• Glossary
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Key objectives The primary regulatory objective in telecommunications is the development of an efficient, competitive and increasingly self-regulated telecommunications sector which meets the needs of the Australian community. Our specific objectives are as follows. Fostering industry self-regulation in a way that addresses public and national interest considerations without imposing undue financial and administrative burdens on industry. Efficiency in planning, allocating and using national resources such as telecommunications numbering. Reducing the costs of regulation and of the ACA's services.

 

• Telecommunications planning and policy
  • International telecommunications regulation
  • Technical regulation
  • Cabling regulation
  • Industry codes
  • Telecommunications numbering
  • Number portability
  • Pre-selection
  • Rights of use of numbers
• Futures panel
• Licensing and monitoring
  • Carrier licensing
  • Premium rate services
  • Telecommunications infrastructure regulation
• National Interest Issues
  • Liaison with law enforcement agencies
  • Emergency call service management
  • Accuracy of the Integrated Public Number Database

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Telecommunications planning and policy

Key performance indicators

• Acceptable, balanced and comprehensive regulatory arrangements that reflect current policy are in place.
• Feedback from industry indicates there is a high level of industry acceptance, compliance and satisfaction with arrangements.
• Routine regulatory processes are completed within statutory timelines.
• Numbering charges collections are timely and meet government revenue goals.
• Information provided to the public and industry on standardisation matters is timely, accurate and accessible through various media.
• Industry codes and technical standards submitted for registration (codes) or making (standards) are considered by the Authority within two months of their lodgement.
• Support of industry self-regulation is provided, as measured by:
  – regular quality participation in Australian Communications Industry Forum working committees; and
  – timely provision of comment as requested.

International telecommunication regulation

The ACA is responsible for managing Australia's input to international standards-setting, which can have a fundamental impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of Australia's communications industry. The ACA's participation in international telecommunications standardisation activities recognises this and aims to achieve:

• market entry opportunities for Australian industry;
• an informed industry with increased awareness, understanding, interest and participation in international standards developments;
• a well-defined Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) role focused on industry outcomes leading to a more competitive sector;
• opportunities for Australian industry, consumers and users to contribute to international telecommunications standards development, including strong participation by these groups at a national and international level;
• improvements to the International Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), leading to international competitiveness for Australian industry; and
• a strong contribution to regional training in telecommunications and radiocommunications.

International Telecommunication Union activities

ACA involvement in ITU-T includes study groups and the sector's secondary management arm, the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG). TSAG is currently focused on preparations for the next meeting of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), to be held in Brazil in October 2004. The ITU-T's primary management forum, the WTSA meets every four years, primarily to approve the ITU-T work program for the four-year study period.

The ACA participated in preparations for WTSA-04, including determining issues relevant to Australia at meetings of the Australian Preparatory Group for WTSA in May 2003 and February 2004. The ACA also hosted the first Asia–Pacific Telecommunity (APT) preparatory meeting for WTSA-2004 in Melbourne on 15–16 March 2004, with more than 80 delegates from the Asia-Pacific region attending.

Issues discussed at the APT meeting included the ITU-T study group structure for the next study period, establishment of mechanisms to ensure a project-oriented approach to study, the international Internet connectivity tariff and accounting arrangements, and the role of the ITU-T in Internet governance. Restructuring the ITU-T study groups has been a significant issue for the ITU this year and is expected to be the single most important issue at WTSA-04. TSAG established a group to develop a revised ITU-T study group structure for the next study period (2005–2008).

ITU-T study groups

Australian technical input into ITU-T study groups is developed by representatives of Australian industry through Australian National Study Groups. The ACA continues to work closely with convenors of the groups and ACIF, particularly on technical issues that might have a policy or regulatory impact.

Australia has provided representatives and input to the activities of ITU-T Study Group 11 (switching and signalling), Study Group 13 (data networks), Study Group 15 (optical and other transport networks) and the Special Study Group (IMT-2000 and beyond). The work of Study Groups 11 and 13 is particularly relevant to Australian discussions on the implications of next generation networks (NGNs) for Australia.

Regional activities and relationships

The APT has an important role in developing regional input to WTSA-04 and the ACA participates in specific APT programs that are relevant to Australia's needs. Chaired by ACA Acting Chairman Dr Bob Horton, the Asia–Pacific Standardization Program (ASTAP) held its seventh forum in August 2003. The ACA continues to support ASTAP as an important mechanism for regional standardisation information exchange. Enhanced regional collaboration was discussed at the ASTAP forum and the ACA managed Australian national discussions and consultation on possible arrangements to achieve this.

The ACA also strengthened its regional relationships at the Global Standards Collaboration (GSC) meeting, held in Seoul from 9 to 13 May 2004. The GSC is a mechanism for standards development bodies around the world, including the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea, together with the ITU, to exchange standardisation information across different regions. Information gleaned from GSC will be used in a range of ACA activities, including NGN and Futures Panel work.

International Training Program

The ACA continues to demonstrate its commitment to assisting regulators in developed and, particularly, developing countries in the Asia–Pacific region and Africa through its International Training Program. This year, the ACA hosted more than 75 international visitors from 20 countries at its sixth program.

The program consisted of three separate courses:

• Technical Operations-Melbourne and Hobart (22–29 March 2004);
• Regulation of Telecommunications-Melbourne (27 April–6 May 2004); and
• Spectrum Management and Frequency Assigning-Canberra (3–4 May 2004).

Promoting user involvement in international telecommunications standards development

The Australian User Standards Telecommunication Advisory Group (AUSTAG) was formed in February 2002 to build on the successful outcomes of a 2001 GSC resolution on user involvement in the development of standards. AUSTAG operates under the management of other national study group activities, and promotes user involvement in standardisation at a national, regional and international level and increased consideration of the requirements of all users in developing international telecommunications standards.

AUSTAG meets quarterly, is chaired by the ACA and has representatives from ACIF, the Australian Communication Exchange, the Australian Telecommunications Users Group, the Consumers' Telecommunications Network, Optus, Standards Australia, Telstra and the Telecommunications & Disability Consumer Representation. AUSTAG has submitted contributions to the GSC and TSAG using regional support to promote user requirements in the global standards-making process.

Web portal

To increase Australian industry and consumer involvement in telecommunications standards development activities, the ACA, Standards Australia, ACIF and DCITA signed a memorandum of understanding and worked collaboratively to establish a web portal. The portal provides information about international standards-setting from an Australian perspective, presenting clear information on international standards and organisations, and explaining how consumers and industry can be involved in standards development.

