasts and commentary of 11 industry segments, p.72. 13 ACMA, Telecommunications Today, September 2007. 14 ACMA, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007, forthcoming publication. 15 EU Kids Online: Researching children’s experiences online across countries. Source: www.eukidsonline.net

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While there have been declines over time, the data shows that watching television remains a very popular activity for most Australians. At the same time, differences in viewing trends between the total population and younger viewers across free-to-air and subscription television households provides insight into possible future trends in television viewing. Free-to-air television remains Australia’s most pervasive broadcasting medium, with a household penetration of 99.7 per cent and with 68 per cent of homes having two or more television sets (three in family households). According to Free TV Australia, the industry body representing Australia’s commercial free-to-air television licensees, free-to-air television (including the national broadcasters, the ABC and SBS) reaches nine in 10 Australians weekly.16 Free-to-air television channels account for approximately 87 per cent of all television viewing during the evening in metropolitan areas and 88 per cent in regional areas. The subscription television industry continues to grow in Australia. By 30 June 2007, there were 2.082 million subscribers to Foxtel and Austar.17 Foxtel reported a total subscriber base (including wholesale customers) of 1.443 million,18 while Austar reported a subscriber base of 639,128. For 2006–07, Foxtel reported an increase of 12.4 per cent in its subscriber base, including wholesale customers, while Austar reported a similar increase in subscriber 8 numbers of 12.5 per cent in the 12 months to December 2006.19 Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimated that household penetration of subscription television in Australia was 26.1 per cent at the end of 2006 and forecast that the industry would have a penetration rate of 27.9 per cent by the end of 2007. The increasing levels of subscription television penetration are also reflected in the industry’s increased share of advertising revenue.

Changes in free-to air television audiences Analysis of OzTAM ratings data for 2001 and 2006 shows that the all-people average audience for free-to-air television decreased from two million to 1.9 million over the five years. For free-to-air commercial television, the all-people average audience decreased from 1.6 million in 2001 to 1.5 million in 2006.20 Although these figures are based on average viewing audiences over a calendar year (including non-ratings periods), similar declines in television audiences have been observed during ratings periods (defined as weeks 7–48, excluding Easter). Another recent analysis of Australian television audiences during ratings periods from 2001 to 2005 found that the all-people average viewer numbers decreased by a compound average rate of 1.4 per cent (5.6 per cent in absolute terms). Over the same period, the decrease in television audiences was greater for the free-to-air commercial networks, declining by a compound average rate of 2.3 per cent per annum (almost nine per cent in absolute terms).21

16 Free TV Australia media release, ‘Free TV Mid-year Report’, 17 July 2007, p.1. 17 Mediaday, ‘Numbers mount up for Foxtel’, Issue Number 5099, 9 August, 2007, p.1. 18 Foxtel media release, ‘Foxtel accelerates growth in subscribers and profits to record highs’, 9 August, 2007, p.1. 19 Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook 2007–2011: Forecasts and commentary of 11 industry segments, p.73. 20 ACMA, Children’s Viewing Patterns on Commercial, Free-to-air and Subscription Television, June 2007, p.9. 21 Merrill Lynch, Australian Media and Entertainment Industry Overview: The gloss is coming off TV, 25 April 2006.

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Analysis of OzTAM data for the years 2001 to 2006 (excluding the Commonwealth Games period) showed that average viewer numbers for commercial television in the 16–39 age group declined by 17 per cent in absolute terms.22 The 16–39 age group is of significant interest to media analysts because this group has the most exposure to the emerging convergent technologies.23 In comparison with children and young people, those in the 16–39 age group are of particular interest to advertisers due to their spending power. While audience trends for 2001–06 demonstrate a decline in the total prime-time viewing audience, in 2006 the total commercial audience actually increased by one per cent over the previous year, reversing the annual declines posted since 2001.24 Merrill Lynch reported that the main factor driving this increase in commercial television audiences was the performance of the Seven Network, which benefited from increasingly popular programs resulting in an average audience increase of 3.6 per cent in 2006.

Amount of television watched in Australian households All people viewing At the same time that there has been a decline in the size of free-to-air television audiences, there has been a similar decline in the amount of free-to-air television watched in Australian households. Analysis of OzTAM data on time spent viewing free-to-air television for the 2001 to 2006 years shows that there was a decline. In 2001, the average time spent viewing free-to-air television by the total population (all households) was 163 minutes per day. By the end of 2006, this figure had decreased to 144 minutes. Analysis of OzTAM survey data for free-to-air only households and subscription television households shows that there are clear differences in the amount of television viewing across household types. Data for subscription television households refers to homes in the National Subscription Television Panel with subscription television. The average viewer in a subscription television household spends more time watching television than a viewer in a free-to-air household. In 2006, viewers in subscription television households spent an average of 211 minutes per day watching television compared with 172 minutes for free-to-air households. (Overall, that is an additional 39 minutes of television watched in subscription television households.) In free-to-air households, viewers spent 131 minutes per day watching commercial television. When the national broadcasters are included, this figure increased to 166 minutes per day (Figure 8.1). Although viewers in subscription television households spent more than half of their daily viewing watching subscription services (118 minutes per day), they also spent a significant amount of time watching commercial television channels (78 minutes).

22 Merrill Lynch, Ibid, p.2. 23 Merrill Lynch, Ibid, p.2. 24 ACMA, Children’s Viewing Patterns on Commercial, Free-to-air and Subscription Television, June 2007, p.15.

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Figure 8.1: Television viewing in free-to-air and subscription television households – average time viewed by platform for all people, 2006 Total commercial Total FTA Total subscription 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 FTA TV only Subscription TV Household type

Children’s viewing 8 Analysis of children’s viewing patterns using the all-households data for 2001 to 2006 revealed a similar decline in the amount of time spent watching free-to-air television to the all-people trends reported previously. In 2001, the average time spent viewing free-to-air television for children aged 0–14 was 119 minutes per day. In 2006, this figure had decreased to 84 minutes.26 These figures also show that children aged 0–14 years spend less time watching television than the total population. When households with only free-to-air television are compared with subscription television households (using data from the National Subscription Television Panel), children reflect the total population trends in that they watch more television (an extra 33 minutes per day) if they are in a subscription television household (Figures 8.2 and 8.3). In 2006, children in subscription television households spent an average of 139 minutes a day watching television, while children in free-to-air households averaged 106 minutes a day. In free-to-air households, children aged 0–14 years spend most of their television viewing time watching commercial television (76 minutes), followed by the ABC (25 minutes). Figure 8.2 shows that children in subscription television households spend 94 minutes per day watching subscription television channels. This compares with 37 minutes for commercial television and five minutes for the ABC.

26 ACMA, Children’s Viewing Patterns on Commercial, Free-to-air and Subscription Television, June 2007, p.15.

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Figure 8.2: Television viewing in free-to-air and subscription television households – average time viewed by platform for children aged 0–14 years, 2006 Total commercial Total FTA Total subscription 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 FTA TV only Subscription TV Household type

Differences in television viewing in free-to-air and subscription television households are also reflected in the changes from 2005 to 2006 (Figure 8.3). While the amount of time spent watching television by children in free-to-air households decreased by an average of nine minutes per day over this period, children in subscription television households watched approximately the same amount of television each day. This trend mirrors the all-people findings shown in Figure 8.3.

Figure 8.3: Total TV viewing – average time spent watching television across free-to-air and subscription television for children aged 0–14 years, 2005 and 2006 2006 2005

Subscription TV All people

FTA TV Only All people

Subscription TV 0-14 Age group

FTA TV Only 0-14 Age group

0 50 100 150 200 250

Figure 8.4 shows the amount of time spent watching television by children of different ages. Overall, these findings reflect the general trends reported for the 0–14 age group (Figure 8.3); that is, the daily average amount of time spent watching television is higher in subscription television households than in free-to-air households for all three age groups: pre-schoolers (0–4 years), school age children (5–12 years) and teens (13–17 years).

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Over the two years considered (2005 and 2006), the 0–4 years age group recorded the highest daily average time spent viewing television in subscription television (185 minutes) and free-to-air (136 minutes) households. Both of these viewing peaks were recorded in 2005. A comparison of the data by year shows a decrease in the time spent viewing television for two age groups in both types of household (free-to-air and subscription) from 2005 to 2006. The exception to this trend was the 13–17 age group in subscription television households, where daily viewing remained stable across both years (146 minutes in 2005; 147 minutes in 2006).

Figure 8.4: Total TV viewing – average time spent viewing television in free-to-air and subscriptionn television households for children aged 0–4, 5–12 and 13–17 years, 2005 and 2006 Subscription TV 2005 Subscription TV 2006 FTA TV Only 2005 FTA TV Only 2006 200 190 180 170 160 8 150 140 130 120 110 100 0-4 5-12 13-17 Age groups

Television: the dominant electronic media activity for children A recent ACMA study of Australian families’ use of electronic media and communications devices examined the use of television, together with the use of other media technologies such as the internet, video or computer games and mobile phones by children aged 8–17 years.27 The study allowed ACMA to determine the position of television as a media activity relative to the other technologies identified. It also measured changes in media and communications use since 1995, when a similar study was undertaken by the Australian Broadcasting Authority. In both 1995 and 2007, 49 per cent of children’s ‘aggregate discretionary time’ was spent on electronic media and communications activities, with the remaining 51 per cent spent on non-media activities such as going out, general play and other physical activities. Television viewing remained the dominant electronic media activity in 2007, with televisions found in 99 per cent of homes and watched by 99 per cent of young people. Television viewing accounted for 19 per cent of aggregate discretionary time in 2007. However, in contrast to 1995, it is now competing with the internet (eight per cent) and mobile phones (three per cent) for a share of discretionary time. These media become more important to children as they grow older.

27 ACMA, Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007.

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The study found that while other electronic and media communications activities demonstrate strong variations in age, time spent watching television remains constant from the age of 8–17 years. Children aged 8–17 years spend an average of 87 minutes per day watching free-to-air television. This figure is comparable with the 2006 OzTAM estimate referred to previously, which showed that children aged 0–14 years spent 84 minutes per day watching free-to-air television. However, the study also found that older children spent a smaller proportion of their aggregate discretionary time watching television. They spent more time on activities such as using the internet, listening to music or using mobile phones either as stand-alone activities or alongside primary activities such as watching television or doing homework. This contrasts with children aged 8–14 years, who spent on average more time watching free-to-air television per day than being engaged in any other electronic media or communications activities. Free to air television viewing is still the predominant media activity for many households, but the average amount of time spent viewing free to air television is declining as competition for audience discretionary time emerges from other communications activities like subscription television and internet. Differences in viewing trends between the total population and younger audiences also provides some useful insights into changing patterns of media consumption.

The growth of mobility Traditional regulation of telecommunications, broadcasting, internet and radiocommunication is built on services and networks being in fixed and known locations. Recently, greater mobility of services has had a major impact on the way Australians communicate and conduct their business. At the same time it is also posing challenges for regulators in identifying and understanding the reasonable expectations of industry and consumers in facilitating and regulating new services. It is possible to gain an insight into the future evolution of communications services by looking at developments in the mobile cellular networks and their new applications and benefits that are now available to Australian business and consumers as a result of mobile services. The introduction of publicly accessible carrier networks, such as the mobile cellular networks, accelerated the development of mobility applications and related industries where previously their development had been restricted to costly satellite and proprietary systems. Today’s cellular networks provide national and international coverage footprints for voice, data and multimedia access at increasing bandwidths and decreasing costs. In Australia, the 3G networks are bringing high-speed data access within reach of the mass market. Access to the 3G networks is available in various forms to suit both individuals and businesses. In the same way that cellular systems made it possible to access voice services almost everywhere, wireless communication systems may contribute to the creation of relatively ubiquitous access to information. Users will likely come to expect access to whatever services they require, wherever they happen to be.

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The introduction of other wireless communications systems, such as WiFi, allows local mobility within the home or business through using class-licensed spectrum, which permits free and open use due to its restricted power output. Given sufficient numbers of nodes, WiFi can also be meshed into networks that provide city-wide coverage. These networks can be constructed at low cost, providing access points that can service multiple users simultaneously. Device access to WiFi networks is now a mature, relatively straightforward and secure process. These networks may operate as stand-alone installations, but are typically connected to fixed telecommunications systems that provide back-haul to the internet. WiFi enables not only mobility of voice communication, but the ability to access complex applications such as secure financial transactions, telemetry data acquisition and process automation. Other wireless communications technologies, such as WiMax, may offer similar experiences over wider areas or over longer distances, possibly at increased data rates. For example, a tradesperson with an equipment model number, a fault diagnosis, and a laptop might now expect to be able to access detailed written repair instructions and order replacement parts at the nearest WiFi hot-spot, or via a WiMax or cellular network. Developments in mobile devices have led also to new mobile applications becoming more 8 widely available. Miniaturisation, along with further improvements in battery technology, computing processing power and unit robustness, is leading to the replacement of non-portable equipment with mobile devices. Advances in display technology and usability have further reduced the operational complexity of equipment and created more opportunities for applications and content dissemination. Coupled with faster networks, these advances are now able to deliver not only voice and data but also video. Mobile television - television transmitted to mobile phone handsets - is now a reality. Data capture and online access are the basic requirements for most mobility applications. The integration of data capture functionality and mobile computing products into mobile networks has been achieved by equipment manufacturers, and through the use of standards- based technologies such as Bluetooth. Today, a wide range of data-capture devices exists, including cameras, barcode readers and radiofrequency identification (RFID) scanners that can collect, store and transmit information. Various data-capture and mobile devices can now be easily interconnected to make real-time information available. Mobility of people, goods and services, information and finance has become a source of competitive advantage in most industries. The logistics industry, in particular, is a fundamental underpinning layer in modern economies. The identification of consumer items and transactions through the use of barcodes, RFID, GPS and image identification enables mobile terminals to capture and disseminate data in a competitive and cost-efficient manner. For example, goods-handling equipment can be fitted with sensors for mobile data collection, including container and handling-equipment locations, work rates and fuel consumption. The real-time outputs from these systems are used to determine and finetune workforce efficiency to give a competitive edge. The ability to automate processes such as fleet management, warehousing and workforce location has transformed the logistics industry to meet their customers’ requirements ‘just in time’.

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For primary industries such as agriculture, keeping connected with centralised information systems when working in the field is a critical success factor. Commercial farming operators use mobility products to provide information on market prices, asset and workforce location. Precise GPS data is used to determine layouts of fields, resulting in improved yields and productivity gains. The quality of produce is now monitored using mobile ‘cold chain’ data collection of temperature and time records from the processing plant to the supermarket shelf. This data can enable better management of products’ shelf lives, leading to less wastage and more sales. Similarly, RFID tagging of livestock means the animal can be tracked from farm to table. This tracking provides the quality control data that is now required by domestic and export markets. Small businesses have also embraced the growth in mobile communications. The traditional office that used fixed-line telephony and fax services is giving way to the mobile digital office comprising cellular telephony, email and data access from any location with access to the internet. Better mobile workforce management has produced efficiencies and cost savings in those businesses that require site visits. Greater use of mobile communications in the retail industry has also improved customer service. The deployment of cellular and WiFi networks has extended retail systems such as electronic funds transfer at point of sale. Invoicing, payment and delivery can now be carried out at the same time at the customer’s premises. For consumers, ‘staying in touch’ using mobile services now means retaining access to email, instant messaging and data support as well as voice services. Being permanently contactable is expected as a matter of fact and is no longer considered as something special in either a business or social context. The underlying technology of being mobile and able to communicate is irrelevant to the users. It is the content—voice, text and video—that has taken centre stage. Individuals’ interactions have changed as mobility solutions complement and, in some cases, replace traditional methods of social interaction. Individuals or groups can now exchange information such as blogs, diary entries or pictures. Wireless technologies that support personal mobility such as WiFi and Bluetooth are being used for services such as gaming and dating. In the workplace also, employees are able to interact and perform their duties not only at work but also on the road and from home. The integration of media player capability, radio receivers and personal organisers is likely to lead to market dominance by these new devices at the expense of the standard (voice only) mobile phone. There will be an emergence of multiple, readily available, wireless networks as the fixed telecommunication networks no longer meet individual and business requirements to be constantly in reach of voice, data and video communication. Many of the issues that arise from the multi-jurisdictional nature of the internet will become more acute and have more impact as both the source and the end user become fully mobile.

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The challenge for regulators is to keep pace not only with the evolution of technology but also with changing community expectations about service use, ubiquity and mobility. Greater levels of mobility apply to the nature of services and content as well as the technology of networks. The emergence of new technology, service providers and content will require regulators to be aware of the possible trends in mobility because of the social and business implications and their impact on the public interest. With greater use of mobiles, comparable treatment for mobile and fixed networks and services becomes an important consideration for regulators, particularly where traditional regulation has assumed fixed and known network and service locations. Understanding quality of service features, the applicability of content regulation and the availability of consumer protection mechanisms are also important considerations in keeping regulation contemporary and addressing the issues that concern consumers and communications industry participants. 8

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Chapter 1 The Australian communications environment 1.1 ACMA media releases 2006–07 206 Chapter 2 Consumers and consumer protection 2.1 Consumer and audience usage statistics 220 2.2 ACIF code activity in 2006–07 223 2.3 Telecommunications complaints to the ACCC 225 2.4 Complaints to the TIO 227 2.5 Radiocommunications complaints 234 2.6 ACMA publications on communications services 236 Chapter 3 The Australian communications industry 3.1 Telecommunications carrier licensing data 237 3.2 TIO scheme membership data 238 3.3 Telecommunications numbering data 239 Chapter 4 Telecommunications industry performance in meeting regulatory obligations 4.1 Public payphone data 242 4.2 Special digital data service 245 4.3 Customer Service Guarantee data 246 4.4 Network Reliability Framework data 250 4.5 Priority assistance data 254 4.6 Disability Equipment Scheme 256 A 4.7 Emergency call service data 257 4.8 Disclosures of personal information 259 4.9 Internet content investigation data 261 4.10 Submarine cables data 262 Chapter 5 Broadcasting industry performance in meeting regulatory obligations 5.1 Expenditure on Australian drama programs by subscription television 263 5.2 First release Australian children’s drama broadcast data 264 5.3 Australian music on commercial and community radio 266 5.4 Free-to-air sports broadcasting data 268

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Appendix 1.1: ACMA media releases 2006–07

The following list of media releases issued by ACMA in 2006–07 provides a snapshot of ACMA’s regulatory activities and points of focus. The more topical issues are annotated and the media releases have been sorted into the following categories: – expansion of digital broadcasting; – legacy analog services; – spectrum planning and numbering; – regulation, compliance and enforcement; – consumer advice and protection; – research and information; and – fee collection.

