084/05
13 July 2005
More than a billion spent on phone services in the Bush
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, today reiterated the Government’s commitment to adequate telecommunications services in the bush, both now and into the future. This followed the release of a survey by the NSW Farmers’ Federation on bush telecommunications.
“The Howard Government has now spent more than $1 billion on phone and Internet services in rural and regional Australia including a further $50 million I announced last week to continue to rollout broadband to the bush,” Senator Coonan said.
“And last month the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) released an independent report on telecommunications performance showing the major phone companies, including Telstra, were performing well in fault repairs and new installations.
“Since the election I have travelled to 11 out of the 14 NSW electorates surveyed by the NSW Farmers Federation and a total of 43 communities across Australia, and while there are some legitimate concerns about services, on the whole I have had positive feedback on current levels of service to rural and regional Australia.
“I understand the concerns of people living in rural and regional Australia and the concerns of farmers in particular. On most of my visits to rural and regional Australia I have been accompanied by the National Farmers’ Federation. But as I travel around the underlying concern expressed to me as I travel about is how best to ‘future-proof’ the bush and guarantee services into the future.
“In June, I introduced legislation into the Senate that requires Telstra to maintain a presence in rural and regional Australia and commits the Government – now and into the future – to holding regular reviews of telecommunications services and responding to those reviews.
“This legislation was blocked by Labor and the minor parties in a last ditch effort to stall the Government’s reform agenda before July 1. I will reintroduce the future-proofing legislation in August.
“The Howard Government has a $1 billion track record in investing in telecommunications services in the bush. In the case of Networking the Nation we invested $250 million, after the Besley Inquiry we invested $163 million and following Estens we invested $181 million and last week the Government committed a further $50 million specifically for broadband in rural and regional areas.
“Because of this investment terrestrial mobile phone services are now available to 98 per cent of the population and broadband take-up in regional areas now rivals that of metropolitan areas. We will continue to invest in telecommunications services in rural and regional Australia both now and into the future.”
|
Program |
Actual expenditure plus commitments |
|---|---|
|
Response to RTI (Estens) |
|
|
Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme |
$107.8 million |
|
Expansion of Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme |
$50.0 million |
|
Expansion of Terrestrial Mobile Phone Coverage |
$15.9 million |
|
Expansion of the Satellite Phone Handset Subsidy scheme |
$4.1 million |
|
Training and Support in IT Skills |
$10.1 million |
|
Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund |
$23.7 million |
|
Demand Aggregation Brokers |
$8.4 million |
|
National Broadband Strategy Implementation Group |
$2.9 million |
|
Future proofing of regional telecommunications services including future reviews |
$1.9 million |
|
ACA additional monitoring and reporting responsibilities |
$5.2 million |
|
RTI Community Information Campaign |
$5.8 million |
|
Implementation of other RTI recommendations |
$1 million |
|
Response to TSI (Besley) |
|
|
Towns over 500 program |
$23.9 million |
|
Regional Mobile Phones program (including Towns under 500, Regional Highways, Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme and WirelessWest) |
$50.5 million |
|
Internet Assistance Program |
$9.9 million |
|
National Communications Fund |
$52.2 million |
|
Consumer Representation Grants |
$3.4 million |
|
Indigenous Communications Scoping Study |
$0.4 million |
|
TSI Community Information Campaign |
$5.3 million |
|
Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC) |
$8.3 million |
|
Networking the Nation |
|
|
Networking the Nation |
$247.4 million |
|
Social Bonus |
|
|
Local Government Fund* |
$45 million |
|
Building Additional Rural Networks* |
$34.4 million |
|
Internet Access Fund* |
$5.9 million |
|
Remote and Isolated Islands Fund* |
$18.6 million |
|
Trials for Innovative Government Electronic Regional Services (TIGERS) |
$9 million |
|
Launceston Broadband Project |
$15 million |
|
Mobile Phones on Highways |
$23.3 million |
|
Untimed Local Calls (Extended Zones) Agreement |
$154.6 million |
|
BITS Intelligent Island Program |
$40 million |
|
BITS InQbator Program (Gold Coast) |
$14.1 million |
|
Extending Mobile Phone Coverage* |
$3 million |
|
Connecting Tasmanian Schools |
$15 million |
|
TOTAL |
$1.016 billion |
* NTN Administered Social Bonus Program