The portal is hosted on a sub-site of the Standards Australia website. A preliminary trial of the portal was conducted in March 2004 and it was modified to incorporate user feedback.

Technical regulation

The ACA encourages industry to develop technical standards where required for customer equipment. This includes updating previously issued ACA technical standards, as well as introducing standards for customer equipment associated with new technologies. ACIF undertakes this work in an open and consultative process.

To assist this process, the ACA works closely with ACIF so that development of appropriate technical standards progresses quickly and smoothly and facilitates wider input through the public comment phase. The ACA makes standards as legislative instruments and enforces compliance through the Telecommunications Labelling (Customer Equipment and Customer Cabling) Notice 2001.

The ACA received submissions in late 2002–03 for revised technical standards and one submission for the replacement of an existing standard. Implementation was delayed until 2003–04 pending resolution of legal issues surrounding the adoption of the first Australian–New Zealand standard (AS/NZS).

A Labelling Notice amendment incorporating the new and amended standards took effect from 26 November 2003. From that date, the following became applicable technical standards under the telecommunications regulatory arrangements:

• AS/ACIF S043.1:2003 Requirements for Customer Equipment for connection to a metallic local loop interface of a Telecommunications Network – Part 1: General;
• AS/ACIF S043.2:2003 Requirements for Customer Equipment for connection to a metallic local loop interface of a Telecommunications Network – Part 2: Broadband;
• AS/NZS 60950:2000 Safety of Information Technology Equipment; and
• AS/NZS 4117:1999 Surge Protective Devices for telecommunication applications.

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Technical standards

The ACA works closely with ACIF in developing and reviewing technical standards. During the reporting year, the ACA was involved with the following activities:

• A general review of two telecommunications cabling standards:
  AS/ACIF S008:2001 Requirements for authorised cabling products, and
  AS/ACIF S009:2001 Installation requirements for customer cabling (Wiring Rules).
• A review of AS/ACIF S042.1:1999 Requirements for connection to an air interface of a telecommunications network – Part 1: General, which currently covers CDMA mobile equipment, but will be expanded to cover general issues for all mobile devices. ACIF expects to complete its work early in 2004–05.
• Development of a new standard for GSM mobile phones to replace the current technical standard, ACA TS 018-1997. ACIF expects to complete its work by December 2004.
• A review of the requirements of AS/ACIF S002:2001 Analogue interworking and non-interference requirements for Customer Equipment for connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network, which commenced in mid-2003, proved to be more complex than expected. ACIF now expects to complete its work by December 2004.
• A review requested by the ACA in 2003 of the maximum sound level for telephones and headsets specified in AS/ACIF S004: 2001 Voice frequency performance requirements for Customer Equipment. Exposure to loud noise in certain situations can result in a medical condition called acoustic shock. ACIF expects to complete its work by July 2004.

Broadband powerline communications

Broadband powerline (BPL) communications is an emerging technique that uses the electricity grid or mains cabling within premises to deliver broadband services. It promises significantly higher data rates than previous powerline communications systems.

The systems can potentially provide simplified in-house interconnection of computers and peripherals, and cost-effective last-mile delivery of broadband data services. They consist of terminal devices that are plugged into or attached to the electrical power supply network allowing data to be transmitted, via the network, to other terminal devices plugged into or attached to it. Some are designed to create private broadband communications networks using household and office mains wiring, while others use the aerial and underground supply wiring to deliver broadband services.

There is an unresolved concern in some parts of the radiocommunications industry across the world that, in certain deployments, BPL communications systems might cause interference to high-frequency radiocommunications.

In response to industry interest in this form of broadband access technology, the ACA set up a project team to examine issues relating to the deployment of BPL communications in Australia, including any necessary technical regulation. The ACA monitored developments in three main areas:

• EMC and compatibility between public and private networks;
• radiocommunications interference; and
• telecommunications policy.

The ACA issued a public information paper in this reporting period and is now considering strategies to increase national awareness and deal with any interference risk and public telecommunications issues that might arise.

Compliance and labelling

The Telecommunications Labelling Notice makes compliance with technical standards a mandatory requirement for manufacturers and importers of customer equipment. It is amended from time to time to ensure the regulatory requirements for customer equipment remain relevant and to give regulatory effect to new or revised technical standards.

An amendment to the Labelling Notice in 2003–04 introduced a category mandating applicable standards for customer equipment used to supply a public mobile telecommunications service, including all existing third generation (3G) technologies and potential future technologies. The category mandates AS/NZS 60950:2000 and AS/ACIF S042.1:1999 as applicable standards, complementing the existing categories that cover other mobile technologies, including GSM and CDMA.

Communications Technical Regulation Advisory Committee

The Communications Technical Regulation Advisory Committee (CTRAC) advises the ACA on issues associated with technical regulation. The committee has an important role in supporting industry self-regulation and the development of contemporary legislation. To ensure committee membership was representative of the wider communications sector, the ACA decided to reconstitute the committee during the reporting year. This is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2004–05. Minutes of CTRAC meetings are published on the ACA website.

Penalty-in-lieu of prosecution scheme for technical regulation

During the reporting year, the ACA introduced a penalty-in-lieu of prosecution scheme (sometimes known as an infringement notice scheme) for certain offences under Part 21 (technical regulation) of the Telecommunications Act 1997. The aim of the scheme is to improve compliance and reduce the cost of enforcement by allowing the option of a fine to be imposed instead of prosecution through the courts.

Review of telecommunications customer equipment and technical regulation

The ACA also commenced a review of the technical regulation of telecommunications customer equipment. The current regime has been in operation for seven years and there have been rapid technological developments affecting both networks and customer equipment. The review is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2004–05.

Telecommunications compliance auditing

Technical audits have been conducted for more than 12 months and are proving to be a valuable tool in raising confidence in the compliance audit process. The technical audit program was well received by members of the CTRAC. The technical audits also identify areas where manufacturers and importers are having difficulty understanding the regulatory arrangements. Information gathered from technical audits assists the ACA in developing more effective regulatory arrangements and targeting areas of non-compliance with advertising and education campaigns.

During the year, 117 audits of telecommunications equipment suppliers and manufacturers were conducted to assess compliance with relevant standards and labelling requirements. Audits were based on an educative approach that provided information on the requirements and guidance to new market entrants on correcting any deficiencies in compliance folder documentation.