Expansion of digital broadcasting Broadcasters exceed HDTV 2006 quota by more than 25 per cent All free-to-air television broadcasters reported that they exceeded their quota requirements for the broadcast of high definition television (HDTV) programs on their digital services by at least 26 per cent in 2006.

ACMA seeks comment on proposed variations to digital television conversion schemes ACMA is seeking public comment on proposed variations to the schemes that regulate the conversion of broadcast television from analog to digital mode.

Digital radio trials extended in Sydney and Melbourne ACMA has decided to extend the current Eureka 147 digital radio trials in Melbourne and Sydney.

ACMA report finds take-up of digital free-to-air television has more than doubled since 2005 ACMA research shows that growth in the adoption of digital free-to-air television has more than doubled since July 2005—to 30 per cent of households—but that many non-adopters are still not aware of the future changes to free-to-air television.

ACMA proposes channels for digital television repeater services in regional and remote Australia ACMA has released proposals to allot and assign digital channels for television repeater services in 149 locations in remote and regional Australia and welcomes submissions on the proposals.

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New digital commercial television service for Darwin ACMA has allocated a commercial television broadcasting licence to provide a digital-only service for Darwin, Northern Territory.

ACMA publishes guidelines for narrowcasting television services ACMA has published guidelines for the types of services that may be provided as narrowcasting television services under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

ACMA extends datacasting trial and approves new mobile television trial in Sydney on channels A and B ACMA has authorised separate trials on the two unassigned digital television channels for Sydney known as channels A and B.

ACMA assigns channels for commercial digital television services in remote areas of Australia ACMA has allotted and assigned digital channels for commercial television services in remote central and eastern Australia and remote and regional Western Australia.

ACMA assigns channels for digital television repeater services in regional Australia ACMA has allotted and assigned digital channels for television repeater services in regional New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania and has also identified unassigned A digital channels that may be used for other purposes.

ACMA seeks comment on extending datacasting trial in Sydney ACMA is seeking public comment on extending the digital datacasting trial currently being conducted in Sydney by Broadcast Australia.

ACMA seeks comments on proposed guidelines for narrowcasting television services ACMA is seeking comments on its proposed guidelines regarding the types of services that may be provided as narrowcasting television services under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

ACMA proposes channels for digital television repeater services in regional Australia ACMA has released proposals to allot and assign regional digital channels for television repeater services in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

ACMA seeks comments on technical, licensing and allocation arrangements for new digital TV channels ACMA is seeking comments on the allocation and licence parameters for two licences for new digital television services following the recent passing of legislation in October 2006 to allow the allocation of spectrum for the new services.

New television plans for regional Victoria and southern NSW ACMA has released new plans for analog and digital television services in areas of regional Victoria and southern NSW.

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ACMA assigns channels for digital television repeater services in inland NSW

Legacy analog services Conclusion of community television trial in Mount Gambier, SA ACMA allocates new open narrowcasting radio licence for Canberra ACMA invites applications for a community television trial in Adelaide

Spectrum planning and numbering ACMA proposals confirm triple zero (000) access from VoIP services The critical importance of free-of-charge access to emergency services using new telecommunications technologies was emphasised today with the release of proposed amendments to the regulatory obligations for telecommunications providers.

ACMA proposes changes to Hobart radio services ACMA is proposing changes to the ABC News Radio service 7PB and the community radio service 7THE in Hobart.

ACMA new phone number ranges for five areas ACMA has introduced new phone number ranges for parts of Melbourne and Sydney and certain regional areas in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.

Amendments to smartnumbers® allocation process ACMA has made amendments to the arrangements for the allocation of freephone and local rate 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers via its smartnumbers® auction system.

ACMA introduces new number range for innovative communications services such as VoIP ACMA has introduced a new, location-independent service type and number range to facilitate the introduction of innovative communications services while assisting consumers in making more informed choices.

Final stage in place to allow a limited evaluation of mobile telephone services on board a commercial aircraft ACMA has enabled a limited evaluation of GSM mobile phones and GPRS devices on a commercial aircraft.

ACMA permits additional services on the directory assistance number 12 23 ACMA has amended the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997 to allow additional services on the directory assistance number 12 23, including national and international operator-connected calls and other operator services.

New telephone numbers for the wider Tamworth and Barraba areas

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Proposed amendments to smartnumbers® auction process ACMA is proposing to make amendments to the arrangements for the allocation of freephone and local rate 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers (smartnumbers®) that would introduce a cooling-off period for applicants and clarify requirements for charities.

Conference highlights importance of smart spectrum regulation to Australia’s communications future ACMA’s inaugural conference on spectrum issues has reinforced the growing importance of ‘leading edge’ radiocommunications regulation to the converging communications industry, according to ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman.

ACMA extends licence area of community radio service 2RPH ACMA to make low-power community radio service available for Perth city area ACMA radiocommunications conference to discuss additional spectrum identified as capable of supporting future wireless access services ACMA to hold inaugural spectrum management conference ACMA invites applications for high-powered open narrowcasting services ACMA has invited applications for 28 high-powered open narrowcasting radio services A to serve areas in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

ACMA commissions independent review of government spectrum holdings To help ACMA better achieve an appropriate balance between government use of the radiofrequency spectrum and its use by the broader community, ACMA has commissioned SpectrumWise Radiocommunications Consulting to provide an independent review of government spectrum holdings.

ACMA proposes new phone number range for Colac and Geelong ACMA embargoes spectrum in the 518–520 MHz band to preserve options for the replanning of television channel 27 ACMA embargoes spectrum to plan for Digital Radio Mondiale ACMA has placed an embargo on frequency bands potentially suitable for use by broadcasting services using Digital Radio Mondiale. These bands are outside the broadcasting services bands used by traditional broadcasting services.

Auction of spectrum licences for wireless broadband services in the 2010–2025 MHz band ACMA introduces auction process for allocation of broadband wireless access licences in regional areas New price-based allocation process for the allocation of apparatus licences for broadband wireless access services in the 1900–1920 frequency band in regional and remote areas.

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ACMA reduces prices for wireless access spectrum Reserve prices reduced for spectrum in the 3.4 GHz band, to encourage take-up of the spectrum to provide services to the community.

Regulation, compliance and enforcement ACMA registers new codes of practice for subscription television and radio services and open narrowcast radio services ACMA accepts formal undertakings from 2GB in response to breaches ACMA has accepted formal undertakings from Harbour Radio Pty Ltd, the licensee of commercial radio service 2GB Sydney, concerning new training procedures on vilification in response to a number of breaches of a provision of the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice 2004.

ACMA proposes to impose additional licence conditions as it renews Coraki community broadcasting licence ACMA not to renew Bankstown community radio licence ACMA fines two companies for breaches of the Spam Act ACMA has fined the Pitch Entertainment Group (Pitch) $11,000 for extensive breaches of the Spam Act 2003. This is the largest fine imposed by ACMA to date under the Spam Act.

ACMA finds Disorderly Conduct Caught on Tape broadcast on HSV 7 Melbourne exceeded PG classification ACMA has found that Channel Seven Melbourne Pty Ltd, the licensee of commercial television service HSV Melbourne, breached the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice by broadcasting a program, Disorderly Conduct Caught on Tape, which failed to comply with the PG requirements for ‘violence’.

ACMA extends community television trial in Adelaide ACMA finds all television networks exceeded Australian content advertising quota in 2006 All commercial television networks reported that they exceeded the requirement to broadcast Australian-produced advertisements for at least 80 per cent of their advertising time between 6.00 am and midnight in 2006.

Metropolitan commercial television licensees meet Australian local content quotas in 2006 All metropolitan commercial television licensees reported that they met the Australian transmission quota and content requirements of the Australian Content Standard and Children’s Television Standards in 2006.

ACMA finds 2YYY Young breached licence conditions ACMA proposes changes to radio transmitter sites in the Innisfail region

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ACMA publishes Media Diversity Report Comprehensive information on media groups and operations across Australia is now available following the publication today of ACMA’s Media Diversity Report.

ACMA finds SBS incorrectly classified episode of Inspector Rex ACMA has found that the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (SBS) breached Code 4 of the SBS Codes of Practice 2006 by broadcasting an incorrectly classified episode of the program Inspector Rex on 16 November 2006.

ACMA finds 2QBN Queanbeyan failed to encourage community participation and did not have volunteer guidelines or conflict resolution policies in place ACMA directs Prodigy Telecom Pty Ltd to join the TIO scheme New arrangements for access to IPND data New arrangements for accessing information in the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) commenced today with the introduction of a scheme establishing a ‘gatekeeper’ role for ACMA and the registration of a revised industry code.

ACMA findings that 2GB breached commercial radio code ACMA notes ongoing media commentary surrounding the recent release of its A investigation report and findings that the licensee of commercial radio service 2GB Sydney, Harbour Radio Pty Ltd breached certain provisions of the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice 2004 between 5 and 9 December 2005.

2GB breaches code by broadcasting material that was likely to encourage violence or brutality and to vilify people on the basis of ethnicity ACMA finds 4MMM Brisbane failed to provide a response to a complaint ACMA finds 3EON Bendigo and Castlemaine failed to encourage community participation New local presence licence condition for regional commercial radio ACMA has imposed an additional licence condition on regional commercial radio broadcasters requiring licensees to keep records of their existing levels of local presence on an ongoing basis and maintain existing levels of local presence in their licence areas in certain circumstances.

ACMA publishes Register of Controlled Media Groups A major stage in the implementation of new media ownership regulatory arrangements will be reached today with the publication of ACMA’s new Register of Controlled Media Groups.

ACMA finds that Nine Network licensees failed to comply with the complaints handling provisions of the commercial television code

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ACCC and ACMA seeking to share confidential media merger information The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and ACMA intend to facilitate the flow of information between the two agencies during media merger investigations in a way that protects confidential information while helping to ensure that each agency’s investigations are fully effective.

ACMA finds 2GB presented material in a misleading manner by giving improper emphasis to the material and by editing that material out of context ACMA considers widening protection zones for submarine cables off NSW coast ACMA accepts enforceable undertakings in relation to PBL Media Holdings and Seven Media Group transactions ACMA has accepted a number of enforceable undertakings from parties involved in the recapitalisation of media assets held by Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven Network Limited.

ACMA releases guidelines relating to new enforcement powers under the Broadcasting Services Act ACMA finds 2GB breached code by broadcasting material on The Open-Line Show that was likely to vilify people of Lebanese background on the basis of ethnicity ACMA finds ABC TV did not present factual material accurately on Foreign Correspondent ACMA asks Hornsby community radio station to develop internal conflict resolution procedures ACMA finds 2GLA Forster breached code in handling a complaint Undertakings provided to ACMA in Seven Media Group transaction Seven Media Group Pty Ltd (Seven Media Group), Seven Network Limited (Seven) and Pleiades Media International ULC (Pleiades) have today agreed undertakings with ACMA with a view to ensuring that their proposed transaction (the Seven/Pleiades transaction) does not give rise to any breach of the current prohibition on foreign control of commercial television licences. Pleiades is the company through which funds managed or advised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (or its affiliates) and related co-investors (KKR) will take up a 50 per cent economic interest in Seven Media Group.

ACMA provides outline of key priority tasks arising from media law reforms The Chairman of ACMA has written to all licensees, publishers and major stakeholders with an interest in the broadcasting sector, outlining the initial steps ACMA proposes to take to prepare for the new regulatory landscape, following the recent passage of legislation to amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and related government decisions.

ACMA launches Telstra CDMA survey ACMA’s survey of Telstra’s CDMA mobile phone coverage in selected areas will commence with a verification survey in southern Victoria.

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ACMA finds 3AW broadcast tobacco advertising ACMA finds 2GB Sydney breached code by broadcasting material that was likely to vilify Indonesian judges on the basis of race and nationality in Your Sydney Weekend Undertakings provided to ACMA in PBL Media transaction PBL Media Holdings Pty Ltd (PBL Media), Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL) and Red Earth Holdings BV (Red Earth) have provided undertakings to ACMA with a view to ensuring that their proposed transaction (the PBL/Red Earth transaction) will not give rise to any breach of the current prohibition on foreign control of commercial television licences.

ACMA finds 2000 FM broadcast advertisements ACMA finds Today Tonight breached code on Telstra broadcasts ACMA cancels Mt Helen FM licence in Muswellbrook, NSW ACMA seeks comment on draft guidelines relating to new enforcement powers under the Broadcasting Services Act ACMA finds 7XXX Hobart breached code by failing to represent factual material accurately in the John Laws Morning Show A ACMA finds 2GB Sydney breached code by misrepresenting viewpoints and presented material in a misleading manner on its Mornings with Ray Hadley program ACMA finds Today Tonight did not present factual material accurately ACMA extends community television trial in Adelaide ACMA finds 2HHH Hornsby breached code by not having anti-prejudice policies ACMA selects Australian company to audit service coverage of Telstra CDMA and 3G networks ACMA has selected a Melbourne-based company, Zamro International Pty Ltd, to carry out the benchmarking audit of service coverage of Telstra’s CDMA mobile phone network compared with its new 3GSM850 network (otherwise known as WCDMA).

New rules to enable higher rate broadband services Industry will be able to deliver higher-rate broadband services through local telephone lines known as the unconditioned local loop (ULL), following registration today of an industry code and technical standard by ACMA.

ACMA issues trial certificate for SP Ausnet in Mt Beauty, Victoria ACMA renews 3OCR community broadcasting licence ACMA finds The Supernatural promotion on ATV Melbourne exceeded PG classification ACMA finds How To Be A Property Developer in breach of ASTRA Codes of Practice ACMA finds Blue Heelers promotion on STQ 7 exceeded G classification

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Review of commercial television code for reality programming ACMA will investigate whether the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice provides appropriate community safeguards with respect to reality television programming in the free-to-air commercial television sector, following an incident in the Big Brother house earlier this year.

ACMA to investigate 2UE’s compliance with commercial radio standards ACMA welcomes Federal Court spam decision ACMA welcomes the decision of Justice Nicholson in the Federal Court in Perth today to award a pecuniary penalty of $4.5 million against Clarity1 Pty Ltd and $1 million against its managing director, Mr Wayne Mansfield, for contravening the Spam Act 2003.

Community radio licence 3CCC Bendigo to expire ACMA and ISPs combine to fight ‘zombies’ and improve internet e-security ACMA is further stepping up the fight in combating spam by extending the rollout of its Australian internet security initiative, following completion of a successful trial.

Protection zone proposed for submarine telecommunications cable near Perth World-first internet code a highlight of ACMA’s first year ACMA releases request for tender for audit of service coverage of Telstra mobile phone networks ACMA has released a request for tender seeking the provision of a benchmarking audit of service coverage for Telstra CDMA and WCDMA networks.

ACMA finds ATW 31 Perth broadcast advertisements and excessive sponsorship announcements ACMA finds 2CBD Deepwater broadcast advertisements ACMA finds 2NUR Newcastle broadcast advertisements ACMA finds NBN did not present factual material accurately ACMA finds TVS Sydney broadcast advertisements ACMA finds ABC failed to comply with code in broadcast of The Science Show ACMA cancels Perth community radio licence ACMA asks Boonah community radio station to develop volunteer and conflict resolution policies ACMA finds 2RBR Coraki did not present factual material accurately Radio 2GLF Liverpool provides undertaking on sponsorship announcements

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ACMA finds swearing by Sam Newman during 3MMM Saturday Football breached standards of decency ACMA moves to stop ‘missed call’ marketing Two companies alleged to have engaged in ‘missed call’ marketing advised that these marketing activities are likely to constitute serious and extensive contraventions of the Spam Act 2003. Following ACMA’s intervention the companies responsible have now stopped making these calls while ACMA’s investigations are undertaken.

ACMA executes search warrant for alleged major breaches of the Spam Act ACMA has executed a search warrant on residential premises in relation to an allegation that an Australian resident was sending billions of unsolicited commercial electronic messages, referred to generally as ‘spam’.