Investigation of emergency service access from mobile phones

The ACA investigated the development of a uniform, technology-independent approach to emergency call service access using mobile phones. This investigation was in response to recommendation 11 of the ACA's report on the investigation into the provision and maintenance of telephone services to the Boulding family in Kergunyah, north-eastern Victoria.

The investigation involved reviewing the specifications of the various mobile phone formats to determine how emergency calls are handled by the carriers. It covered the emergency call numbers currently available to access the two emergency call services from mobile phones-000 and 112 for voice calls and 106 for the text-based relay service used by people with a communication impairment. A report on the investigation was provided to the Minister on 27 August 2003 and the ACA is currently implementing the four recommendations.

Telecommunications technology studies

The ACA undertakes studies into new and emerging technologies to evaluate their impact on the regulatory framework. Such studies also inform the ACA's education campaigns aimed at improving consumer awareness of these technologies. In 2003–04, the ACA undertook studies into wireless broadband, including wireless local area networks (WLANs and WiMAX), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), push-to-talk over cellular (PoC), any-to-any text connectivity (for use by people with a communication impairment) and NGNs.

Wireless broadband

The ACA considered WLAN technology, particularly the popular IEEE 802.11 standard and the common variant (IEEE 802.11b, also known as WiFi), producing consumer information articles and resources to increase public awareness of this technology-its advantages, limitations and security issues. The emerging wireless broadband standard known as WiMAX was also examined. While still in development, this solution has received a high media profile within the industry.

Voice over Internet protocol

VoIP services are being increasingly deployed and the ACA investigations particularly examined the performance of speech codes and associated connection protocols in a VoIP environment. The type of codec and protocol used in a network can determine the quality of the service experienced by the user.

Push-to-talk over cellular

The ACA investigated the status of PoC technology, used to provide a half-duplex telephony service that is widely deployed in the United States and is currently being trialled in Australia by Telstra. PoC communication uses some features of the cellular mobile network and some features of instant messaging services, as well as IP-based data networks, to provide low-cost communications between end-users separated by long distances.

Any-to-any text communications

The ACA continued its assessment of potential options for real-time mobile text communication for people with a communication impairment. This involved research of similar activities in other countries, contacting equipment suppliers and network operators, identifying equipment samples potentially capable of delivering real-time mobile text communication, and performing in-house assessments.

The ACA's assessment found that mobile-to-mobile, mobile-to-fixed and fixed-to-mobile real-time text communications are possible using commercially available equipment and carrier service combinations. The ACA advised ACIF and intends to publish consumer information about its findings, targeted at potential users. Telstra has since tested certain types of text terminals and mobile handsets over various network configurations, confirming the validity of the ACA's assessment.

The ACA participates in ACIF's Any-to-Any Text Connectivity Options Working Group. The group is currently finalising a business model for a text server to support interoperability between different text terminals and networks.

Next generation networks

The ACA participated in ACIF's Next Generation Networks Framework Options Group, set up to drive and manage the introduction of NGNs. The ACA's role is to explain the impact of developments in technology, how these developments may be accommodated within current industry arrangements-technical, commercial and regulatory-and how the industry will go about developing and implementing any necessary new arrangements. The group has identified for further consideration a set of likely scenarios for telecommunications services utilising VoIP and related solutions, where VoIP would be one of the main policy drivers.

The ACIF NGN Project was completed at the end of June 2004 and future work will be carried out by relevant ACIF reference panels, with ACA participation. Issues that do not fit within the current ACIF structure will be looked at by a new group (to be established) in which the ACA will have an active role.

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Cabling regulation

The ACA is responsible for the regulation of customer cabling. This responsibility includes:

• overseeing the industry-managed cabling registration scheme;
• monitoring and enforcing compliance with cabling regulatory requirements;
• supporting greater cabling industry self-regulation; and
• promoting consumer awareness and understanding of regulatory arrangements for customer cabling.

Cabling registration scheme

Under the industry-managed Cabling Provider Rules (CPRs) introduced in October 2000, new industry entrants and cablers with an existing ACA licence (the last will expire in October 2005) are required to register with any of the five ACA-accredited registrars to be able to perform customer cabling work. At 30 June 2004, 33,487 cablers were registered, an increase of 2,490 over the previous year.

Registrars offer three types of registration-open, restricted and lift. Registration is dependent on cablers meeting the ACA's competency requirements, which address health, safety and network integrity issues. Registrars also offered transitional registration until 1 October 2003. Transitional registration was introduced as an interim measure to allow cablers in the security, fire and data industries to work behind a compliant device, for example, an alarm panel or modem. Cablers in these industries were exempt from having to obtain a cabling licence.

The ACA continues to work with registrars to improve reporting arrangements and monitor service delivery levels across the industry through quarterly meetings of the Registrars' Coordinating Committee.

CPR exemption for fire protection equipment maintenance work

Persons who maintain certain types of fire protection equipment were exempted from the CPRs by the Telecommunications (Types of Cabling Work) Amendment Declaration 2003 (No. 1), made by the ACA on 8 October 2003. The exemption was made because this type of work does not pose any risk to the integrity of a telecommunications network or to end-users, including carrier personnel. Persons performing this type of work will continue to be covered by existing fire regulations, including a fire licensing requirement.

Cabling industry self-regulation

The ACA continued to support the cabling industry's move to self-regulation, registering the Industry Code Cabling Requirements for Business on 17 July 2003. The code requires businesses engaging in cabling activity to ensure that cablers working on their behalf perform work in accordance with the CPRs. This supplements the responsibilities placed on individual registered cablers by the CPRs.

The code aims to improve the quality of cabling work as businesses develop and maintain quality control systems to support code compliance. Implementation of the code was delayed until 1 October 2003 to give all businesses the opportunity to ensure systems were in place to enable code compliance.

Monitoring and enforcing compliance with cabling regulatory requirements

The ACA monitors cabling compliance through activities including a contracted audit program and its own inspection program. The results of ACA monitoring activity in 2003–04 (622 random inspections and 400 audits) indicated that the level of compliance with the cabling requirements is about 64 per cent.

On 23 December 2003, the ACA introduced a penalty-in-lieu scheme that allows it to impose financial penalties for certain breaches of technical regulations instead of prosecuting offenders through the court system. Under the scheme, an individual performing unauthorised cabling work incurs a penalty of $1,320 for each offence-much less than court-imposed penalties-and does not have a conviction recorded. No penalties were imposed and no prosecutions were undertaken during the reporting period.