ACMA finds The Lost Secret of Catherine the Great in breach of ABC code ACMA finds Channel 9 Sydney did not provide a substantive response to a complaint within 30 days ACMA extends community television trial in Mt Gambier, South Australia for six months ACMA finds Channel 7 Melbourne did not provide a substantive response to a complaint A within 30 days ACMA extends licence areas of community radio services 2AAA Wagga Wagga and 2TVR Tumut ACMA proposes increased availability of community radio service, 2RPH in New South Wales Protection zones proposed for submarine telecommunications cables in New South Wales ACMA finds 2CCR broadcast advertisement ACMA finds 7THE Hobart failed to respond to complaint ACMA finds 2RES broadcast an advertisement ACMA finds A Current Affair did not present factual material accurately ACMA finds Four Corners in breach of the ABC code Unlicensed radio operator fined and transmitter forfeited Regional broadcasters meet requirements to broadcast local news and other programs Regional commercial television licensees serving the aggregated licence areas of regional Queensland, northern and southern New South Wales and regional Victoria have reported that they met their obligations to provide local content for the period 24 July 2005 to 4 February 2006.

ACMA renews community broadcasting licence for 2HHH Hornsby

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Consumer advice and protection ACMA releases tender to conduct trial of content filtering products at the internet service provider level ACMA has released a request for tender to conduct a trial of content filtering products in Tasmania, at the internet service provider level.

ACMA removes prohibition on Sunday research calls ACMA has varied the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007 to allow research calls to be made on Sundays.

Do Not Call Register website opens for industry ‘washing’ Telemarketers and businesses that make telemarketing calls can now access the national Do Not Call Register with the launch of the telemarketer access portal—the industry website.

Massive public response to Do Not Call Register Due to an overwhelming response to the release of online registration details for the national Do Not Call Register today, ACMA is aware that some members of the public have experienced delays in accessing the Do Not Call website.

Do Not Call Register website launched ACMA invites comment on Sunday calling times for research calls ACMA calls for comment on Do Not Call Register access fee options ACMA makes industry standard for telemarketing and research calls Protect your computer from internet scams ACMA has advised consumers of steps they can take to help protect themselves from internet scams.

ACMA and the TIO warn consumers about phone card retailer ACMA and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) are warning consumers that there are risks involved in buying phone calling cards from calling card operator Global Networks (Aust) Pty Ltd.

Tips to help consumers avoid phone scams ACMA has warned consumers to be alert to scams that operate by way of calls or texts to private phones.

ACMA awards contract for Do Not Call Register ACMA has selected a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne-based Service Stream Limited to build and operate the Do Not Call Register until February 2011.

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ACMA seeks comment on draft access scheme for IPND ACMA will set up and administer a scheme for access to the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) by public number directory producers and researchers and has released a draft of the Telecommunications Integrated Public Number Database Scheme 2007 for public consultation.

ACMA invites comment on enhanced call handling features in relation to Customer Service Guarantee Standard Revised industry code to ensure call charging and billing accuracy ACMA has registered a revised telecommunications industry code to test the accuracy of call charging and billing by telecommunications carriers and carriage service providers.

ACMA releases draft telemarketing and research calls standard Higher compensation for consumers and tougher exemptions for phone companies delaying service times due to bad weather ACMA has amended the Customer Service Guarantee Standard to limit the eligibility of carriage service providers to seek exemptions from mandatory timeframes for the repair or connection of fixed telephone services due to extreme weather conditions. A ACMA invites public submissions as part of review of reality television programming As part of its investigation into whether the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice provides appropriate community safeguards with respect to reality television programming, ACMA has published a discussion paper outlining issues on which it seeks public comment.

ACMA warns about people claiming to sell access to Do Not Call Register ACMA has warned consumers to be wary of people offering to register their details on the national Do Not Call Register and charge them for the service.

ACMA proposes to permit optional services on directory assistance number 12 23 ACMA announces new communications Consumer Consultative Forum New code makes telephones more accessible for people with a disability ACMA has registered a telecommunications industry code designed to ensure that people with special needs have access to information about the key features of telephone handsets.

ACMA releases tender for Do Not Call Register ACMA approves protections for premium content services on mobiles Mobile phone users who access premium services are better protected following ACMA’s approval of the Mobile Premium Services Self-Regulatory Scheme.

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ACMA invites public comment on amendments to Customer Service Guarantee Standard ACMA is seeking public comment on draft amendments designed to improve the consumer safeguards for provision of basic telephone services. They clarify the grounds on which service providers can claim exemptions for extreme weather conditions and give effect to improved compensation payments for consumers.

National Cybersmart Detectives activity: helping kids stay safe online More than 500 schoolchildren from 19 schools from each state and territory will join together tomorrow to play ACMA’s online safety activity, Cybersmart Detectives.

Changes to code on life threatening and unwelcome calls Industry code registered that clarifies how life threatening and unwelcome calls are handled by carriage service providers.

Do Not Call Register—ACMA seeks comments on request for tender ACMA invites public comment on amended mobile premium services rules ACMA moves to curb unsolicited telemarketing calls ACMA has commenced the development of a national standard for the telemarketing industry with the release of a discussion paper today.

Research and information ACMA calls for submissions on issues paper as part of its review of Children’s Television Standards ACMA and ACCC release joint report on communications infrastructure and services availability ACMA and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today released a joint report titled Communications Infrastructure and Services Availability in Australia 2006–07.

ACMA releases terms of reference for its review of the Children’s Television Standards Research shows rapid uptake in free-to-air digital television Twenty-nine per cent of Australian households have adopted digital free-to-air television since its introduction in January 2001, with uptake more than doubling since mid-2005. Combined with digital subscription television, approximately 41 per cent of Australian households have some form of digital television.

ACMA releases its first major communications industry report Minister to deliver opening address at ACMA ‘Information Communications Entertainment’ conference

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Availability of communications services increasing around Australia Microsoft Australia Director, Steve Vamos, to address ACMA Conference 2006 ACMA conference 2006 ‘Information Communications Entertainment’ ACMA reports on Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games role ACCC and ACMA to work together on industry data collection

Fee collection ACMA seeks comments on its cost recovery arrangements.

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Appendix 2.1 Consumer and audience usage statistics

Usage statistics data tables Table 2.1.1: Mobile phone, computer and internet use, 1998, 2001–02, 2005–06, and 2006–07

1998 2001–02 2005–06 2006–07 Households 44% 72% n/a 75.7% of 77.5% of with access households households to a mobile n=24,714 n=24,315 phone

Households 44%, 3.08 m 58%, 4.31 m 67%, 5.3 m 75%, 6.0 m n/a with a households households households households computer (2001) (2005) (ABS)

Households 16%, 1.1 m 42%, 3.11 m 63.7%, 5.1 m 61.6%, (35.5% 63.8%, (44.5% connected to households households households broadband) broadband) the internet (32.5% Apr–Jun 2006 Apr–Jun 2007 broadband), n=5,137 2006 Sources: Source: ABS 4102.0, Australian Social Trends, 2006 Roy Morgan ABS 1377.0, Measures of a Knowledge-based Economy and Society, 2003 Research Single ABS 8153.0, Internet Activity June 2006 (assumes 8.0 million Source, July households) 2005–June 2007

n/a: not available Table 2.1.2: Mobile phone use by age group, 2005–07 65+ % of 14–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50–64 yrs total Own or use a July 05–June 06 74.3% 87.7% 89.8% 85.7% 77.7% 52.9% 79.4% mobile phone July 06–June 07 78.6% 90.9% 90.5% 87.0% 80.3% 58.2% 81.7%

I now use my July 05–June 06 53.8% 67.8% 49.6% 32.7% 20.2% 6.5% 36.5% mobile phone more than my July 06–June 07 60.1% 70.2% 57.6% 39.1% 24.1% 7.1% 41.1% home phone

I would July 05–June 06 22.8% 25.7% 21.8% 14.0% 7.8% 4.1% 15.2% seriously consider buying a July 06–June 07 41.6% 44.8% 36.1% 28.8% 20.9% 10.9% 29.4% 3G phone Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source, July 2005–June 2007, 14+ years old, sample=22,714

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Table 2.1.3 Mobile phone functions currently used (% of mobile phone users) 14–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50–64 65+ yrs Overall Sent SMS in July 05–June 06 84.7% 88.0% 82.5% 69.7% 49.4% 19.8% 66.1% the last four weeks July 06–June 07 82.5% 90.1% 86.3% 73.7% 54.4% 22.7% 68.9%

Downloading July 05–June 06 22.8% 21.9% 12.6% 7.0% 4.8% 4.0% 10.2% ringtones or icons Downloading July 06–June 07 23.9% 23.6% 18.5% 8.8% 4.3% 1.1% 11.6% ringtones Listening to July 05–June 06 20.5% 18.6% 13.3% 6.5% 2.5% 0.5% 8.8% the radio July 06–June 07 18.1% 20.8% 18.4% 8.0% 3.4% 0.4% 10.4%

Playing July 05–June 06 65.4% 50.6% 36.4% 19.0% 6.3% 2.4% 24.8% games July 06–June 07 61.6% 53.4% 38.3% 21.3% 7.5% 1.8% 26.0%

Taking July 05–June 06 41.9% 54.3% 41.2% 26.2% 13.5% 3.4% 28.6% photos July 06–June 07 60.7% 67.2% 56.3% 38.9% 23.0% 7.7% 40.3%

Sending or July 05–June 06 11.7% 7.7% 8.1% 6.1% 3.2% 1.1% 5.9% A receiving email July 06–June 07 9.5% 9.6% 8.3% 5.5% 3.0% 1.2% 5.8%

Making or July 05–June 06 15.6% 14.5% 8.2% 4.4% 2.2% 0.8% 6.3% receiving a video call/message

Video calling July 06–June 07 5.1% 8.4% 7.0% 3.5% 1.2% 0.3% 4.0%

Bluetooth July 05–June 06 12.7% 15.7% 12.1% 6.8% 3.1% 10.2% 7.9% capability July 06–June 07 29.8% 34.5% 24.1% 14.0% 6.6% 1.5% 16.5%

Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source, July 2005–June 2007, 14+ years old, annual sample=35,467

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Table 2.1.4: Internet usage by age group, 2005–06 14–17 18–24 25–34 35–49 50–64 65+ Total yrs yrs yrs yrs yrs yrs Households April–June 2006 80.4% 60.9% 65.9% 74.5% 65.1% 33.8% 61.6% have an internet connection April–June 2007 79.4% 66.4% 66.7% 75.9% 68.3% 38.9% 63.8% at home

Have a broadband April–June 2006 49.4% 40.3% 40.7% 45.4% 36.7% 13.9% 35.5% connection at home April–June 2007 60.4% 52.2% 50.4% 54.4% 47.2% 21.5% 44.5%

Used an internet July 05–June 06 4.5% 6.3% 6.9% 3.2% 2.5% 0.6% 3.8% café (last 3 months) July 06–June 07 6.4% 8.0% 5.3% 3.5% 2.6% 1.3% 4.0% Currently July 05–June 06 3.8% 3.2% 5.7% 4.1% 3.4% 1.7% 3.7% use VoIP July 06–June 07 5.7% 5.2% 8.4% 6.9% 5.7% 2.9% 6.0%

Likelihood of using July 05–June 06 6.2% 11.2% 17.1% 15.2% 14.2% 6.2% 13.0% VoIP service in the next 12 months July 06–June 07 7.9% 14.1% 17.7% 18.6% 16.0% 7.6% 15.0% (very likely, likely)

Use of internet July 05–June 06 72.0% 75.0% 77.3% 73.5% 63.0% 30.9% 65.8% – email July 06–June 07 70.5% 78.8% 77.6% 75.0% 64.9% 34.1% 67.2%

Use of internet July 05–June 06 45.2% 51.9% 48.9% 49.8% 36.4% 11.6% 41.1% – academic/ business research July 06–June 07 45.8% 52.2% 46.0% 47.3% 36.6% 12.4% 39.9% Use of internet July 05–June 06 13.2% 39.3% 59.6% 50.4% 37.1% 13.6% 39.8% – shopping/paying bills/banking July 06–June 07 13.7% 50.1% 61.8% 55.9% 42.6% 16.1% 44.4% Use of internet July 05–June 06 76.7% 65.5% 57.0% 46.7% 33.7% 15.1% 45.2% – socialising/ entertainment July 06–June 07 75.6% 69.9% 60.4% 50.9% 37.5% 18.2% 48.4% Source: Roy Morgan Research Single Source, July 2005–June 2007, 14+ years old, sample=46,212

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Appendix 2.2: ACIF code activity in 2006–07

ACIF codes registered by ACMA in 2006–07 Registered on 12 October 2006, ACIF C625:2005 Information on Accessibility Features for Telephone Equipment Industry Code specifies obligations on standard telephone equipment suppliers to provide information on the characteristics of their equipment that would benefit people with a disability and older people.

ACIF codes revised and re-registered in 2006–07 – ACIF C525:2006 Handling of Life Threatening and Unwelcome Calls Industry Code following periodic review; – ACIF C540:2006 Local Number Portability Industry Code following a minor revision concerning category C ports; – ACIF C559:2006 Unconditioned Local Loop Service Network Deployment Rules Industry Code following revision to add new deployment classes for technologies such as ADSL 2 and ADSL2+; – ACIF C518:2006 Call Charging and Billing Accuracy Industry Code following periodic A review; and – ACIF C555:2007 Integrated Public Number Database Industry Code to bring the code into alignment with amendments to the Telecommunications Act 1997, ministerial instruments, the Telecommunications (Section of the Telecommunications Industry) Determination 2007, and the Telecommunications Integrated Public Number Database Scheme 2007.

Codes submitted to ACMA in 2006–07, with registration pending at 30 June 2007 – ACIF C546:2007 Customer Transfer Industry Code (the code strengthens rules to ensure that the transfer of a customer only occurs after authorisation has been obtained by appropriate means and with the customer’s informed consent); – ACIF C522:2007 Calling Number Display Industry Code (the code includes changes to take account of voice over internet protocol services and to make information requirements less prescriptive); and – ACIF C609:2007 Priority Assistance for Life Threatening Medical Conditions Industry Code (revised to provide consistency with Telstra’s amended licence conditions).

Other communications alliance activity Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code The draft Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code (the TCP Code), which is close to completion, is the culmination of work by a steering committee comprising industry and consumer representatives. Communications Alliance appointed Baker and McKenzie as legal drafters of the code.

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Once registered by ACMA, the TCP Code will replace the following registered ACIF codes: – ACIF C521:2004 Customer Information on Prices, Terms and Conditions Industry Code; – ACIF C541:2006 Credit Management Industry Code; – ACIF C542:2003 Billing Industry Code; – ACIF C546:2007 Customer Transfer Industry Code; – ACIF C547:2004 Complaint Handling Industry Code; and – ACIF C620:2005 Consumer Contracts Industry Code. The purpose of moving to a single TCP Code is to: – ensure drafting consistency and deliver a consistent style and language; – provide a consolidated single Code and Guideline document, using consistent definitions and terminology; – separate out the rules from the procedures and highly prescriptive elements of the existing Codes; and – allow suppliers to use their own systems and procedures to comply with the Code, rather than having to use prescribed methods of compliance.

VoIP Working Group The Communications Alliance VoIP working group meets regularly to consider and provide advice to Communications Alliance on the opportunities for industry responses to matters arising in the emerging converged environment. The VoIP working group has an emphasis on developing outcomes which are tailored to meet the issues being addressed—for example, the development of fact sheets and providing input to forums. Membership of the VoIP Working Group includes industry representatives from carriers, service providers (including internet service providers and VoIP providers), equipment suppliers, regulators and representatives of consumer organisations. Areas of focus include: – quality of service (QoS) including development of guidelines for IP QoS and VoIP QoS and interconnection of VoIP services; – VoIP service description; – location information; – numbering, including the implementation of 0550 services; and – fault handling/restoration and customer support.

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Appendix 2.3: Telecommunications complaints to the ACCC

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) administers telecommunications under the Trade Practices Act 1974 in relation to general consumer protection functions under Part V, section 52 (misleading and deceptive conduct), as well as industry-specific provisions under Part XIB (anti-competitive conduct) and Part XIC (the access regime). In the 12 months from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007, the ACCC received 7,950 contacts (complaints and enquiries) regarding the telecommunications industry as shown in Figure 2.3.1.

Figure 2.3.1 Telecommunications complaints and enquiries, July 2006–30 June 2007 enquires complaints 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 A 1000 500 0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

2006 2007 Note: The statistics for July, August and September 2006 have been manually entered into five categories. This is because of a change to the ANZSIC (Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification) Codes on 1 October 2006, which changed the way the ACCC records information in the database.

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Table 2.3.1: Monthly telecommunications complaints and enquiries to the ACCC, July 2006–June 2007

2006 2007 Enquiries Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May1 Jun Wired 22 24 14 18 32 16 18 22 17 21 349 43 telecommunications network operation2 Other 35 5 9 7 4 2 3 17 10 9 5 telecommunications network3 Other 76 8 6 15 7 9 5 13 2 4 10 telecommunications services4 Internet service 14 14 21 20 18 7 14 13 21 9 18 25 providers and web search portals5 Pay television 0 0 0 1 6 2 2 3 7 3 0 2 operation6 Total 46 49 48 54 78 36 45 46 75 45380 85

Complaints Wired 103 120 87 73 82 55 101 102 107 141 3,229 249 telecommunications network operation2 Other 83 84 61 55 39 35 64 78 113 88 114 78 telecommunications network3 Other 32 39 21 18 12 22 11 20 12 26 13 16 telecommunications services4 Internet service 101 197 99 99 63 59 88 92 135 80 111 100 providers and web search portals5 Pay television 12 9 6 20 15 16 10 12 15 15 13 13 operation6 Total 331 449 274 265 211 187 274 304 382 350 3,480 456 Total complaints 377 498 322 319 289 223 319 350 457 395 3,860 541 and enquiries

1 The high number of contacts received in May 2007 (3860) was due to the Telstra/G9 FTTN proposals—many of the complaints were generated by internet campaigns. 2 All local, national and international wired telecommunications networks. 3 All mobile telecommunications networks, satellite telecommunications networks and wireless telecommunications networks. 4 Paging services and payphones. 5 All internet service providers. 6 All subscription television services.