In May 2004, the ACA released Cabling Compliance: a guide to the application of the ACA's inspection and audit programs. The guide is designed to provide an understanding of the ACA's approach to cabling compliance, with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of cabling regulation and the quality of cabling work.

Cabling regulation consumer awareness campaign

The ACA has a responsibility to promote consumer awareness of cabling regulations and what they mean to consumers. Strategies adopted this year for informing consumers about their rights and safeguards included:

• distributing an information brochure through commercial outlets, cabling contractors and registrars;
• attending 16 'home ideas' shows and field days in capital cities and large regional centres;
• seeking information from focus groups on the information needs of consumers to enable better targeted information campaigns; and
• providing consumer information on the ACA website, including fact sheets, and articles in industry magazines.

Cabling industry training and skills maintenance

The ACA works with the three industry training boards to ensure that training prepares cablers to be fully capable of complying with relevant rules and standards. The ACA met with representatives from the training boards in May 2004 to discuss issues including the adequacy of existing training pathways and the potential for introducing a skills maintenance program in the cabling industry.

The ACA released a discussion paper, Skills Maintenance for Customer Cablers, in June 2004 and will work with industry to introduce a voluntary program in 2004–05.

Industry codes

Industry codes can be developed by industry bodies on any matter that relates to a telecommunications activity. Codes can be presented by industry bodies to the ACA for registration. If satisfied that the code meets the stipulated criteria, the ACA is obliged to include it on a register of industry codes and industry standards. To be registered, a code must be evaluated against legislatively prescribed criteria. The ACA's registration process ensures registered codes provide objectively assessed, uniform rules for conduct across the industry.

The following covers industry code development, review and registration during the reporting year. Industry compliance with these codes will be discussed in the ACA's telecommunications performance report for 2003–04. Code compliance investigations undertaken by the ACA this year are in Chapter 4 under Code compliance.

Billing Code

Industry Code ACIF C542:February 2003 Billing contains rules that set minimum billing standards for suppliers in terms of bill content, access to billing information and verification and itemisation of billed charges. The code was revised by ACIF in 2002–03 and re-registered by the ACA on 17 July 2003.

Cabling Requirements for Business Code

The Cabling Industry Committee developed a code to broaden and strengthen the Cabling Provider Rules to apply to businesses employing cablers to do cabling work. The Cabling Provider Rules apply to individual cablers only. Industry Code Cabling Requirements for Business was registered by the ACA on 17 July 2003.

Credit Management Code

Industry Code ACIF C541:April 2003 Credit Management contains rules that require providers to advise customers about access to credit and limitations on its use, to advise customers about barring access to certain types of services, to clarify the use of guarantors and to provide information to customers before suspending or disconnecting a service. The code was revised by ACIF in 2002–03, after an assessment of its effectiveness, and re-registered by the ACA on 17 July 2003.

Customer and Network Fault Management Code

Industry Code ACIF C513: 2004 Customer and Network Fault Management sets out procedures for faults that require inter-carrier cooperation to resolve. It sets minimum requirements for carriers and carriage service providers (CSPs) to record, track and resolve customer and network faults. The code was registered by the ACA on 7 April 2004.

Local Number Portability Code

Industry Code ACIF C540: 2003 Local Number Portability promotes competitively neutral arrangements that enable a customer to directly connect to an alternative service provider's fixed network and retain the same telephone number. It includes requirements for the exchange of information between service providers and criteria for porting timeframes. The code was registered by the ACA on 12 November 2003.

Mobile Number Portability Code

Industry Code ACIF C570: 2003 Mobile Number Portability promotes competitively neutral arrangements which enable a customer to directly connect to an alternative service provider's mobile network and retain the same telephone number. The code was revised by ACIF to deal with matters including overall porting timeframes and provisions for port reversals. It was re-registered by the ACA on 1 March 2004.

Pre-selection Code

Industry Code ACIF C515:2003 Pre-selection sets out competitively neutral processes for pre-selection that aim to minimise inconvenience for customers. The code was revised by ACIF to take account of electronic customer authorisation and the need for improved transfer of relevant customer authorisation between service providers. It also includes a new process to ensure customers porting numbers are able to make a pre-selection choice. The code was re-registered by the ACA on 27 October 2003.

Priority Assistance for Life Threatening Medical Conditions Code

Industry Code ACIF C609:2003 Priority Assistance for Life Threatening Medical Conditions promotes consistent industry arrangements for maximising continuity in providing a standard telephone service to people with life-threatening medical conditions. It includes requirements for information provision and arrangements for identifying priority customers. The code was registered by the ACA on 27 October 2003.

Unconditioned Local Loop Service Network Deployment Rules Code

Industry Code ACIF C559:2003 Unconditioned Local Loop Service (ULLS) Network Deployment Rules sets out rules for the operation of systems using the ULLS to minimise the risk of interference between systems carried within the same cable sheath. It supports the rollout of broadband services over the copper local loop by using technologies such as digital subscriber line.

The ACA originally registered the ULLS Code on 14 November 2001. ACIF revised it as a result of the regular review built into the code itself. The changes do not affect the scope and objectives of the code, and have arisen in light of industry's operational experience with it. The ACA registered the revised code on 29 April 2004.

Complaint Handling Code

Industry Code ACIF C547:October 2001 Complaint Handling sets out rules to be followed by service providers when dealing with complaints from customers. The code was revised by ACIF to clarify code rules and compliance requirements and enhance consumer benefit. The revised code was submitted to the ACA for re-registration, which is expected early in 2004–05.

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Deployment of Radiocommunications Infrastructure Code

Industry Code ACIF C564:October 2002 Deployment of Radiocommunications Infrastructure sets out procedures that enable communities and local government to have the opportunity to comment on decisions made by carriers about the installation of telecommunications facilities, specifying standards for consultation and provision of information. The ACA originally registered the code on 10 October 2002, with all sections coming into effect from 10 April 2003.

In October 2003, one year after registration, the code was assessed for review. ACIF will continue to revise it to improve clarity and remove any doubt regarding the interpretation of certain clauses. ACIF may submit the revised code for registration late in 2004.