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Appendix 2.4: Complaints to the TIO

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is an independent scheme for the investigation and resolution of complaints about CSPs by residential and small business customers. The analysis in this section does not include complaints under the Mobile Premium Services Industry scheme, which was introduced during 2006-07. The TIO began to take MPSI complaints in December 2006. The total number of complaint issues to the TIO increased by: – 23 per cent in 2006–07 to 156,802; and – 130.5 per cent between 2003–04 and 2006–07. The total number of complaint contacts with the TIO decreased by 4.7 per cent to 102,463. A complaint contact with the TIO may involve multiple issues. Table 2.4.1 shows complaint trends disaggregated between fixed-line, mobile and internet services. During 2006–07, there were increases in: – internet complaints up 109 per cent to 48,181; – fixed-line complaints up four per cent to 54,336; and A – mobile phone complaints up four per cent to 54,285. Please note that the analysis of complaint issues in this section does not include complaints under the Mobile Premium Services scheme, introduced in 2006–07. Although the TIO did not start taking complaints under the MPSI scheme until December 2006, it previously did look at mobile premium service complaints under its usual jurisdiction.

Table 2.4.1: TIO complaint issues, 1998–99 to 2006–07

Year Mobile Fixed Internet Total % change 1998–99 – 63,069 3,954 67,023 – 1999–00 – 56,504 4,292 60,796 –9% 2000–01 – 72,745 7,965 80,710 33% 2001–02 20,434 40,303 9,497 70,234 –13% 2002–03 16,773 37,206 8,691 62,670 –11% 2003–04 21,465 36,167 10,388 68,020 9% 2004–05 40,254 44,559 16,012 100,825 48% 2005–06 52,119 52,294 23,066 127,479 26% 2007–07 54,285 54,336 48,181 156,802 23% Note: Complaints were not disaggregated between fixed and mobile services prior to 2001–02. Source: TIO

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Complaints to the TIO by level, 2006–07 The TIO has four complaint management levels. Please note that the figures below exclude complaints investigated under the MPSI scheme.

Level 1 complaints Level 1 complaints are complaints that the TIO encourages disputing parties to resolve, through referral to a TIO liaison within the member company. Members have 14 days to resolve these disputes. In 2006–07, 93 per cent of complaints (88,704 complaints) were resolved at level 1.

Level 2 complaints The TIO introduced new level 2 procedures for all members on 1 July 2006. The aim of the new procedures for level 2 complaints is to focus on complaint resolution. The TIO engages with the complainant and facilitates a resolution that is acceptable and realistic to both parties. Formal investigation no longer occurs at level 2. During 2006–07, 6.1 per cent of complaints (5,791 complaints) were resolved at level 2.

Level 3 complaints At level 3, a full investigation occurs with a view to the TIO making a determination or giving a direction to a member, rather than seeking a resolution, although members are not precluded from offering a resolution. During 2006–07, 0.9 per cent of complaints (827 complaints) were resolved at level 3.

Level 4 complaints A level 4 complaint is either a complaint that was not resolved by the TIO at level 2 or 3 and that the TIO deems to require further consideration or investigation, or a complaint regarding a land access dispute. The complaint may be resolved between the parties, or by a direction or determination issued by the TIO. During 2006–07, less than 0.1 per cent of complaints (55 complaints) were resolved at Level 4.

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ACIF code complaints to the TIO The TIO accepted conferral of powers under section 114 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 for 14 registered codes at 30 June 2007. This conferral of powers authorises the TIO to handle small business and consumer complaints relating to the provisions of these codes. Between 2002–03 and 2004–05, complaints were recorded under four categories, applying to either signatories or non-signatories: potential and possible breaches (referring to level 1 complaints) and confirmed and established breaches (referring to level 2, 3 or 4 complaints). In 2005–06, the TIO removed the distinction between code signatories and non-signatories. In 2006–07, the TIO did not investigate code breaches for level 2 complaints. Therefore, in 2006–07, code breach complaints were recorded under the following TIO categories: – Possible breach—a level 1 or 2 complaint where the complaint refers to a code rule and has not been investigated by the TIO; and – Confirmed breach—a complaint escalated to level 3 or 4 where the TIO investigation has confirmed a breach of the code. A

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Table 2.4.2: TIO complaints—confirmed and established code breaches by code, 2002–03 to 2006–07 Code full name Short name 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06* 2006–07* ACIF C515:2005 Pre-selection – – – – – Pre-selection ACIF C521:2004 Customer Prices, Terms 13 31 32 30 47 Information on Prices, and Conditions Terms and Conditions ACIF C522:2001 CND 1 – – 1 – Calling Number Display ACIF C525:2006 Handling Handling – 1 – 1 – of Life Threatening and Unwelcome Unwelcome Calls Calls ACIF C531:2005 Commercial 12 19 12 13 1 Commercial Churn Churn ACIF C540:2006 Local LNP n/a – 1 – – Number Portability ACIF C541:2006 Credit Management 40 85 131 120 40 Management Credit ACIF C542:2003 Billing Billing 23 72 122 123 97 ACIF C546:2001 Customer 48 66 64 78 42 Customer Transfer Transfer ACIF C547:2004 Complaint 123 174 168 276 100 Complaint Handling Handling ACIF C570:2005 Mobile MNP – 511 8 2 Number Portability ACIF C609:2003 Priority Priority n/a 1 2 3 1 Assistance for Life Threatening Assistance Medical Conditions ACIF C617:2005 Connect n/a n/a n/a – 1 Connect Outstanding Outstanding ACIF C620:2005 Consumer n/a 31 42 30^ 17 Consumer Contracts Contracts Industry Guideline ACIF Customer Personal 3 – 4 5n/a C523:2001 Protection Information (not registered, of Personal Information withdrawn by of Customers of Communications Telecommunications Providers Alliance in June 06) Total 263 485 589 688 348

n/a: not applicable * Confirmed breaches ^ Comprises 28 breaches under the guideline (prior to code implementation on 4 November 2005) and two under the code (between implementation and 30 June 2006) Source: TIO

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Confirmed breaches of ACIF codes recorded by the TIO Table 2.4.3: Confirmed ACIF code breaches by code, 2004–05 to 2006–07 Code ACIF ACIF ACIF Code ACIF ACIF C547:2004 C542:2003 C521:2004 C546:2001 C541:2006 Complaint Billing Code Customer Customer Credit Handling Information Transfer Management Code on Prices, Code Code Terms and Conditions Main CSPs in breach Telstra 252 4 7 4 9 Optus 121 5 3 2 5 ‘3’ 11 2 6 0 5 People Telecom 9 9 5 2 3 Australia Star 4 3 9 1 1 Max Telecom 2 2 3 9 1 Dodo 7 6 1 0 2 2006–07 total breaches 100 97 47 42 40 A 2005–06 total breaches 276 123 30 78 120 2004–05 total breaches 168 122 32 64 131

Complaint Handling Code During 2006–07, the TIO recorded 100 confirmed breaches of the Complaint Handling Code, down from 276 in 2005–06. The highest numbers of breaches were recorded against Telstra (25), Optus (12) and 3 (11).

Figure 2.4.1: Confirmed breaches of the Complaint Handling Code, 2002–03 to 2006–07 300

250

200

150

100

0 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 Source: TIO In addition, there were 17,415 possible breaches of this code recorded by the TIO, up from 9,385 in 2005–06.

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Billing Code The TIO recorded 97 confirmed breaches of the Billing Code in 2006–07, compared with 123 confirmed and established breaches in 2005–06. The highest numbers of breaches concerned Telstra (24) and Optus (15).

Figure 2.4.2: Confirmed breaches of the Billing Code, 2002–03 to 2006–07 140

120

100

0 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 Source: TIO In addition, there were 20,256 possible breaches of the Billing Code recorded by the TIO, up from 5,217 in 2005–06.

Customer Information on Prices, Terms and Conditions Code

The TIO recorded 47 confirmed breaches of the Customer Information on Prices, Terms and Conditions Code in 2006–07, up from 30 in 2004–05.

Figure 2.4.3: Confirmed breaches of the Customer Information on Prices, Terms and Conditions Code, 2002–03 to 2006–07

0 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007

Source: TIO In addition, there were 7,816 possible breaches of this code recorded by the TIO, up from 1,326 in 2005–06.

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Customer Transfer Code

In 2006–07, the TIO recorded 42 confirmed breaches of the Customer Transfer Code, down from 78 in 2005–06.

Figure 2.4.4: Confirmed breaches of the Customer Transfer Code, 2002–03 to 2006–07 90

0 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 Source: TIO In addition, there were 2,331 possible breaches of the code in 2006–07, up from 1,504 in 2005–06. A

Credit Management Code

The TIO recorded 40 confirmed breaches of the Credit Management Code in 2006–07, down from 120 in 2005–06.

Figure 2.4.5: Confirmed breaches of the Credit Management Code, 2002–03 to 2006–07 140

120

100

0 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 Source: TIO In addition, there were 5,395 possible breaches of the Credit Management Code in 2006–07, up from 2,080 in 2005–06.

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Appendix 2.5: Radiocommunications complaints

Table 2.5.1: Domestic systems interference complaints Interference cause Number of compliance activities Incorrect emission 1 Overpowered operation 1 Receiver faulty 2 Transmitter antenna faulty 5 Intermod/desense/image 6 Receiver antenna faulty 6 Propagation peculiarities 11 Transmitter faulty 11 Defective equipment – non radiating 14 Foreign signal 14 Faulty installation 15 Faulty amplifier 30 Inadequate signal level 30 Powerline electrical interference 35 (no source data – provided advice only) 67 Other 100 Defective equipment – radiating 104 Total 452 Interference remedy Number of compliance activities LOP achieved 1 TX unintended emissions suppressed 1 Receiver selectivity to be improved 2 No protection afforded 5 No economical cure 16 Improve site engineering 29 Other technical advice provided 30 Defective equipment rectified 36 Referred to electrical supply authority 38 Other 47 QRM ceased without identification 49 Use of offending equipment discontinued 55 Provided advice only 67 Service recommended 76 Total 452

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Table 2.5.2: Radiocommunications interference complaints

Interference cause Number of ACMA compliance activities Defective equipment—radiating 103 Unlicensed operation 66 Transmitter faulty 50 Amplifier faulty 41 Intermod/desense/image 36 Foreign signal 29 Installation faulty 19 Propagation peculiarities 15 Defective equipment—non radiating 11 Planning failures 9 Powerline electrical interference 9 Receiver antenna faulty 7 Transmitter antenna faulty 7 Incorrect emission 6 Receiver faulty 4 Overpowered operation 3 A Excessive deviation 2 Inadequate signal level 2 Other 227 Total 646 Interference remedy advised to client Number of ACMA compliance activities Use of offending equipment discontinued 195 QRM ceased without identification 120 Other 105 Service recommended 56 Defective equipment rectified 50 TX unintended emissions suppressed 29 Improve site engineering 27 Other technical advice provided 24 No economical cure 12 No protection afforded 12 Receiver selectivity to be improved 7 Referred to electrical supply authority 7 LOP not achieved—in band QRM resolved 2 Total 646

‘Other’ includes cases were the interference cause is unknown (not identifiable), there are several causes or the interference had disappeared.

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Appendix 2.6: ACMA publications on communications services

Table 2.6.1: ACMA publications on communications services Title Subject matter Expected publication date Consumer Report No.1 Consumer take up and use of 21 September 2007 telecommunications Published ABS Patterns of Internet ACMA funded this study 29 November 2007 Access in Australia 2006 Media and Communications Report of the Media and Society 17 December 2007 in Australian Families 2007 research project Australian VOIP Market Assess current level of VoIP adoption, 20 December 2007 user profiles and service providers Electronic Numbering (ENUM) Report on Australian (User) December 2007 ENUM trial Media Literacy literature review Literature review undertaken by January 2008 consultants Dr Robyn Penman and Associate Professor Sue Turnbull Consumer Report No 2 Telecommunications Today: Farming January 2008 sector attitudes to take up and use Consumer Report No 3 Telecommunications Today : January 2008 SME take-up and use of telecommunications services Consumer Report No 4 Telecommunications Today: January 2008 Consumer satisfaction with telecommunications services Broadcasting Financial Results Annual results February 2008 IPTV and internet video The provision of IPTV services February 2008 market in Australia in Australia Media and Communications Series of 3-4 mini reports focusing February/March 2008 in Australian Families 2007 on aspects of the Media and Society community research eg social networking, young peoples media use, media literacy, regional Australia Consumer Report No 5 Telecommunications Today: March 2008 Substitution of telecommunications services DTTB Adopter Survey Third and final survey building a April /May 2008 data series tracking DTTB adoption Household Television TV display and tuner connections: April /May 2008 Environment Research use and description in households Telecommunications in Remote Availability of services May 2008 Indigenous Communities Children and the Internet Qualitative research on internet activities June 2008 and attitudes of children and parents

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Appendix 3.1: Telecommunications carrier licensing data

Telecommunications licences ACMA licenses telecommunications carriers under section 56 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. ACMA is required to maintain a public register of carrier licensees under section 84 of the Act.

Table 3.1.1: Telecommunications licences, 2002–03 to 2006–07 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Issued 20 14 40 35 25 Surrendered 7 8 6 10 13 Active 94 99 132 157 169 Cancelled 0 1 1 0 0

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Appendix 3.2 TIO scheme membership data

Under Part 6 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999, carriage service providers (CSPs) are required to be members of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme.

Table 3.2.1: TIO scheme membership, 1997–98 to 2006–07 End of Internet Other Telephone and Telephone Total financial year service internet service service (June 30) providers provider provider 1997–98 460 15 – 60 535 1998–99 760 24 15 79 878 1999–00 851 35 37 68 991 2000–01 889 59 51 90 1,089 2001–02 757 42 66 98 963 2002–03 692 40 72 106 910 2003–04 758 33 106 146 1,043 2004–05 763 37 161 174 1,135 2005–06 719 51 225 175 1,170 2006–07 691 58 287 195 1,231 Source: TIO

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APPENDIX 3.3: Telecommunications numbering data

Geographic number allocations and surrenders Geographic numbers are used to provide access to local telephone services and related voicemail services, facsimile services, internet dial-up services and termination numbers for freephone and local rate services. Total allocations of geographic numbers increased significantly in 2006–07.

Table 3.3.1: Demand for geographic numbers, 2003–04 to 2006–07 (’000s) Geographic 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006-07 numbers Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Allocated 473 191 1,968 8,788 756 265 1,172 2,063 Surrendered 61 26 321 2,744 – – 10 13 Net increase 412 165 1,647 6,044 756 265 1,162 2,051 Cumulative 34,865 33,655 36,493 39,448 37,249 39,713 38,411 41,764 total allocated A

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Table 3.3.2: Geographic numbers allocated to CSP, 2006–07 and historical (’000s) CSP 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro AAPT Ltd 10 – – 10 – 7 70 1 AARNET – –– –– –20 – Pty Ltd Access – – – – – – 1 – Wireless & Cable Adam Internet – – 11 12 – – – – Agile Pty Ltd – – 88 13 – – – 907 Chime – – 390 2,052 30 10 – – Clarinet – – 88 991 – – – – Commander – – 70 3 – – – – Engin – 88 2,055 – – – – IP Systems – – 7 – – – – – ISPhone – – – – – – 11 12 Australasia Pty Ltd Macquarie – –311 – – –– – Corporate MCI Worldcom – – – – 100 – – – Optus 230 84 434 1,983 430 119 777 801 PowerTel 22 1 32 2 51 – 94 – Primus – – 190 832 10 27 70 4 RSL Com – –– –– –15 165 Australia Pty Ltd Soul Pattinson – –– –– –10 21 Telecommunications Telecorp Ltd – – 208 755 – 13 – 18 Telstra 211 96 121 40 65 76 104 82 TransACT – 10 – 30 – 10 – – Verizon – –– –– –– 53 Australia Pty Limited YLESS4U – – – – 13 – – – Total 473 191 1,968 8,788 756 265 1,172 2,064

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Table 3.3.3: Geographic numbers surrendered, 2003–04 to 2006–07 (’000s) CSP 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006-07 Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Metro Non-metro Macquarie – – 311 – – – – – NewTel 61 23 – – – – – – Optus – –– –– –– – PowerTel – 3 – – – – – – RSLCOM – –– –– –– 4 Telstra – – 10 2,744 – – 10 9 Total 61 26 321 2,744 0 0 10 13

DATA NETWORK ACCESS SERVICE NUMBER ALLOCATIONS Data network access service (DNAS) numbers are used to allow end-users to access features and facilities on a data network. They include services such as Telstra’s AUSTPAC data network, internet dial-up and SMS between mobile and internet users. DNAS numbers commence with 0198. Demand for DNAS numbers has waned in the past four years, with no allocations in 2006–07. A

Table 3.3.4: Demand for data network access service, 2003–04 to 2006–07 (’000s) Data network access service numbers 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Allocated 1 10 0 0 Surrendered 0 0 0 0 Net increase 1 10 0 0 Cumulative total allocated 69 79 79 79

MOBILE NUMBER ALLOCATIONS Mobile services using GSM, CDMA and 3G technologies are provided using 10-digit numbers starting with ‘04’. Demand for mobile numbers increased considerably in 2006–07.