End-to-End Network Performance Code

Industry Code ACIF C519:1999 End-to-End Network Performance aims to ensure that the quality of the standard telephone service will be maintained at reasonable levels in a multi-service deliverer, multi-network environment. Registered in January 1999, this code was revised by ACIF and submitted to the ACA in August 2002. The revised code contained an obligation that could not be met by certain call cases that fell within the code's scope, and registration would have resulted in systemic non-compliance. ACIF is revising the code again and is expected to submit it to the ACA early in the next reporting period.

Formal requests for code development

The ACA made three formal requests to industry bodies to develop codes under subsection 118(1) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 during 2003–04.

On 28 August 2003, the ACA responded to a deadlock within the ACIF working committee by requesting ACIF to revise, by 7 November 2003, the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) Code to prohibit particular uses of IPND data. When the working committee was unable to reach agreement, the ACA began a public consultation embarking on a path that could lead to an industry standard on this matter (see below under The IPND in the context of other national interest issues).

On 22 October 2003, the ACA requested ACIF to develop an industry code to require customer equipment importers and manufacturers to provide information about products that assist consumers who have a communication impairment. CSPs will be required to make this information available to their customers.

On 26 November 2003, the ACA requested ACIF to develop an industry code on consumer contracts. The code request is intended to allow industry to build on the provisions contained in Industry Guideline G601:2002 Consumer Contracts to deal with unfair terms in consumer contracts.

The IPND in the context of other national interest issues

The ACA has significant concerns about the use of telecommunications customer data and the level of compliance with Industry Code ACIF C555:2003 Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) Data Provider, Data User and IPND Manager (IPND Code) by authorised IPND data users.

In February 2003, following a lengthy investigation, the ACA issued a formal warning under section 122 of the Telecommunications Act to Acxiom Australia Pty Ltd and two subsidiary companies. The formal warning was for contravening the IPND Code by using IPND customer data for a non-approved purpose.

Weaknesses in the IPND Code undermine the ACA's ability to enforce it and result in customer data being used for purposes considered to be inconsistent with IPND regulatory policy. The ACA brought these weaknesses to the attention of ACIF, with a request that they be addressed through a review and revision of the code. The requested amendments were to give code participants clearer guidance about how customer data may be used. The ACA believes the code is deficient because it is not operating to provide appropriate community safeguards, nor is it adequately regulating industry participants.

ACIF did not revise the code within the required timeframe. As a consequence, the ACA decided in November 2003 to determine an industry standard under section 125 of the Telecommunications Act. Consultation on the proposed standard was conducted early in 2004. As part of this consultation, the ACA released a discussion paper, Who's Got Your Number? Regulating the Use of Telecommunications Customer Information, on 18 March 2004.

A draft standard is expected to be released in 2004–05. Compliance with an industry standard is mandatory.

Rights of use of numbers

Two codes have been drafted through ACIF that together are intended to expand and provide clarity about the rights of use of numbers. One deals with the rights of use for premium rate numbers; the other relates to the rights of use for most other numbers.

These codes will address current industry inconsistencies and aim to establish a better understanding of the issues. The codes will provide certainty to industry participants about who holds the rights of use of numbers. They will set out processes for the transfer of rights of use and quarantine of numbers, as well as establishing dispute resolution procedures.

Connect outstanding

On some occasions, when customers move into new premises, they are not able to immediately use the standard telephone service at the premises because the service remains in the name of the previous occupant. On such occasions, connection to the service is delayed or outstanding-hence the industry term, 'connect outstanding'. It is only when the service is released by the previous occupant or by the previous occupant's CSP that the service becomes available. In such cases, it is possible for the previous occupant's CSP to unreasonably leverage debt recovery with the previous occupant or influence the new occupant's choice of CSP.

Following the receipt of complaints about connect outstanding by the TIO, the major CSPs adopted a Telstra process to resolve such situations. However, an industry code is still required to manage connect outstanding cases. The code is expected to be completed and registered in late 2004.

The code will include rules and timeframes to ensure connect outstanding services become available to new occupants as quickly as possible. The code will empower the company providing the infrastructure for the service to disconnect the previous occupant's service. It will also require a new occupant to prove occupancy at the new premises before the code resolution process can be activated.

Telecommunications numbering

Numbering Plan administration

The Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997 (the Numbering Plan) is kept up to date to meet the current requirements of industry and the community. Variations made to the Numbering Plan in 2003–04 included:

• requiring applicants for the allocation of numbers to respond to ACA requests for additional information within a set period of time;
• providing the ACA with the power to approve a request for the allocation of less than the standard unit size of numbers if this would constitute an efficient use of numbers;
• removing references to redundant transitional numbering arrangements; and
• allowing the ACA to vary an allocation of geographic numbers where the numbers have inadvertently been used in the wrong area.

Strategic developments in numbering

In 2003–04, the ACA drafted amendments to the Numbering Plan designed to assist in the long-term management of geographic numbering by improving the efficiency of use of geographic numbers. The ACA consulted extensively with industry and the public about the proposed measures, which include:

• requiring CSPs to report annually on their number holdings available for issue to customers in areas at risk of short-term number runout;
• clarifying and increasing the responsibilities of CSPs to ensure that the numbers they hold are used within a reasonable period of time;
• decreasing the unit size for the allocation of numbers in metropolitan areas; and
• instituting a process for the creation of new geographic number allocation areas (standard zone units) in areas which had previously been unzoned.

These Numbering Plan variations are expected to be gazetted early in 2004–05.

Number allocations register

The ACA maintains a database of two online number registers. These registers contain numbers that have been allocated to CSPs and numbers that have been permanently transferred from one CSP to another. This information is necessary for CSP functions such as routing and billing, and is used by the ACA in administering the Numbering Plan. The ACA has commissioned a contractor to build an upgraded database that will incorporate these registers and allow CSPs better access to the information online. The system is expected to be fully operational in 2004.

Numbering Advisory Committee

Representatives from the telecommunications industry, telecommunication users, community groups and government work closely in the Numbering Advisory Committee (NAC) to formulate and administer numbering policy. The NAC primarily addresses issues relating to the development and management of the Numbering Plan, including the allocation and specification of numbers and the distribution and administration of annual numbering charges.

The NAC met three times during 2003–04 and provided advice on the following:

• arrangements for the auction of freephone and local rate numbers;
• arrangements for the management of short-code premium rate short message service (SMS);
• identifying numbers to be used for an Australian ENUM trial;
• refining the monitoring and reporting regime for the more efficient management of geographic numbers; and
• developing arrangements for the creation of new areas for the allocation of numbers.