Table 3.3.5: Demand for digital mobile numbers, 2003–04 to 2006–07 (’000s) Mobile numbers 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Allocated 2,420 6,500 500 4,000 Surrendered 0 1,000 910 – Net increase 2,420 5,500 -410 4,000 Cumulative total allocated 32,020 37,520 37,110 41,110

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Appendix 4.1: Public payphone data

Payphone fault repair performance Timely repair of payphone faults is an important aspect of the universal service obligation (USO) provision of payphone services.

Figure 4.1.1: Telstra payphone fault repair quarterly performance – percentage completed on time, September 2005 to June 2007. Urban Rural Remote 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60

Proportion of faults repaired in SMP timeframes Proportion of faults repaired in SMP Sep 05 Dec 05 Mar 06 Jun 06 Sep 06 Dec 06 Mar 07 Jun 07

Quater

Source: Telstra Figures 4.1.2 to 4.1.4 depict performance for urban, rural and remote areas against these parameters. In urban and rural areas, payphone fault repair performance has been consistent. However, in remote areas the fault repair performance is trending downwards.

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Urban areas

Figure 4.1.2: Telstra payphone fault repair timeliness in urban areas, 2006–07 1 day late 5.80%

2 days late 2.50%

Repaired within 3 days late USO timeframe 1.30% 11.90% 88.10% 4 days late 0.70%

5 days late 0.40%

> 6 days late 1.30% Note: Prescribed timeframe for repair in urban areas is one working day. Source: Telstra Rural areas Figure 4.1.3: Telstra payphone fault repair performance in rural areas, 2006–07 A 1 day late 5.30%

2 days late 3.60%

Repaired within 3 days late USO timeframe 1.70% 15.50% 84.50% 4 days late 1.20%

5 days late 0.80%

> 6 days late 3.00% Note: Prescribed timeframe for repair in rural areas is two working days. Source: Telstra

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Remote areas

Figure 4.1.4: Telstra remote area payphone fault repair performance, 2006-07

1 day late 7.30%

2 days late 4.60%

Repaired within 3 days late USO timeframe 3..80% 29.60% 70.40% 4 days late 2.80%

5 days late 2.20%

> 6 days late 8.80% Note: Prescribed timeframe for repair in remote areas is three working days. Source: Telstra

Installation of payphones Under the USO, members of the public or communities can apply for installation of a Telstra-operated payphone in a public place. If the application is approved, Telstra’s Standard Marketing Plan (SMP) provides that Telstra will aim to install the payphone within three months in urban and major rural areas and at existing payphone sites. Table 4.1.1 sets out the prescribed timeframes and Telstra’s installation performance in urban, rural and remote areas. The SMP prescribes these timeframes on a ‘best endeavours’ basis and outlines a number of variables that may prevent Telstra from achieving its indicated timeframe. In such cases, Telstra is required to advise the customer of the reason for the delay and a date for installation, based on the individual circumstances that apply. During the reporting period, there were 154 applications for installation of a new Telstra-operated payphone, of which 41 per cent were accepted.

Table 4.1.1: Telstra’s performance for installation of new payphones at sites where infrastructure is not readily available, 2005–06 and 2006–07 Installation timeframes (prescribed in 2005–06 2006–07 Telstra’s SMP section 3.6.1.2) Number of installations Number of installations Area Population Timeframe On-time Total On-time Total installations installations installations installations Urban and > 2,501 3 months 51 67 12 26 major rural Minor rural 200–2,500 6 months 12 14 np 4 Remote < 200 9 months 3 3 np 2 np: not provided Source: Telstra

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Appendix 4.2: Special digital data service

Table 4.2.1 shows Telstra’s performance in providing SDDS connections requested in 2006–07.

Table 4.2.1: Special digital data services connected, 2004–05 to 2006–07 Time- 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 frame (working % met Number Number % met Number Number % met Number Number days) met con met con met con nected nected nected Urban 20 76 17 23 66 2 3 np np 2 Major 20 87 8 9 0 0 1 np np 3* rural Minor 20 92 31 34 80 4 5 np np np rural Remote 30 100 3 3 n/a n/a 0 np np 1 Total – 85 59 69 67 6 9 np np 6 n/a: not applicable np: not provided *ACMA only asked for breakdown for rural for 2006–07. Source: Telstra A

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Appendix 4.3: Customer Service Guarantee data

The Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) sets performance standards for the provision of the standard telephone service and provides for compensation to customers where performance requirements are not met. The CSG is provided for under Part 5 of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999, in conjunction with the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2000.

CSG-eligible services There has been a decrease of 803,000 CSG-eligible services in 2006–07, down to 7,905,000.

Table 4.3.1: Customer Service Guarantee service numbers, 2002–03 to 2006–07 (‘000s)

2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 AAPT 271 325 541 583 429 Optus 1,187 1,144 1,111 1,129 993 Telstra 7,615 7,281 6,930 6,740 6,313 Other 396 580 375 256 170 Total 9,496 9,330 8,957 8,708 7,905 Source: CSP data

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CSG in-place service connections The CSG timeframes for in-place service connections are: – urban areas—two working days; – major rural areas—two working days; – minor rural areas—two working days; and – remote areas—two working days.

Table 4.3.2: Customer Service Guarantee – percentage and number of in-place service connections provided within CSG Standard timeframes, 2006–07

AAPT Optus* Primus Telstra % Urban areas 99 98 99 96 Major rural areas 99 n/a 97 96 Minor rural areas 99 n/a 100 96 Remote areas 100 n/a n/a 95 All areas 99 98 99 96 A Number Urban areas 40,733 15,527 16,262 655,207 Major rural areas 10,778 n/a 68 81,858 Minor rural areas 2,148 n/a 3 91,813 Remote areas 49 n/a n/a 4,688 All areas 53,708 15,527 16,333 833,566 *Optus data covers its own urban network only and excludes reseller activity on other networks. n/a: not applicable Source: CSP data

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CSG new service connections Table 4.3.3: Customer Service Guarantee – percentage and number of new service connections provided within CSG Standard timeframes, 2006–07 AAPT Optus* Primus Telstra % Urban areas 96 92 89 94 Major rural areas 96 n/a n/a 95 Minor rural areas 94 n/a n/a 93 Remote areas 100 n/a n/a 90 All areas 96 92 89 94 Number Urban areas 9,334 83,164 740 352,398 Major rural areas 2,730 n/a 10 41,748 Minor rural areas 507 n/a n/a 44,230 Remote areas 25 n/a n/a 2,150 All areas 12,596 83,164 750 440,526 *Optus data covers its own urban network only and excludes reseller activity on other networks. n/a: not applicable Source: CSP data

CSG fault repairs Table 4.3.4: Customer Service Guarantee – percentage and number of faults repaired within CSG Standard timeframes, 2006–07

AAPT Optus Primus Telstra % Urban areas 97 93 np 90 Rural areas 96 91 np 90 Remote areas 95 93 na 88 All areas 97 93 96 90 Number Urban areas 57,490 129,290 np 516,580 Rural areas 19,940 1,853 np 212,294 Remote areas 171 88 n/a 4,839 All areas 77,601 131,231 57,571 733,713 n/a: not applicable np: not provided Source: CSP data

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CSG appointments Table 4.3.5: Customer Service Guarantee – appointment-keeping performance, 2006–07

AAPT Optus Primus Telstra Total number n/a 96,438 np 393,184 Number kept n/a 94,262 np 380,516 Number missed n/a 2,176 10 12,668 Percentage missed n/a 2.3 2.6 3.2 n/a: not applicable np: not provided Source: CSP data

Late provision of CSG services Table 4.3.6: Customer Service Guarantee – number of services provided outside the CSG Standard timeframes, 2006–07

AAPT Optus* Primus Telstra Appointments np 2,176 10 12,668 In-place connections 533 368 98 32,396 A New service 563 7,756 95 27,662 connections Fault repairs 2,538 9,457 2,462 80,340 Connections + repairs 3,634 17,599 2,655 140,398

*Optus data for in-place and new-connections covers its own urban network only and excludes reseller activity on other networks. np: not provided Source: CSP data

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Appendix 4.4: Network Reliability Framework data

The Network Reliability Framework (NRF) is a three-tier framework to improve the reliability of Telstra’s telephone services at both the network and individual levels. It applies to all Telstra Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) services, that is, standard telephone services provided to customers with five lines or less. The NRF came into effect on 1 January 2003 under the Carrier Licence Conditions (Telstra Corporation Limited) Declaration 1997 (Amendment No. 4 of 2002).

Level 1 Level 1 of the NRF requires Telstra to publish monthly data showing the reliability of services on a national basis and in 44 different regions across Australia. Telstra’s national level 1 performance data is presented in the tables below. This level of the NRF is designed to inform the public about the reliability of services generally. The reliability measures under level 1 are: – Level 1(a)—the percentage of CSG services that did not experience a fault during the month – Level 1(b)—the percentage of time in a month that CSG services, on average, are unavailable. ACMA also uses data provided under level 1 of the NRF to calculate: – Level 1(c)—the average time (in hours) that fault-affected CSG services were unavailable in the month.

Table 4.4.1: Level 1(a) – percentage of Telstra CSG services that did not experience a fault, 2003 to 2007 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2003 99.12 98.98 99.00 99.08 98.97 99.15 99.12 99.20 99.21 99.17 99.14 99.07 2004 99.05 98.88 99.01 99.15 99.16 99.15 99.22 99.14 99.17 99.09 99.01 98.92 2005 99.05 98.82 99.04 99.07 99.11 99.11 99.03 99.07 99.03 98.96 98.78 98.80 2006 98.76 98.72 98.79 99.04 98.94 99.05 99.05 99.07 99.08 99.12 98.98 99.06 2007 98.88 98.73 98.75 99.01 98.82 98.82 Source: Telstra NRF Level 1 reports

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Table 4.4.2: Level 1(b) – average percentage of time Telstra CSG services were available, 2003 to 2006

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2003 99.94 99.93 99.92 99.92 99.92 99.95 99.95 99.96 99.96 99.95 99.95 99.93 2004 99.93 99.90 99.92 99.94 99.95 99.94 99.95 99.95 99.95 99.94 99.93 99.92 2005 99.93 99.91 99.93 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.92 99.91 2006 99.91 99.91 99.92 99.93 99.93 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 99.94 2007 99.91 99.91 99.91 99.93 99.92 99.91 Source: Telstra NRF Level 1 reports Table 4.4.3: Level 1(c) – average time (in hours) that fault-affected Telstra CSG services were unavailable, 2003 to 2006

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2003 49 51 61 62 56 47 44 39 41 42 43 60 2004 54 67 64 55 48 49 44 45 47 50 53 55 2005 53 59 53 50 48 50 49 47 45 46 51 53 2006 55 50 50 53 49 50 50 49 47 45 48 51 2007 58 55 55 53 50 52 A Source: Telstra NRF Level 1 reports

Level 2 Up to 30 September 2006, Telstra was required to report to ACMA each month on exchange service areas (ESAs) in which a specified number of services (from two to five services depending on the total number of services in the ESA) experience at least one fault per month for two consecutive months. ACMA used this information to decide whether further remedial action was required to improve reliability in those areas. Table 4.4.4 shows the fault thresholds that applied up to 30 September 2006 and Table 4.4.5 shows the number of ESAs reported each month for breaching level 2 thresholds. There was no level 2 report in January 2003 because level 2 thresholds were based on a rolling period of two calendar months.

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Table 4.4.4: Level 2 fault thresholds (applicable to 30 September 2006) Where the ESA has: Telstra must report the ESA if: 1 to 100 services Two or more services have at least one fault in each of the two preceding months 101 to 1,000 services Three or more services have at least one fault in each of the two preceding months 1,001 to 10,000 Four or more services have at least one fault in each of the two services preceding months 10,001 or more Five or more services have at least one fault in each of the two services preceding months Source: ACMA Table 4.4.5: Level 2 – number of ESAs that have breached level 2 fault thresholds, 2003 to 2006 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2003 208 296 225 229 180 127 124 108 121 142 194 2004 267 303 313 222 153 138 148 116 115 143 241 306 2005 327 332 295 242 211 166 189 156 176 196 276 364 2006 361 371 331 260 235 178

Source: Telstra NRF Level 2 reports Since 1 October 2006, Telstra has been required to identify the 40 lowest performing cable runs (a set of 10 or 100 copper wire pairs within a physical cable sheath) each month, based on the following method (categories): 1. Exclude cable runs that were included in a previous remediation list, unless remediation undertaken in relation to that cable run has resulted in a 90 per cent reduction in the annual network event volume for that cable run. 2. Select the five worst performing cable runs from ESAs with between 0 and 100 operational CSG services. 3. Select the 15 worst performing cable runs from ESAs with between 101 and 1,000 operational CSG services. 4. Select the 10 worst performing cable runs from ESAs with between 1,001 and 10,000 operational CSG services. 5. Select at least the 10 worst performing cable runs from any ESAs not already included under earlier steps. Telstra is required to report to ACMA at the end of each financial year on remediations completed under level 2. At 30 June 2007, it had remediated 124 cable runs as contained in its monthly reports, and chose to remediate an additional 62 cable runs (50 per cent) that are associated with the reported cable runs. The number of cable runs that have been remediated for each of the categories used in the selection method is consistent (within a range of 33–37 per cent for each category).

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A further measure of Telstra’s performance under level 2 is whether it has achieved a 90 per cent reduction in the average network event volume for each reported cable run, six months after the completion of each remediation. At 30 June 2007, Telstra was not yet required to provide these reports. Level 3 Under level 3 of the NRF, Telstra is required to report to ACMA any CSG services that experience: – four or more faults in 60 days—level 3(a); or – five or more faults in 365 days—level 3(b) ACMA examines the adequacy and appropriateness of Telstra’s actions for improving performance and, where necessary, requests Telstra to further remediate the services reported. Levels 3(a) and 3(b) thresholds are based on a rolling period of 60 days and 365 days respectively. For this reason, the tables below do not include the number of level 3(a) reports before April 2003, or the number of level 3(b) reports before January 2004.

Table 4.4.6: Level 3(a) – number of Telstra CSG services with four or more faults in a rolling 60-day period, 2003–07 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec A 2003 26 17 10 15 13 12 20 18 26 2004 35 42 36 15 12 9 12 13 17 16 25 26 2005 40 48 46 39 36 37 30 25 24 23 26 45 2006 62 37 65 34 42 35 28 24 10 33 27 36 2007 40 37 70 27 27 23 Source: Telstra NRF Level 3 reports Table 4.4.7: Level 3(b) – number of Telstra CSG services with five or more faults in a rolling 365-day period, 2004–07 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2004 222 271 225 105 98 97 125 130 125 133 159 185 2005 203 167 153 146 164 146 125 140 114 163 190 254 2006 247 202 234 178 223 167 139 137 120 90 90 71 2007 89 87 115 51 67 71 Source: Telstra NRF Level 3 reports Note that the number of services reported under level 3(b) has fallen since the start of the new NRF licence conditions due to changes to the arrangements for subsequent monitoring of services contravening level 3 thresholds. For this reason, the volume of level 3(b) reports after October 2006 is not directly comparable to the volume of reports from previous years.

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Appendix 4.5: Priority assistance data

Priority service – carrier performance Telstra is required by clause 19 of the Carriers Licence Conditions (Telstra Corporation Limited) Declaration 1997, to provide priority assistance services for people at risk of a rapid, life-threatening deterioration in a diagnosed life-threatening medical condition. AAPT and Primus voluntarily offer priority assistance services under the ACIF Priority Assistance for Life Threatening Medical Conditions Code. Tables 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 give details of volumes and timeframes relating to requests for new connections and fault restorations of priority services.

Table 4.5.1: Priority assistance – connection requests 2004–05 to 2006–07

2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 % % % No. completed No. completed No. completed on time on time on time Telstra National 69,569 96 78,210 95 76,324 93 Urban 50,651 97 57,220 96 55,682 94 Rural 18,291 96 20,391 93 20,001 92 Remote 627 94 599 89 641 91 Primus National 1,028 63 727 55 668 np Urban 999 63 707 55 662 np Rural 28 57 16 63 6 np Remote 1 100 0 n/a 0 np AAPT National n/a n/a 273 76 272 83 Urban n/a n/a 184 75 181 84 Rural n/a n/a 89 78 79 82 Remote n/a n/a 0 n/a 12 79 n/a: not applicable np: not provided Source: ACMA, based on carrier data

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Table 4.5.2 Priority assistance — fault restoration requests 2004–05 to 2006–07

2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 % % % No. completed No. completed No. completed on time on time on time Telstra National 104,993 95 149,742 94 105,446 93 Urban 69,568 96 101,433 96 71,236 94 Rural 34,721 93 47,333 92 33,526 91 Remote 704 91 976 90 684 88 Primus National 2,059 n/a 1,717 n/a 1,012 np Urban n/a n/a n/a n/a np np Rural n/a n/a n/a n/a np np Remote n/a n/a n/a n/a np np AAPT National n/a n/a 2,831 78 1,168 79 A Urban n/a n/a 1,803 81 790 81 Rural n/a n/a 1,018 72 362 74 Remote n/a n/a 10 90 16 79 n/a: not applicable np: not provided Source: ACMA, based on carrier data

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Appendix 4.6: Disability Equipment Scheme

Obligations in the telecommunications legislation require the USO provider (Telstra) to: – supply equipment to enable access to the standard telephone service for people with a disability; or – provide access to a service equivalent to the standard telephone service for people with a disability for whom the use of a voice service is impractical, including the provision of specialised customer equipment. Telstra’s supply of disability equipment is detailed in Table 4.6.1

Table 4.6.1: Telstra disability equipment program, 2004–05 to 2006–07

Equipment supplied 2004–05 2005–06 2006–7 Additional socket 280 203 82 Cochlear implant (2 models) 51 45 54 Cordless phone 274 1,528 933 Double adaptor 1,365 1,256 1,063 General purpose alarm 2,175 2,054 1,614 Hold-a-phone 1 0 1 Modem 3 0 0 Standard rental telephone 3 2 n/a Teletypewriter (3 models) 437 286 254 Telebraille/braille TTY 4 0 1 TTY large visual display 7 0 6 Visual signal alert 99 65 32 Standard/volume control phone 4,658 3,225 2,286 Big Button multipurpose voice aid/ 298 (hands 6,477 4,199 hands-free phone free phones) Big Button multipurpose phone power n/a n/a 17 pack for auxiliary switch Total 9,655 15,141 10,542

n/a: not available Source: Telstra data

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Appendix 4.7: Emergency call service data

Emergency call service – call volumes and answering times The Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2002 is made under subsection 147(1) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Services Standards) Act 1999. The determination sets out the call answering times required of the emergency call services and Telstra, when answering emergency calls to 000 and 112. – 85 per cent of emergency calls are to be answered within five seconds; and – 95 per cent of those calls answered within 10 seconds.

Table 4.7.1: Emergency call service call volumes and call answering times, 2001–02 to 2005–06 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Total no. of calls 9,709,376 11,332,701 12,741,247 10,807,627 11,588,777 12,139,526 offered Total number of 8,820,052 10,630,161 11,905,281 10,113,882 10,625,171 11,059,705 calls answered A Percentage of 90.8 93.8 93.4 93.6 91.7 91.1 calls answered Percentage of 92.6 95.3 96.1 97.0 96.9 97.0 answered calls answered in 5 seconds or less Percentage of 98.1 98.9 99.0 99.0 98.9 98.0 answered calls answered in 10 seconds or less Percentage of 1.9 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.2 answered calls answered in greater than 10 seconds Percentage 59.0 35.4 32.6 39 39.4 42.3 of offered calls transferred to an ESO Percentage of 39.5 50.9 57.0 64.0 62.8 62.2 offered calls from mobile phones Source: Emergency call person (Telstra)

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Emergency call service – termination points for 000 and 112 Telstra provides ACMA with data that disaggregates the calls to 000 and 112 received according to the outcome of the calls.

Table 4.7.2: Emergency call services termination points for 000 and 112, 2003–04 to 2006–07

2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07

No. % No. % No. % No. % Caller no 5,449,511 42.8 4,241,385 39.2 3,706,705 32 2,990,652 25 response (CNR) calls terminated by interactive voice response (IVR) CNR calls 145,397 1.1 163,330 1.5 179,409 1.5 216,863 1.8 connected to police through IVR Aborted by 835,966 6.6 693,745 6.4 963,606 8.3 1,079,821 8.9 caller before answered

Aborted after 2,204,635 18 1,512,737 14.0 2,167,537 18.7 2,718,333 22.4 answered (non-CNR)

Calls 4,015,738 31.5 4,196,430 38.8 4,571,520 39.5 5,133,587 42.3 transferred to ESOs

Total 12,741,247 100 10,807,627 100 11,588,777 100 12,139,529 100

Source: Emergency call person (Telstra)

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Appendix 4.8 Disclosures of personal information

Table 4.8.1: Disclosures made under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 1997, 2001–02 to 2006–07

Reason for disclosure (Sub) Number of disclosures section of Act 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Authorised by or 280 2,849 3,109 3,745 13,336 13,634 21,532 under law Made as a witness 281 57 59 70 80 69 74 under summons For the enforcement 282(1) 394,876 326,296 333,927 400,100 396,430 375,443 of criminal law – not certified For the enforcement of 282(2) 63,575 74,466 74,102 15,654 14,240 43,981 law imposing pecuniary penalty or protection of public revenue – not certified For the enforcement of 282(3) 194,438 224,757 236,546 280,062 285,206 418,801 criminal law – certified A For the enforcement of 282(4) 4,282 4,402 5,380 1,776 1,530 1,359 law imposing pecuniary penalty or protection of public revenue – certified To protect public 282(5) 17,849 21,910 22,367 88,799 89,325 5,365 revenue – certified To assist the ACA/ACMA 284(1) 10 29 3 13 13 10 To assist the ACCC 284(2) 22 58 18 191 187 1 To assist the TIO 284(3) 5,373 5,671 9,483 5,927 5,877 5,150 To avert a threat to a 287 1,527 1,680 2,628 4,104 4,085 3,980 person's life or health Communications for 288 1 – – – 1 – maritime purposes With the knowledge 289 4,539 3,517 12,280 75,422 133,765 289,621 or consent of the person concerned In circumstances 292 16 555 317 2 5 1 prescribed in the Telecommunications Regulations 2001 Its use is connected 293 1 – 5 – – – with an exempt disclosure Total 689,415 666,509 700,871 885,466 944,367 1,165,318

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Table 4.8.2: Disclosures of personal information by category, 2006–07 Category (section of Telecommunications Act 1997) 2005–06 2006–07 Number % Number % Under law or as witness (subsections 280 and 281) 13,703 1.45 21,607 1.85 Enforcement of law (section 282) 792,808 83.95 845,001 72.53 Threat to life or health (section 287) 4,085 0.43 3,980 0.34 With consent (section 298) 133,765 14.16 289,621 24.85 Other 6 0.0006 5,162 0.42 Total 944,367 100 1,165,371 100

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Appendix 4.9: Internet content investigation data

Table 4.9.1: Internet content investigations, 2002–03 to 2006–07 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 Total Complaints received1 683 1,107 1,14 826 602 4,363 Investigations 516 810 814 638 477 3,255 completed Investigations 160 175 202 117 55 709 terminated2 Complaints not 0 95 149 83 78 405 investigated3 Investigations leading 381 548 575 422 262 2,188 to finding of prohibited content Items actioned 26 7 48 18 5 104 (Australian hosted) Items actioned 570 701 857 706 494 3,328 (overseas hosted) Items referred to state 6 2 25 10 1 44 A or territory police force Items referred to 173 412 582 446 368 1,981 overseas police force or INHOPE hotline Notes: 1. ACMA investigates all valid complaints about prohibited or potentially prohibited internet content. Some complaints relate to multiple items of content.For example, where a complaint is made about multiple postings within a single newsgroup, ACMA will investigate each of the postings. Each posting is regarded as one ‘item’ of content. 2. Investigations are terminated when there is a lack of information to proceed with the investigation (for example, ACMA is unable to locate the content based on information provided by the complainant). 3. A complaint is not investigated by ACMA if it (a) does not meet the statutory requirements, for example, no internet address is provided or the complainant is not an Australian resident; or (b) is deemed to be frivolous, vexatious, not made in good faith or designed to undermine the operation of the scheme; or (c) concerns matters (for example, electronic virus) not within the scope of Schedule 5.

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Appendix 4.10: Submarine cables data

Table 4.10.1: International and in-service submarine cables landing in Australia Cable Year in Route Capacity service Australia Japan Cable* 2001 Australia (Sydney)–Guam–Japan Potential 640 GB/s Southern Cross Cable*: SX-1 2000 Australia (Sydney)–Fiji–Hawaii–USA Potential 480 GB/s SX-2 2000 Australia (Sydney)–Fiji–Hawaii–USA Potential 480 GB/s SEA-ME-WE3* 1999 Australia (Perth)–Indonesia–Singapore 40 GB/s Jasaurus 1997 Australia (PortHedland)–Indonesia 5 GB/s Tasman 2 1992 Australia (Sydney)–New Zealand 2 x 560 MB/s *Cables that have been designated as nationally significant. Source: ACMA

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Appendix 5.1: Expenditure on Australian drama programs by subscription television

Under Division 2A of Part 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, subscription (pay) television drama services are required to spend at least 10 per cent of their total program expenditure on new Australian or New Zealand drama programs.

Table 5.1.1: Aggregate expenditure by subscription TV drama services on new Australian drama, 2001–02 to 2005–06 ($m) 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 New eligible drama expenditure $20.59 $19.93 $18.86 $18.98 $20.58 (NEDE) requirement NEDE expenditure $21 $19.13 $17.7 $15.93 $18.42

NEDE as a percentage of the 102% 95.2% 93.9% 83.9% 89.5% requirement Expenditure nominated to make $7.8 $8.25 $8.94 $10.39 $13.59 up previous year’s shortfall A Expenditure nominated toward $13.2 $10.96 $8.47 $5.39 $4.5 current year requirement Current year nomination as 64.1% 55% 44.9% 28.4% 21.9% a percentage of requirement Current year obligation to be $8.25 $8.97 $10.39 $13.59 $16.08 acquitted next financial year

*The total of the two ‘nominated’ amounts does not add up to the ‘year’s NEDE’ amount because some channel providers spent more than the 10 per cent requirement. Up to 2005–06, the NEDE scheme did not allow any expenditure that was excess to the current year and past year obligation to be carried forward for nomination in the next year. This rule was reversed when the legislation was amended in June 2005 and took effect from the 2005–06 annual returns. Source: ACMA

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Appendix 5.2: First release Australian children’s drama broadcast data

The Children’s Television Standards 2005 set out an annual children’s program broadcast quota of 390 hours. The Australian Content Standard sets out a sub-quota that 96 hours (over three years) of children’s television programs must be first release Australian programs. Commercial television licensees’ performance in relation to the first release Australian children’s program sub-quota is set out below.

Table 5.2.1: First release Australian children’s drama, 2004 to 2006 2004 2005 2006 2004 to 2006 three-year period

Minimum requirement 25 hours each year 96 hours Licensee hours hours hours hours Seven licensees SAS Adelaide 33.00 30.00 31.00 94.00 BTQ Brisbane 33.00 30.00 31.00 94.00 HSV Melbourne 33.00 30.00 31.00 94.00 TVW Perth 33.00 30.00 31.00 94.00 ATN Sydney 33.00 30.00 31.00 94.00 Nine licensees QTQ Brisbane 32.00 32.00 34.00 98.00 GTV Melbourne 32.00 32.00 34.00 98.00 TCN Sydney 32.00 32.00 34.00 98.00 Ten licensees ADS Adelaide 32.50 34.00 25.00 91.50 TVQ Brisbane 32.50 34.00 25.00 91.50 ATV Melbourne 32.50 34.00 25.00 91.50 NEW Perth 32.50 34.00 25.00 91.50 TEN Sydney 32.50 34.00 25.00 91.50 Source: ACMA

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Table 5.2.2: Australian children’s programming broadcast data

Quota Australia’s children’s drama Australia’s Children’s Australian children’s programs preschool programs programs Run First release Repeat First release All All Minimum annual 25 hours 8 hours 130 hours 260 hours 130 hours requirement (includes (includes all C drama) C programs) Licensee hours hours hours hours hours Seven licensees SAS Adelaide 31.00 83.15 131.50 268.65 130.00 BTQ Brisbane 31.00 83.15 131.50 268.65 130.00 HSV Melbourne 31.00 83.15 131.50 268.65 130.00 TVW Perth 31.00 83.15 131.50 268.15 130.00 ATN Sydney 31.00 83.17 131.50 268.67 130.00 Nine licensees QTQ Brisbane 34.00 73.50 130.50 264.00 130.50 A GTV Melbourne 34.00 75.50 130.50 264.00 130.00 TCN Sydney 34.00 75.50 130.50 264.00 130.00 Ten licensees ADS Adelaide 25.00 63.50 130.00 262.00 130.00 TVQ Brisbane 25.00 63.50 130.00 262.00 130.00 ATV Melbourne 25.00 63.50 130.00 262.00 130.00 NEW Perth 25.00 63.50 130.00 262.00 130.00 TEN Sydney 25.00 63.50 130.00 262.00 130.00 Source: ACMA

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Appendix 5.3: Australian music on commercial and community radio

The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 does not require radio broadcasters to provide minimum content levels of Australian music. However, the codes of practice for both commercial and community radio broadcasters contain requirements for the broadcasting of Australian music content.

Commercial radio The Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines, available on the Commercial Radio Australia website, set out Australian music content quotas for different commercial radio station formats. The quotas have been determined on the basis of the availability of Australian music to suit the different formats. The requirements of the code are shown in Table 5.3.1.

Table 5.3.1: Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines, code 4.3 Category Format of service Applicable proportion A Mainstream rock Not less than 25% Album-oriented rock Contemporary hits Top 40 Alternative B Hot/mainstream Not less than 20% Adult contemporary Country Classic rock C Soft adult contemporary Not less than 15% Hits and memories Gold, encompassing classic hits News talk/sports talk D Oldies Not less than 10% Easy listening Easy gold Country gold E Nostalgia Not less than 5% Jazz NAC (smooth jazz) Source: Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines, September 2004 The radio industry’s performance against these quotas is reported on by the Australian Music Performance Committee, based on statistics reported by Commercial Radio Australia.

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Community radio The CBAA Community Radio Broadcasting Code of Practice contains an Australian music content component that requires community radio broadcasters to have regard to the make-up of the community they have been licensed to serve in selecting Australian musical items for broadcast on their service. The code requires broadcasters to ensure that a proportion of the total number of musical items broadcast over one month should consist of: – not less than 25 per cent Australian music items for all community broadcasting licensees except ethnic and classical stations; and – not less than 10 per cent Australian musical items for ethnic and classical stations. Preliminary results from the Community Broadcasting Database 2005–06 indicate that the level of Australian music played on community radio stations has increased since the previous survey period in 2003–04. During the survey period, the sector exceeded its minimum quotas for Australian music, reaching an average of 36 per cent and a one per cent increase on 2003–04. Australian music made up more than half of all music played by Indigenous stations (53 per cent) and 40 per cent of the music played on youth stations. Community radio services in rural areas played an average of 52 hours of Australian music a week and 41 per cent of all music, an increase A of four hours per week. Metropolitan stations and regional stations played around 34 per cent Australian music, a one per cent increase since 2003–04.

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Appendix 5.4: Free-to-air sports broadcasting data

Under section 115 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, the Minister makes a formal notice that lists events that should be available on free-to-air television for viewing by the general public (‘the anti-siphoning list’).

Table 5.4.1: Calendar of events on the anti-siphoning list, 2007 Sport January February March April May June

Horse Racing

Australian Rules Premiership Premiership Premiership Premiership Football

Rugby League Premiership Premiership Premiership Premiership Football Test Match State of Origin State of Origin

Rugby Union Bundaberg Rum Bundaberg Rum Series Series Tri Nations Bledisloe Cup

Cricket 3 Mobile Ashes ICC Cricket ICC Cricket Series 2006–07 World Cup World Cup Commonwealth Commonwealth Bank One Day Bank One Day Series Series

Soccer FA Final Cup

Tennis Australian Open Davis Cup Wimbledon

French Open French Open

Davis Cup

Netball

Golf US Masters

Motor Sports Formula 1 V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars Grand Prix

Source: ACMA

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July August September October November December

Melbourne Cup

Premiership Premiership Premiership

Premiership Premiership Premiership Premiership

State of Origin

Bundaberg Rum Rugby World Cup Rugby World Cup Series Tri Nations Bledisloe Cup Cricket test match Cricket test match A

Wimbledon

US Open US Open

2007 World Champ/s

British Open Australian Open

Australian Masters Australian Masters

V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars V8 Supercars

MotoGP

Champ Car World Series (Indy Car)

Source: ACMA

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2G second generation mobile telecommunications Mobile telecommunications services that use digital techniques, providing voice communications and a relatively low transmission rate for data. 2G technologies deployed in Australia are GSM and CDMA.

3G third generation mobile telecommunications A broadband mobile telecommunications platform supporting multimedia voice, video and data services. WCDMA and CDMA2000 are the 3G technologies derived from the GSM and CDMA 2G technologies respectively.

3.5G/4G Enhancements to mobile telecommunications systems that increase the usable data rate to allow the delivery of data intensive applications such high resolution video.

ABA Australian Broadcasting Authority Former Commonwealth regulatory authority responsible for broadcaster licensing and content regulation of broadcast and narrowcast services under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. Also see ACMA.

ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation Free-to-air national broadcaster of ABC radio and television channels, as well as the internet services ABC Online, ABC Broadband and DIG internet radio. The ABC is funded by the Australian Government.

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics Commonwealth body responsible for collecting, analysing and publishing Australian demographic data. ACA Australian Communications Authority G Former Commonwealth regulatory authority for telecommunications and radiocommunications. Merged with the Australian Broadcasting Authority in July 2005 to form the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Also see ACMA.

ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Commonwealth regulatory body with responsibilities derived from the Trade Practices Act 1974.

ACE Australian Communication Exchange The current National Relay Service and text-based emergency call service provider.

ACIF Australian Communications Industry Forum Communications industry self-regulatory body established in May 1997 and responsible for developing industry codes, technical standards and service specifications. Now part of Communications Alliance Pty Ltd, formed from a merger with the Service Providers Association Ltd (SPAN) on 1 September 2006.

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ACMA Australian Communications and Media Authority Commonwealth regulatory authority for broadcasting, online content, radiocommunications and telecommunications, with responsibilities under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, the Radiocommunications Act 1992, the Telecommunications Act 1997 and related Acts. Established on 1 July 2005 following a merger of the Australian Communications Authority and the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

ADSL asymmetric digital subscriber line A transmission method allowing high data rate communication over existing copper wires. The downstream data (data downloaded by user) transmission rate is much higher than the upstream data rate.

ADSL2 Higher data rate ADSL with greater reach from local telephone exchanges, dynamic data rate adaptation, better resistance to noise, diagnostics, a stand-by mode to save power and reduced initialisation time.