Short code numbers for premium rate services

During 2003–04, the ACA supported an industry trial of short code numbers beginning with the prefix 188 for premium rate services. The trial was to investigate the technical feasibility of the 'on-net model', suitable business models for premium rate services and market demand for these services. Services included competitions, information and subscription-based services such as stock market quotes and weather reports.

Before releasing short code numbers for premium rate services, the ACA conducted a consultation including public release of the proposed variation to the Numbering Plan for 90 days, in accordance with section 460(3) of the Telecommunications Act. In response, four submissions were received from stakeholders. The ACA approved the variation to the numbering plan on 19 May 2004 and the short code numbers were released to CSPs for non-adult content premium rate services on 24 May 2004.

Further discussion of premium rate services is in this chapter under Premium rate services.

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Market-based allocation of smartnumbers™

In the 2003 Budget, the government announced a web-based auction allocation system for freephone (1800) and local rate (13, 1300) numbers, to be developed by the ACA. The aim is to provide a more efficient and transparent means of allocating valuable numbers than the existing administrative allocation, which operates on a 'first come, first served' basis.

The auctioned numbers will be known as smartnumbers™ and the new system is designed to improve fairness, opportunity and the efficiency of allocation. Past arrangements have not incorporated specific provisions for allocating numbers on the basis of their value to users. Under the new auction arrangements, numbers will be allocated to those who value them most.

The new system will allow the person with the highest valuation to secure a number, with users able to individually target and bid at auction for any number from a pool of more than 1.8 million numbers, including approximately 1.2 million numbers that have not previously been made available. Subject to some constraints, a successful bidder will be able to use that number for an indefinite period.

Bids for smartnumbers™ available for auction will commence at predetermined reserve prices. Reserves ensure that numbers are available to meet long run demand and that a fair return is realised on a valuable publicly-owned asset. On 22 June 2004, the ACA determined reserve prices of between $500 (for the majority of numbers) and $40,000 (for the most valuable 10-digit 1300 and 1800 numbers).

Some of the numbers on offer are expected to be highly valuable and keenly sought-after, including patterned numbers and phonewords. Patterned numbers follow a recognisable numeric pattern, for example, 1300 222 222, which may be easier to remember. Phonewords can be derived from the alphabetic keypad translation of their numeric equivalent, for example, 13 8294 is the equivalent of 13 TAXI.

The new allocation arrangements also include an opportunity for an income tax exempt charity to gain preferential access to a number if it can demonstrate a strategic link to it. Competing interest in specific numbers from eligible charities will be resolved through a single sealed-bid auction.

The ACA has consulted with government agencies, the telecommunications industry and potential bidders on policy and operational matters, including legislative instruments and reserve prices.

The preferential charities process will commence in July 2004, with the public process to follow in August.

Numbering transactions

On 12 November 2003, the Numbering Plan was amended to require the ACA to assess applications for numbers within the following statutory timeframes, expressed in 'working days' rather than 'calendar days':

• 10 working days for routine applications;
• 10 working days for applications for a quantity of numbers that are less than the standard unit size of numbers; and
• 44 working days for complex applications.

The ACA assessed 39 applications for numbers from 13 CSPs-33 routine and two for a quantity of numbers less than the standard unit size. The ACA also assessed four applications for international signalling point codes in 2003–04. The average time to process routine applications was 4.0 working days and the average time to process applications for a quantity of numbers less than the standard unit size was 6.0 working days, compared with an average of 9.4 calendar days in 2002–03.

There were fewer geographic numbers allocated in 2003–04 (674,000) compared with 2002–03 (797,000) and 2001–02 (895,000). There were also fewer digital mobile numbers allocated in 2003–04 (2.42 million) than in 2002–03 (3.3 million). Although the volume of numbers allocated during 2003–04 (3.1 million) was lower than in 2002–03 (4.1 million), it was twice that in 2001–02 (1.5 million). Table 4 shows the quantity of numbers allocated by number type in 2003–04.

During 2003–04, the ACA received nine applications to surrender numbers from five CSPs, the same as were received in 2002–03, and one notification for permanent transfer of numbers between CSPs. Table 5 shows the quantity of numbers surrendered and Table 6 shows the quantity of numbers permanently transferred, by number type, in 2003–04.

Table 4: Quantity of numbers allocated by number type, 2003–04

Type of number	CSPs allocated numbers	Quantity of numbers allocated
Geographic	5	674,000
Data network access service	1	1,000
Digital mobile	6	2,420,000
CSP identification	1	1
International signalling point codes	4	16
Satellite telephone service	1	10,000
Total numbers allocated		3,105,017

Table 5: Quantity of numbers surrendered by number type, 2003–04

Type of number	CSPs surrendering numbers	Quantity of numbers surrendered
Geographic	3	187,000
Analogue AMPS	1	13
Calling card service	1	1
197 facsimile service	1	310,012
Virtual private network numbers	1	1
Operator numbers	1	10
Satellite telephone service	1	80,000
Total numbers surrendered		577,037

Table 6: Quantity of numbers permanently transferred by number type, 2003–04

Type of number	Quantity of numbers transferred
CSP identification	1
Geographic numbers	32,000
Digital mobile numbers	60,000
Total numbers permanently transferred	92,001

The ACA delegated allocation of freephone (1800) and local rate (13) numbers to Industry Number Management Service (INMS) in late 2000. In May 2004, the ACA also delegated allocation of six and eight digit premium rate numbers to INMS. Transactions undertaken by INMS include allocations, withdrawals, reservations or placements in quarantine. Table 7 shows the quantity of numbers allocated and Table 8 shows the quantity surrendered in 2003–04, by number type and digit length.

Table 7: Quantity of numbers allocated by number type and digit length by INMS, 2003–04

Type of number	Quantity of numbers allocated
Freephone and local rate (1800, 1300, 13)	25,463
Premium rate numbers (six and eight digit 19 numbers)	9,157
Total numbers allocated	34,620

Table 8: Quantity of numbers surrendered by number type and digit length by INMS, 2003-04

Type of number	Quantity of numbers surrendered
Freephone and local rate (1800, 1300 and 13)	13,980
Premium rate (six and eight digit 19 numbers)	0
Total numbers surrendered	13,980

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Numbering charges

The annual numbering charge process for 2004 was conducted in a similar way to 2003, with the same revenue target of $60 million. The ACA made legal instruments between February and April 2004 to determine:

• the numbering charge census date of 4 April 2004; and
• the amount of charge imposed on particular numbers.