ADSL2+ Version of ADSL that uses double the bandwidth for downstream data transmission, effectively doubling maximum downstream data rates.

AFP Australian Federal Police Australia’s national police force. ACMA works with the AFP on email spam and illegal internet content such as child pornography that is hosted outside Australia.

AISI Australian Internet Security Initiative The AISI collects data on computers that are operating as zombies, analyses this data, and provides free daily reports to participating Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on the zombie computers operating on their networks.

alternative service Telstra is required to offer USO customers access to an interim or alternative service when there is an extended delay in connecting or repairing the STS. This may be a service such as diversion to a mobile phone service or the provision of a second fixed line telephone service.

AM radio amplitude modulation radio A method of radio broadcasting where the frequency is modulated or varied by its changing amplitude. AM radio signals travel large distances and have wide coverage areas. Radiofrequencies for AM broadcasts are expressed in kilohertz (kHz).

AMPS advanced mobile phone system The so-called ‘first generation’ mobile phone system used for the analog mobile phone service in Australia, which closed in 2000.

AMTA Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association Association of mobile industry suppliers and manufacturers.

auDA .au Domain Administration Organisation established to develop an effective self-regulatory regime for internet domain names in Australia.

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Australian Content Standard The Australian Content Standard requires all commercial free-to-air television licensees to broadcast an annual minimum transmission quota of 55 per cent Australian programming between 6.00 am and midnight. In addition there are specific minimum annual sub-quotas for Australian (adult) drama, documentary and children’s programs.

bandwidth In the internet industry, bandwidth refers to the capacity of a connection to carry information, while in radiocommunications it is the amount of radiofrequency spectrum used for a particular function.

bit/s bits per second Rate of transfer of data. See also Gbit/s, kbit/s, Mbit/s.

BPL broadband over power lines Communications technique using the electricity grid or mains cabling within premises to deliver broadband services at higher data rates than previous power line communications.

BRACS Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme See RIBS.

broadband Describes a class of internet access technologies, such as ADSL, HFC cable and WiFi, offering a data rate significantly higher than narrowband services. These services are usually ‘always-on’ and do not tie up a telephone line exclusively for data. Broadband is a relative rather than absolute concept, 256 kbit/s widely regarded as the lower limit for broadband access. BSB broadcasting services bands G Parts of the radiofrequency spectrum dedicated to broadcasting services.

carrier The holder of a telecommunications carrier licence in force under the Telecommunications Act 1997.

CBAA Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Organisation responsible for developing and reviewing, in consultation with ACMA, the CBAA Codes of Practice for community radio and community television.

CDMA code division multiple access Access technique for digital wireless communications, including mobile phone and satellite services. The technique employs a bandwidth much larger than the original signal. Each signal is uniquely encoded and decoded, and in this way many signals can occupy the same spectrum.

CNR calls caller no response calls Calls to the emergency call service where there is no response when the operator asks which emergency service is required.

Communications Alliance Industry organisation formed on 1 September 2006 from the merger of the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) and the Service Providers Association (SPAN).

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CPP Community Phones Program Program under TAPRIC aimed at improving access to basic telecommunications services for people living in remote Indigenous communities, including the provision of community phones.

CRA Commercial Radio Australia Industry body responsible for developing and reviewing, in consultation with ACMA, the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice.

CSG Customer Service Guarantee Standard providing for financial compensation to customers where requirements set out in the standard are not met.

CSP carriage service provider Person supplying or proposing to supply certain carriage services, including a commercial entity acquiring telecommunications capacity or services from a carrier for resale to a third party. Internet and pay TV service providers fall within the definition of carriage service providers under the Telecommunications Act 1997.

CTS Children’s Television Standards Standards designed to provide access for children (aged <14 years) to quality television programs made specifically for them. The standards regulate timing and scheduling of children’s programs and content of adjacent programming.

CTV community television Free-to-air television service that serves the needs and interests of a particular community, that may be a geographical or interest-based community.

datacasting A service that delivers content in the form of text, data, speech, music or other sounds, visual images, or any other form or combinations of forms, where delivery uses the BSB.

data rate Volume of data able to be transmitted over a given period of time. Data rates are usually measured in bits per second.

data traffic Volume of data transferred in both directions between a customer and the customer’s ISP. Data traffic is measured in bytes.

DBA Digital Broadcasting Australia Digital television industry organisation that provides information about digital TV commencement dates and coverage, functionality and availability of equipment, retailer locations and digital television programs and enhancements.

DCITA Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Commonwealth department responsible for, among other things, communications policy.

DDA Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Commonwealth legislation that makes discrimination on account of one’s disability unlawful.

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DDSO digital data service obligation Obligation to ensure that a digital data capability of 64 kbit/s is reasonably accessible to all people in Australia, wherever they reside or carry on business.

DEP Disability Equipment Program Telstra’s program for supplying people with disabilities with telecommunications equipment.

dial-up internet service Service where subscribers connect to the internet via a modem and dial-up software utilising the PSTN or an ISDN connection.

Do Not Call Register Register established by ACMA that allows individuals to register their home and mobile numbers to opt out of receiving most unsolicited telemarketing calls, with limited exemptions for public interest organisations.

DRM Digital Radio Mondiale DRM uses the existing AM broadcast frequency bands and is designed to fit in with the existing AM broadcast band plan, based on signals of 9 kHz or10 kHz bandwidth. All data produced from the digitally encoded audio and associated data signals is shared out for transmission across a large number of closely spaced carriers.

DSL digital subscriber line Transmission technique that dramatically increases the digital capacity of telephone lines into the home or office. Also ADSL, HDSL, xDSL. DSLAM digital subscriber line access multiplexer G A device that concentrates ADSL subscriber lines to a single ATM line.

e-marketing electronic marketing The use of web-based applications and services to select and segment customers, develop and execute marketing campaigns, and distribute leads to sales channels.

EME electromagnetic energy Energy in the form of waves having an electric and magnetic component.

ESA exchange service area One of approximately 5,000 areas serviced by exchanges in Telstra’s fixed telephone network.

ESO emergency service organisation Organisation providing an emergency service, such as police, ambulance or fire brigade.

exchange Network node where various numbers and types of communication lines are switched by the telecommunications network operator. Exchanges operate at local, long distance and international levels, and all subscribers are connected to their local exchange.

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FM frequency modulation radio A mode of radio broadcasting in which the frequency of the transmitted wave is modulated or varied with the amplitude or pitch of the signal. FM radio signals have good immunity to electrical interference and provide consistent quality reception during the day and night. The geographical coverage area varies, but for a high-power FM transmitter can be up to 100 kilometres. Radiofrequencies for FM broadcasts are expressed in megahertz (MHz).

Free TV Australia Industry body responsible for developing and reviewing the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice.

FSA field service area One of 44 broad geographic regions in Telstra’s fixed telephone network.

GB Gigabytes A billion bytes.

Gbit/s Gigabits per second Data transfer rate of a billion bits per second. See bit/s.

GDDSO general digital data service obligation Obligation to provide digital data capability of 64 kbit/s in digital data service areas within a radial distance of four kilometres from an ISDN-capable telephone exchange for metropolitan areas, or within a radial distance of six kilometres for country areas.

GDP gross domestic product Market value of all goods and services produced by labour and capital in Australia.

geographic numbers Numbers used to provide access to local telephone services and related voicemail services, facsimile services, internet dial-up services and termination numbers for freephone and local rate services. Also known as local numbers.

GHz Gigahertz One billion Hertz, where one Hertz is the measurement of frequency equal to one cycle of electromagnetic radiation per second.

GSM global system for mobile communication The widely used European digital cellular network standard.

GSP gross state product Market value of all goods and services produced by labour and capital in an Australian state or territory.

HFC cable hybrid fibre coaxial cable Network element consisting of optical fibre on main routes, supplemented by coaxial cable closer to a customer’s premises.

HiBIS Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme An Australian Government program for subsidising ISPs that provide approved broadband services to consumers in rural and remote areas at less than specified prices.

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HREOC Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. The Commonwealth agency with responsibility for administration of Australia’s equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, including the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

HSDPA high speed downlink packet access protocol A 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity.

ICH internet content host A person who hosts or proposes to host internet content in Australia, who has a responsibility to remove prohibited content from their service once notified by ACMA of the existence of the content and to comply with registered industry codes of practice or industry standards developed by ACMA.

IIA Internet Industry Association Peak body representing internet service providers and other internet industry members, including carriers, content creators and publishers, web developers, e-commerce traders and providers, hardware vendors and systems integrators.

INHOPE Internet Hotline Providers in Europe Association International forum for internet hotlines to exchange information and experience. Member hotlines deal with complaints regarding illegal internet content, particularly child pornography. ACMA is an INHOPE member. G interception The interception of telecommunication services for the purpose of law enforcement and national security.

interim service Voice telephony service that uses mainly mobile or satellite technology and is charged at STS rates. Telstra is required to offer USO customers access to an interim or alternative service when there is an extended delay in connecting or repairing the STS.

IP internet protocol The key member of the suite of internet protocols at the logical layer, specifying packet addressing and routing of data through the internet.

IPND Integrated Public Number Database Database of information about customers of telecommunications services in Australia, for all carriers and CSPs.

IPTV internet protocol television Television system whereby digital content is delivered via a network infrastructure, often in conjunction with video-on-demand and other non- television services such as VoIP and other internet services.

ISP internet service provider CSP offering internet access to the public or another service provider.

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IVR interactive voice response Software application that accepts a combination of voice and touch-tone keypad selection to enable callers to select an appropriate response, including being connected to an operator. Common uses of this type of application include directory assistance, telephone banking, incoming call routing, telephone betting and other public information services.

KB kilobyte(s) A thousand bytes. See byte(s).

kbit/s kilobits per second Data transfer rate of 1,000 bits per second. See bit/s.

local numbers See geographic numbers.

low-impact facilities Communications facilities that are considered to have a low impact on their environment. They include underground cabling, small radiocommunications antennas and dishes, in-building subscriber connections and public payphones. The Telecommunications Act provides carriers with immunity from state and territory planning laws for the installation of ‘low-impact’ facilities.

MB Megabyte(s) One million bytes. See byte(s).

Mbit/s Megabits per second Data transfer rate of one million bits per second. See bit/s.

MCF Mobile Carriers Forum Industry body established, among other things, to improve carrier efforts to co-locate mobile phone facilities and ensure coordinated network rollouts.

MHz Megahertz One million Hertz. See also GHz.

the Minister Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Minister responsible for ACMA and its governing legislation, and the legislation that ACMA administers.

MSD mass service disruption Basis for claiming about an exemption by a CSP from complying with performance requirements under the CSG Standard due to circumstances beyond its control. The CSP must issue a public MSD notice, which must specify the start and end dates of the exemption period, the geographic area to which it relates and the number of customers affected by the exemption.

MMS multimedia messaging service Mobile telecommunications data transmission service for sending messages with a combination of text, sound, image and video to MMS-capable handsets.

MNP mobile number portability Portability for mobile phone numbers. See number portability.

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National Classification The National Classification Scheme is a cooperative arrangement between Scheme the Commonwealth, states and territories, under which the Classification Board classifies films (including videos and DVDs), computer games and certain publications.

National Filter Scheme A government initiative to provide free internet filters to Australian homes, and to mandate a filtered service from ISPs.

NCD nominated carrier declaration Declaration made by the owner of a telecommunications network unit (facilities or infrastructure for delivery of telecommunications services) nominating a licensed carrier that will be responsible for the specified network unit.

NEDE new eligible drama expenditure Expenditure on new Australian or New Zealand television drama programs, to meet content requirements that support the local television industry.

non dial-up subscribers Subscribers with permanent and ‘always on’ connections to the internet using various technologies, including ISDN connections that do not require the user to dial up, DSL, cable, wireless, satellite, dedicated data service and frame relay.

NRF Network Reliability Framework Requirement on Telstra from January 2003 to provide regular reports to the ACA on the reliability of its fixed line services, and to remediate the network in areas with particularly poor performance. G NRS National Relay Service Service that provides access to the standard telephone service for people with hearing or speech impairment through the relay of voice, modem or TTY communications. Operates as a translation service between voice and non-voice users of the standard telephone service. Currently provided by Australian Communication Exchange.

number portability Arrangements allowing customers to transfer their telecommunications service from one service provider to another without changing their number.

open narrowcasting service A free-to-air broadcasting service that has its reception limited by being targeted to a special interest group, by being intended for limited locations, by being provided during a limited period, or limited for some other reason.

pay TV subscription television service Service providing access, for a fee, to television channels transmitted using cable, satellite or terrestrial microwave.

payphone A public telephone where calls may be paid for with coins, phone cards, credit cards or reverse charge facilities.

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P2P applications peer-to-peer applications Application files not stored on a central server, but exchanged directly between users. Consumer grade VoIP is an example of a voice application that consumers download onto their own computers, bypassing carrier and based service-delivery altogether.

podcast A digital audio file that is made available on the internet for downloading to a personal audio player. Files can be downloaded automatically using aggregator services or by subscribing to podcast feeds such as the RSS (really simple syndication) feeder.

post-paid A contract under which a user is charged on a periodic basis based on service usage during the billing period.

portability See number portability.

premium rate services Content services accessed on numbers with a 190 prefix, where the cost of the call, including access to the content, is included on the customer’s telephone bill. Content includes sports results, weather forecasts, astrology services, competition entries, dating contact and telephone sex services. Premium rate services include SMS as well as voice, fax and data.

pre-paid A contract system by which users pay an amount up front to purchase a certain amount of usage or credit.

priority assistance Service for people with a diagnosed life-threatening medical condition entitling them to faster connection and fault repair of their fixed-line telephone service.

PSTN public switched telecommunications network Public telecommunications network operated by a carrier to provide services to the public.

RCMG Register of Controlled Media Groups The register, maintained by ACMA lists the media groups in each licence area, the media operations that form part of a group, and the controllers of those operations.

RIBS Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services Radio and television broadcasting services for remote Indigenous communities licensed by ACMA as community broadcasting services— formerly licensed under the Broadcasting in Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS).

SAR specific absorption rate Electromagnetic radiation exposure measurement for mobile phones— under ACMA’s regulatory arrangement, the SAR must not exceed two watts per kilogram averaged over 10 grams.

SBS Special Broadcasting Service Free-to-air national radio and television broadcasting service providing multilingual and multicultural programs that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia’s multicultural society. The SBS Online service also provides additional multilingual content through the internet.

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SDDSO special digital data service obligation Obligation to provide a service of a 64 kbit/s download connection speed on request to the four per cent of the Australian population who do not have access to ISDN-comparable data services (see also DDSO and GDDSO).

SIAP Safer Internet Action Plan The European Union’s response to the presence of illegal and harmful content on the internet. The plan comprised strategies for hotlines, filtering, and education and awareness, including establishing and funding INHOPE.

SIO services in operation Refers to the number of services provided by a telephone company at a particular time. The term is used in the context of both fixed line services and mobile services.

smartnumbers® Specified freephone (1800) or local rate (13, or 1300) numbers allocated by auction that are considered desirable because they can be translated to a phoneword or have a memorable pattern.

SMP standard marketing plan Approved plan by the universal service provider of how it will meet the USO.

SMS short message service Mobile telecommunications data transmission service that allows users to send short text messages to each other using the mobile handset keypad.

spam Unsolicited messages often sent in bulk to a large number of email addresses. G SpamMATTERS ACMA’s spam reporting and forensic analysis system. Users download a ‘button’ from the ACMA website to their email application that enables them to simultaneously delete spam from their computer and report it to ACMA.

streaming video Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by, and normally displayed to, the end-user while it is being delivered by the provider. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself.

STS standard telephone service The telecommunications service defined as a carriage service providing voice telephony or an equivalent service that meets the requirements of the TCPSS Act and the DDA.

TAPRIC Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities Plan developed from a study commissioned by the Australian Government that gathered information about telecommunications services required by remote Indigenous communities.

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three-way control An unacceptable three-way control situation exists in relation to the licence area of a commercial radio broadcasting licence (the first radio licence area) if a person is in a position to exercise control of a commercial television broadcasting licence, where more than 50 per cent of the licence area population of the first radio licence area is attributable to the licence area of the commercial television broadcasting licence; and a commercial radio broadcasting licence, where the licence area of the commercial radio broadcasting licence is, or is the same as, the first radio licence area; and a newspaper that is associated with the first radio licence area.

TIO Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Industry-funded independent dispute resolution service established in December 1993, for consumers unable to resolve complaints with their telecommunications carrier or CSP (including ISPs).

TISSC Telephone Information Services Standards Council Independent self-regulatory and consumer complaint resolution body funded by the telephone information services industry.

trigger event A trigger event is relates to commercial regional radio licences and include: a transfer of a licence; or formation of a new registrable media group which includes a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence; or change of controller of a registrable media group which includes a regional commercial radio broadcasting licence.

TSP telephone service provider CSP offering telephony services.

TTY teletypewriter Telephone typewriter where communication is typed after the call is connected, allowing people with hearing or speech impairment to use telecommunications. Calls can be connected to another TTY user or relayed and translated by the NRS.

USO universal service obligation Obligation under the Telecommunications Act 1997 to ensure standard telephone services, payphones and prescribed carriage services are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on business.

VoIP voice over internet protocol A protocol for transmitting voice over packet-switched data networks. Also called IP telephony.

weblog A website that displays in chorographical order the posting by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings. Also known as a blog.

WiFi wireless fidelity Used generically to refer to wireless local area network (IEEE 802.11) technology providing short-range, high data rate connections between mobile data devices and access points connected to a wired network.