Geographic numbers used for standard telephone services are not subject to numbering charges. The ACA exempted from charge all remaining geographic numbers, as well as community service numbers, telex numbers and international signalling point codes. Mobile network carriers are required under the Numbering Plan to report on quantities of mobile numbers held by CSPs on the census date. The process was successfully completed with the cooperation of all mobile carriers.

The 2004 annual standard numbering charge for 10-digit numbers was $1.05820153. Employing the opportunity-cost methodology applied in previous years, nine-digit numbers were charged at $10.5820153, eight-digit numbers at $105.820153 and so on. Three, four and five-digit numbers were charged at $100,000, the maximum rate allowable under the Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) Act 1997. Numbers used for incoming-only international services, internal network services and testing services were subject to a reduced rate of charge.

At 30 June 2004, the ACA had recovered $59,768,585.16 of the $60 million revenue target. The amounts outstanding for each CSP are shown in Table 9.

Table 9: Annual numbering charge amounts outstanding at 30 June 2004

CSP	Amount outstanding ($)
AAPT Cellular One Ltd	844.46
Flow Communications Pty Ltd	100,009.52
Fujitsu Australia Ltd	105.82
People Telecom Ltd	19,873.02
Telecorp	100,000.00
Voicetek Pty Ltd	10,582.02
Total	231,414.84

ENUM

ENUM (Electronic NUmber Mapping) is a communications protocol that converts a telephone number into an Internet domain name, thus providing a mechanism for the linking of services between the public switched telephone network and the Internet.

ENUM can potentially provide a single point of contact by exploiting the fact that more than one resource can be associated with a domain name. People could associate some, or all, of their communications services, for example, the fixed phone, mobile phone, email, Internet Protocol telephony, instant messaging, with their ENUM domain name. The telephone number corresponding to this domain name could then be used as a single point of contact that could be accessed from either the telephone network or the Internet.

While ENUM is yet to be commercially deployed anywhere in the world, several countries throughout Europe and the Asia–Pacific region have completed successful trials of the technology.

The Australian ENUM Discussion Group (AEDG) was established by the ACA to provide a forum and make recommendations about the policy, regulatory, technical and commercial implications of the introduction of ENUM. It comprises representatives from the telecommunications and Internet industries, universities, privacy groups, consumer groups and government agencies. During 2003–04, the AEDG met five times and focused on developing documentation that described the context and framework for an Australian ENUM trial.

Three AEDG working groups were established to consider issues critical to an ENUM trial. The privacy working group developed recommendations to ensure the privacy of consumers' personal information during the trial. The security working group focused on developing arrangements for verifying an end-user's identity and authority to establish or change an ENUM record. It developed arrangements suitable for the initial stage of the trial and recommended that these issues be considered further, to incorporate experience gained into subsequent stages of the trial.

The AEDG developed a final trial framework in April 2004. In June 2004, the ACA called for expressions of interest for a suitable entity to provide the necessary infrastructure for an Australian trial. If a suitable operator is selected, the initial phase of the ENUM trial can begin in the second half of 2004.

Domain names

The http://www.auda.org.au (auDA) was established in 1999 to develop an effective self-regulatory regime for Internet domain names within the '.au' (Australian) domain space. In 2003–04, the ACA examined auDA's proposed changes to its policy about resellers of domain name registration services, which were considered to be in the best interests of domain name users.

On 1 December 2003, auDA introduced the changes. In summary, the new measures removed the reseller fees charged to registrars, redrafted clause 15.3 of the Registrar Agreement, introduced website audits for selected resellers and established a reseller mail list for direct communication between auDA and resellers.

Number portability

Number portability enables customers to keep their telephone numbers when changing to a new carriage service provider. Number portability is available for the following types of numbers:

• local;
• mobile; and
• freephone and local rate.

The ACA monitors industry performance in local, mobile, freephone and local rate number portability and will report on these in its telecommunications performance report for 2003–04.

Premium rate number portability

In July 2003, the ACCC directed the ACA to make premium rate number portability mandatory. The direction requires the ACA to amend the definition of 'portable service' in the Numbering Plan to include premium rate services within number portability arrangements and to set an implementation date for its introduction.

The ACA released a discussion paper in April 2004 seeking information and comment from interested parties to assist the ACA in setting a date that reflects the earliest practicable option for industry. The ACA plans to release its assessment of the preferred way forward early in the next reporting period.

Local number portability

Local number portability continues to be an important factor in customer choice of CSP, with an average 27,787 local numbers ported per month. The Industry Code ACIF C540: 2003 Local Number Portability, registered in November 2003, includes reporting measures that will help the ACA identify whether there are any undue delays in the porting of these numbers.

In 2003–04, the ACA granted Neighborhood Cable an exemption from the requirement to provide number portability for local customers using its service. The exemption expires on 22 October 2005. Neighborhood Cable's reasons for not providing number portability were that:

• porting of numbers was not supported under its connection arrangements with Telstra; and
• it was impractical for it to upgrade its interconnect arrangements in a cost-effective and timely manner consistent with the proposed launch of its services.

The ACA considered and accepted that it was not practical for Neighborhood Cable to provide local number portability at the time. In granting the exemption, the ACA required Neighborhood Cable to inform its customers that numbers it issued to them cannot be ported to another service provider.

Mobile number portability

Mobile number portability continues to play a key role in the Australian mobile market, with an average 131,680 mobile numbers ported per month. Mobile carriers have consistently achieved porting of mobile numbers with the industry-agreed target times of at least 90 per cent within three hours and 99 per cent within two days. These performance targets were included in the revised Industry Code ACIF C570:2003 Mobile Number Portability, which was registered by the ACA in March 2004.

The ACA did not consider any applications for exemption from mobile number portability during the reporting period.

Pre-selection

Pre-selection relates to services originating on a standard telephone service. It allows a specified basket of calls including national long distance and international calls to be automatically routed to the pre-selected provider irrespective of which operator is providing local call and access services.

A critical feature of the current Australian telecommunications industry, pre-selection enables the entry of new competitors without having to supply underlying infrastructure. It offers customers choice and supports competition by enabling competing operators to use the networks of other carriers to access their customers.

At the end of the reporting period, one exemption from the pre-selection requirements remained in force for calls made on Telstra's communic8 residential fixed service product (previously known as homeZip).