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WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Industry group organised to advance the IEEE 802.16 standards for broadband wireless access networks for multimedia applications with a wireless connection.

X18+ Content classified by the Office of Film and Literature Classification under the Australian Classification Code as containing sexually explicit activity that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult and is unsuitable for viewing by a minor.

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) A 10, 30, 65, 83-84, 165, 174, 195, 197 AAPT 74, 103, 113-115, 240, 247-249, 245-245 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 8, 25-26, access to services 43, 107, 117, 191 30, 48, 185, 193-194 ACIL Tasman 21, 38, 176 Australian Communication Exchange 15, ADSL services 8, 25-26, 36, 48, 73, 178-179, 180 119-220, 123-124 advertising Australian Communications Industry Forum Australian 17, 159 (ACIF) 61, 145 expenditure 13, 83, 85, 88-91, 156 code activity 61, 223 foreign 160 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) 25, 58-59, 99, 133, 146, 225-226 online 92 Australian Consumer Fraud Taskforce 139 allocation of numbers 81 Australian eMarketing Code of Practice 2005 data network access service numbers 82, 241 61, 139 digital mobile numbers 81-82, 241 Australian Internet Security Initiative 137 geographic numbers 37, 81-82, 239-241 Australian Mobile Telecommunications smartnumbers® 38, 81 Association (AMTA) 151 telephone numbers 81 Australian Radio Network 13, 86 analog switch-off/over 96-97 Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear anti-siphoning 20, 166-1667, 268 Safety Agency (ARPANSA) 143 apparatus licences 35, 38, 95, 98 Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) 75 auDA 77-79 audiences B children 17, 158 Backing Indigenous Ability program 174 free-to-air television 89, 195 Bluetooth 201-202, 221 share 85-86 Blunn Review 18, 146 statistics 220 broadband trends 22, 194 I DSL services 25-26 Aurora TV 10, 33 future uptake 50 Austar 94, 195 network infrastructure 8, 25, 73-74 Austereo Group 13, 86 over power line 79 Australian satellite services 8, 25 advertising 17, 159-160 WiMAX 73, 201 broadcasting industry 12, 83 Wireless 9, 26-27, 36, 179 communications industry 12, 72 Broadband Connect 26-27, 191 consumer 10, 12, 26, 28, 43, 48, 73 Broadcast Australia 98 content 155, 157-159, 264 Broadcast Operations 13, 86 documentaries 17, 157-158 drama 16-17, 155-157, 263 music 266 telecommunications industry 12, 73

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broadcasting C Australian content 155, 157-159, 264 cabling commercial services 92, 166 aerial 142-143 complaints 12, 65 compliance 141 digital television services 10, 14, 31, 96, 166 new activity 142 financial results 16, 86 provider rules 140 Indigenous services 20-21, 33, 92, 94-95, 170 regulation 140 industry performance 154 submarine 19, 149 local information on regional radio and television 19, 154, 162-163 telecommunications 61 national services 83 captioning 161 regulatory developments 154, 163 carriage service providers 12, 35, 73, 113, 136, 238 remote licence areas 166 Carrier Licence Conditions (Telstra Corporation Limited) Declaration 1997 116, 136, 250 services bands 10, 18, 31, 92, 98, 147 carrier licensing 80 subscription services 196 nominated carrier declarations 80 Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Act 2007 20, 98, 166 trial certificates 80 Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Channels A and B 14, 98 (Digital Television) Act 2006 98, 163 Children’s Television Standards 20, 158, 167, 264 Broadcasting Services Act 1992 19, 65, 83, code activity (ACIF) 61, 223 128-129, 149, 161, 166 commercial Broadcasting Services (Additional Regional broadcasting services 37, 85, 154 Commercial Radio Licence Condition – Local radio 10, 13, 19, 31-32, 85, 87, 91, 98, Presence) Notice 22 March 2007 164 163-165, 266 Broadcasting Services (Additional Television television 9, 10, 13, 17-19, 30-31, 43, 55, Licence Condition) Notice 7 April 2003 19, 162 85-87, 99, 155, 158, 195, 264 Broadcasting Services Amendment Commercial Economic Advisory Service (Media Ownership) Act 2006 19, 163-164 of Australian (CEASA) 89 Broadcasting Services (Australian Content) Commercial Radio Australia 91, 98, 266 Standard 2005 155 code of practice 266 Broadcasting Services (Digital Television Communications Alliance 11, 61-62, 107, Standards) Regulations 2000 161 145-146, 223 Broadcasting Services (Digital Television communications infrastructure 24 Standards) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1) 161 regulation 141 report 25, 48 Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Act 2007 19, 149 Communications Legislation Amendment (Enforcement Powers) Act 2006 163 community broadcasting services 10, 13, 92, 174 radio services 33, 93, 95, 98, 174, 267 television services 33, 93, 99

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Community Broadcasting Foundation 174 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 117, 161 complaints disability equipment scheme 117-8, 256 billing and payments 64 disclosure of information 18, 132-134, 145 broadcasting 16, 65 DMG Radio 13, 86 code breaches 11, 58, 62 domain name administration 77-79 contracts 64 domestic systems interference 66-67, 234 credit management 63 Do Not Call Register 18, 146-147 customer service 63 Do Not Call Register Act 2006 147 customer transfer 63 Doro handset (Optus) 118 domestic systems interference 66 faults 64 E internet 11, 15, 129, 227 economic benefits 21, 176 Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme 64 electromagnetic emission regulation 143-144 Radiocommunications 234 Electromagnetic Emissions Standard 151 radiofrequency interference 66 email 43, 47, 54, 138-139, 183, 220 service connections 64 eMarketing Code of Practice 61, 139 telecommunications 11, 61, 58, 229 emergency call service 15, 120 Connecting Regional Australia 171 Australian Communication Exchange consumer 119-120, 123-124 behaviour 43, 73 calls 122-124 complaints 11, 15, 58, 129, 229 performance 121 protection 42 text service 123 satisfaction 57 Engin 75, 240 usage statistics 44, 220 enhanced broadcasting services 96 content (internet) e-security 137, 139 complaints 15-6, 128-132, 149, 261 I live 19, 149 Country Calling Card 171 F Customer Service Guarantee 8, 113, 246 Federal Court 138 compensation rates 144-145 financial information 37 service disruptions 115 fixed-line developments 182 standard 15, 113 fixed-to-mobile substitution 48 timeframes 113 fixed voice services 9, 12, 29, 45 Foxtel 10, 33, 94, 195 free-to-air broadcasting services 9, 30, 83, 89, 92, 194 D captioning 161 data downloads 178-179 digital 14, 31, 96 digital open narrowcasting services 95 channels 14, 20, 162, 166 sports 20, 166, 268 divide 191 freephone and local rate numbers 126, 239 digital data service obligation (DDSO) 108 Free TV Australia 159, 195 Digital Media in Australian Homes – 2006 14, 97

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G internet accessibility 43 geographic numbers 37, 81-82, 239 Australian Internet Security Initiative 137 Gibson Quai 21, 176 availability 8, 25, 48 Globalstar 9, 29, 76 bandwidth 43, 54, 76, 149, 178, 200 Google 54 broadband 8, 25, 73-74 Grant Broadcasters 13, 86 bundled packages 30 GSM networks 9, 28 complaints 227 INHOPE 131 H international collaboration 132 Handling of Life Threatening and Unwelcome investigation data 261 Calls Code 223 NetAlert 149 Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS) 26-27 online activity 51 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Protecting Australian Families Online 129, 149 (HREOC) 107, 161-162 service availability 25 Hutchison 9, 28, 144 service providers 30, 134 spam 16, 40, 137-139 I subscribers 48-49 InContact services 172 take-down notices 130 Indigenous communities 10, 20, 170 take-up 76 Backing Indigenous Ability program 174 technologies 178-179 broadcasting services 174 voice over internet protocol (VoIP) 43, 74, 146, Remote Area Broadcast Services 21, 174 wireless broadband 26-27, 179 Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services 95 Internet Industry Association 61, 128, 139 Remote Radio Replacement Program 174 Internet Industry Spam Code of Practice 61, 139 Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Investigations 39, 134 Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC) 171-172 broadcasting 12, 65 telecommunications services 170, 172 cabling 141 industry internet 15, 129-131, 138-139, 261 codes 58, 65, 96, 115, 130, 133, 143, 145, 149, telecommunications 147 223 Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman standards 18, 147 11, 40, 58, 61, 73, 146, 227 Imparja Television 13, 21, 85, 174 Iridium 9, 29, 76 INHOPE 15, 131 Inmarsat 9, 29, 76 K instant messaging 45, 129, 202 key indicators 35 Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) 18, 145 accuracy 124 role 136 L interception 16, 18, 133-136 law enforcement 18, 131, 134-135 interim and alternative telephone services 116-7 disclosures of customer information 134-135 review 146

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legislative basis 8 mobility 43 licence fee revenue 38 Bluetooth 201-202, 221 licences growth in 200 broadcasters 30-33, 35, 85, 92-93 WiFi networks 200-201 carrier 80 wireless technologies 25-27, 36, 143-144, digital 98-99, 166 171, 201-202 Indigenous 174 Mynetfone 75 international 96 radiocommunications 35 N spectrum 35 narrowcasting subscription television 94 open 14, 39, 83, 94-95, 98-99 telecommunications 35, 237 subscription 39, 83 licensed services 35 national broadcasting services 83 live content regulation framework 149 National Filter Scheme (internet) 129 local number portability 125 National Indigenous Television (NITV) 21, 174 local presence plan (Telstra) 116 National Relay Service 15, 118 Levy 120 M use 119 Macquarie Media Group 12, 86, 240-241 Neighbourhood Cable 74 mass service disruptions 114-115 NetAlert 149 Media and Communications in Australian Network Reliability Framework 14, 108, 250 Families 2007 190 performance 109 media diversity 164-165 Network Ten 85-86, 155, 157, 160 Media Diversity Report 165 Nine Network 13, 85-86, 155, 157-158, 160 media reform 14, 19, 20, 98, 163, 165-166 non-broadcasting services bands 31, 98 media releases (ACMA) 206 number allocation (see allocation of numbers) I Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme number portability 124, 126 18, 58, 64, 148 mobile phone services 46, 75, 177, 181 CDMA network 9, 28, 47, 76 cost per call minute 181-182 O data rates 28, 47, 76 online ownership 46-47 activities 51-55, 193 post-paid 75 empowerment and education 129 pre-paid 75 entertainment 55 satellite services 29, 75-76 environment 128, 191-192 service availability 28 harmful content and contact 128 W-CDMA network 28, 120 investigations 129 Mobile Connect program 29, 191 National Filter Scheme 129 MobileSat 9, 29, 76 prohibited content 15, 129-130 Protecting Australian Families Online 129, 149 protection and regulation 128

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open narrowcasting services 14, 39, 83, 94-95, 98-99 R Optus 9, 28-29, 47, 74, 76, 103, 114-115, 117-118, 134, 143-144, 231, 246 Radio 19, 35, 84-85 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and advertising 91 Development (OECD) 33-34, 52 Australian industry 83 ownership and control 19, 85-86, 164 Australian music 266 commercial 31, 56, 86-89 community 33, 92 P digital 18, 98, 116 payphones 14 Indigenous services 21, 95, 174 for people with disabilities 107 interference 66 frequency distribution 173 local information on regional radio 19, 163 in remote Indigenous communities 171-173 radiocommunications apparatus licences 5, 38 installation 107, 244 Radiocommunications Act 1992 67, 69, 95, 98, number 36, 104 99, 114, 116, 144 privately owned 105 Radiocommunications (Compliance Labelling – public 104 Electromagnetic Radiation) Notice 2003 144 rationalisation program (Telstra) 107 Radiocommunications (Electromagnetic Radiation serviceability 106 – Human Exposure) Standard 2003 144 peer-to-peer applications 43, 77 Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Apparatus Licence) Determination 2003 143 population density 33, 180 radiofrequency spectrum 95 Powertel 74, 240-241 Register of Controlled Media Groups 20, 164-165 PricewaterhouseCoopers 89, 195 regulation Primus 15, 74, 113-115, 118, 240, 247, 254-255 broadcasting 73 disability equipment 117 cabling 140 priority assistance 115-116, 254-255 developments 17, 163 privacy 16, 132, 135, 137 electromagnetic emission 143 Privacy Act 1988 132 online environment 128 program expenditure (television) 155-156, 263 telecommunications 141 prohibited content (internet) 15, 39, 129-131, 261 Remote Area Broadcast Services (RABS) 21, 174 Protecting Australian Families Online 129, 149 Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services (RIBS) public switched telephone network (PSTN) 12, 21, 95, 174 30, 43, 75 remote Indigenous communities 20, 170 publications (ACMA) 236 broadcasting services 95, 174 Imparja Television 13, 21, 85, 174 National Indigenous Television (NITV) 174 payphone performance 173 telecommunication services 171 remote licence areas 166

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revenue 12, 13, 21, 37-38 T advertising 88, 91 take-down notices (for internet content) 15, 130 and profitability 86-87 telecommunications by subscriber for 2G and 3G mobile networks (telecommunications) 182 carriage service providers 12, 35, 73-74, 113, 136 commercial radio 87-88 carrier licence data 38, 80, 103 commercial television 86-87, 89 carriers 12, 73, 79, 103, 120, 132, 141, 185 fixed line 182-184 codes 61-65, 70, 142 mobile services 181 complaints 70 National Relay Service 120 disclosures of personal information 16, 133-134, 152 per gigabyte (internet) 179 industry performance 14-16, 102-152 smartnumbers® 81 installation of facilities 8, 141-142 universal service obligation 103 licences 35 Roy Morgan Research 42, 44-46, 48, 51, 54, 57 number of services 11, 36, 62, 172 numbering data 100 S revenue 38 Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme 29 service coverage 36 satellite services 8-9, 25, 29, 75-76 Telecommunications Act 1997 7-8, 69, 132, services availability 134, 136-137, 141, 150 broadcasting 30-33 Telecommunications Act 2007 18, 145 internet 25-27, 48 Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC) 170-172 telecommunications 25, 28-30 Telecommunications Cabling Provider Rules Seven Network 12, 85-86, 155, 157, 160, 196 2000 140 smart grid 79 Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) Soul 74 (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Spam 40, 137 Standard 2007 18, 147 Internet Industry Spam Code of Practice 61, 139 Telecommunications Emergency Call Service monitoring and compliance 16, 138-139 Determination 2002 121 SpamMATTERS 16, 138-139 Telecommunications in Remote Indigenous Spam Act 2003 40, 132, 138 Communities 20-21, 171 Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) 10, 30, 83-85 Telecommunications Integrated Public Number Database Scheme 145 spectrum licences 35 Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Standard Marketing Plan (Telstra) 117, 173 Act 2006 18, 146 submarine cable protection 19, 149-151 Telecommunications (Interception and Access) subscription broadcasting 39, 83, 94 Act 1979 133-135 Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No. 1) 128, 148 Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman 11, 40, 58, 61-65 Telephone Information Services Standards Council (TISSC) 59-61

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telephone traditional media 55 fixed-line 9, 12, 14-15, 21, 29-30, 63-64, 74-75, TransAct 74, 115, 143 81, 108, 113, 116, 120, 122-124, 143, 173, trigger event 19, 163-164 182-185, 202 mobile 9-10, 12, 18-19, 21, 22, 28-29, 36-37, 43-44, 46-48, 63-64, 72-72, 75-76, 82, 116-117, U 120-129, 138, 143-144, 148-149, 151, 171-172, universal service obligation 177-178, 181-183, 194, 199, 200-203 levies and payments 38, 101-107 networks 9, 12, 28-29, 36, 47, 73-76, 181, review 8, 17, 29, 73, 144, 175 200-203 usage statistics 44, 52, 70, 220-222 television advertising 89-91 analog 9, 20, 30, 66, 84, 96-97, 165, 174 V Australian content 16-17, 155-159 Vodafone 9, 28, 103, 134, 142, 144 children’s programs 17, 155-156, 158-159 voice over internet children’s viewing 197 number range 18, 81, 146 commercial 9, 11, 13, 16-17, 19-20, 30-31, 35, protocol 9, 18, 43, 74, 146, 183 37, 43, 55-56, 85-87, 90-91, 154-166, 195-197 take-up 11-12, 30, 43, 45-46, 75, 82, 187 digital 10, 14, 20, 31, 96-99, 163, 165-166 voice services local content 12, 19, 83, 162-164 fixed 45, 75, 177-178, 182-185, 202-203 metropolitan 13, 86-87, 91 mobile 46-48, 64, 75, 177-178, 181-185, regional 12-13, 19, 85-87, 91, 162-163 202-203 subscription 10, 13, 22, 31, 33, 35, 91, 94, 162, 166, 194-200 time spent viewing 22, 194-200 W transition to digital 10, 14, 20, 31, 96-99, 165-166 Wikipedia 54 trends in audiences 22, 55-56, 194-196 WiMAX 73, 201 Television Licence Fees Amendment Act 2006 163 wireless broadband services 9, 26-27, 36, 179 Television Program Standard 23—Australian Woolcott Research 75 Content in Advertising 159-160 Telstra 14, 20-21, 59, 74, 94, 102-121 Community Phones Program 171 Country Calling Line 171-172 Disability Equipment Program Consumer Advisory Group 117-118 emergency call service 15, 120-124, 137, 152 InContact services 172 local presence plan 116 payphone rationalisation program 107 Standard Marketing Plan 117, 173, 244 terrestrial broadband availability 179-180, 188-189 3G network 9, 28-29, 47, 68, 76 Trade Practices Act 1974 11, 59

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