ACA Futures Panel

In 2002, the ACA established a Futures Panel to improve its preparedness for new developments in industry and regulatory issues, and innovation in the medium to longer term. The ACA is monitoring and analysing trends in communications technology and services that may fall within or affect its responsibilities.

Information is gathered and analysed in internal quarterly reports and papers on key areas of interest or investigations of specific topics, and through internal discussion and market-watch forums for staff, using external presenters. Topics have included broadband access technology, the communications industry outlook, mobile commerce, VoIP and the Internet, and next generation networks.

Vision 20/20 project

The ACA established its 'Vision 20/20: Future Scenarios for the Communications Industry – implications for regulation' project in 2003–04. The project is developing scenarios that describe what communications might be like in the year 2020 and identifying strategic options for regulation.

The project is overseen by a steering committee with representatives of the ACA, DCITA, the ACCC, the ABA, the former National Office for the Information Economy, ACIF and the Network Insight Institute.

In March, April and May 2004, the ACA held workshops with external and internal participants to discuss issues and develop and interpret future communications scenarios. The ACA will publish its report on the Vision 20/20 project and provide briefings during 2004–05.

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Licensing and monitoring

Key performance indicators

• Investigations are effective and efficient in terms of quality, timeliness and accuracy.
• Monitoring of compliance across all areas of telecommunications legislative requirements is more effective over time as demonstrated in regular reports.
• Investigation of alleged non-compliance with codes is carried out promptly and appropriately.
• Prices for routine transactional and licensing processes do not increase beyond the levels set through cost recovery reviews, and are reduced where possible.

Carrier licensing

A carrier licence must be held by the owner of a telecommunications network unit that is used to supply carriage services to the public unless:

• there is a nominated carrier declaration in force for the network unit; or
• an exemption applies.

The owner of the specified network units is not required to hold a carrier licence where a nominated carrier declaration is in force. In deciding whether to apply for a carrier licence, an organisation needs to weigh the obligations placed on carriers against carrier rights. If an organisation does not wish to be subject to these obligations, it may arrange for an existing licensed carrier to take out a nominated carrier declaration. A licensed carrier may apply to the ACA for a nominated carrier declaration for one or more specified network units.

The requirement to obtain a carrier licence does not apply where the ACA has issued a trial certificate stating that a network unit is being used solely for a trial. The exemption applies where a person wishes to conduct a pilot project to ascertain the technical or financial feasibility of deploying a network. The ACA may issue a trial certificate for a period not exceeding six months. An extension to this period may be granted, but only for a further six months.

In 2003–04, the ACA granted 14 carrier licences and eight carriers surrendered their licences. The ACA cancelled the licence of one carrier for its failure to pay annual carrier licence fees and charges, and also issued 10 nominated carrier declarations and revoked seven. Four trial certificates were issued. Carrier licences and nominated carrier declarations granted in 2003–04 are listed in Appendix 5. At 30 June 2004, there were 99 licensed carriers in Australia. Since 1 July 1997, 134 carrier licences have been granted and one cancelled by the ACA, and 34 surrendered.

Certain amendments to the Telecommunications Act 1997 took effect from 21 April 2004 relating primarily to national security issues, including a formal requirement for the ACA to consult with the Attorney-General's Department before finalising the assessment of an application for a carrier licence.

Carrier licence charges

The ACA charges licensed carriers to recover the cost of regulating the telecommunications industry. The annual licence charge paid by each carrier is based on a fixed minimum amount and a variable component based on the carrier's share of 'eligible revenue'. Eligible revenue is calculated as the gross sales revenue of the carrier and its related parties, less a series of revenue and expense deductions.

The fixed component of the annual carrier licence charge and the carrier licence application charge were set by the ACA at $10,000 in 1997. In February 2003, a joint review was conducted by DCITA, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Treasury, in consultation with stakeholders and the ACA. The review recommended that the ACA consult stakeholders and report to the Minister in the second half of 2003 on the appropriate level of these charges.

The ACA released a discussion paper, Minimum Charges for Carrier Licences and Licence Applications, in October 2003. The majority (19) of the submissions received (27) recommended that the appropriate level for the fixed component of the annual carrier licence charge and the carrier licence application charge should be based on cost-recovery principles. The ACA's report, Review of Minimum Charges for Carrier Licences and Licence Applications, was provided to the Minister in December 2003.

The ACA recommended that it should set the fixed component of the annual carrier licence charge and the licence application charge in accordance with cost-recovery principles as soon as possible. The review found that the current charges were not consistent with the government's cost-recovery guidelines. Under the guidelines, charges should not result in cross-subsidisation. The review found that there has been some cross-subsidisation of larger carriers by small carriers.

The Minister endorsed the recommendations of the report and requested that the necessary changes to carrier licence charges be introduced from 1 July 2004. The ACA reduced the carrier licence application charge from $10,000 to $2,200 and the fixed component of the annual carrier licence charge from $10,000 to less than $1,000. The new charges were effective from 1 July 2004.

Reducing these charges for smaller players provides equity by avoiding an effective subsidy in favour of the major carriers and may encourage new entrants into the market. Some of these new entrants are expected to operate in niche markets, including markets in regional areas.

The ACA expects that 95 carriers will have reduced annual carrier licence charges in 2004–05. The carrier licence application charge will be reviewed every two years, with the next review in late 2005, while the fixed component of the annual carrier licence charge will be re-calculated each year.

Telecommunications infrastructure regulation

Carriers' rights and obligations

Telecommunications carriers have specific powers and immunities under Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. Carriers have the right to inspect land, install certain types of telecommunications facilities, and maintain telecommunications infrastructure.

Installations of telecommunications facilities are generally subject to approval by local councils under state and territory planning legislation, unless a carrier is installing a 'low impact facility'.

The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts made the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 1997, which specifies low impact facilities that a carrier has a right to install, subject to certain restrictions on size, colour and location. These facilities include certain radio and satellite, underground cable, public payphone, emergency and co-located facilities installed on or within another facility or structure.

The Minister also made the Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997, which sets out the conditions carriers must comply with when exercising their powers to inspect land and maintain and install telecommunications facilities.

The ACA provides information to assist landowners, the community and industry to understand the rights and obligations of carriers where powers are exercised under Schedule 3. The ACA also investigates breaches of the Telecommunications Act, the Code of Practice and industry codes registered by the ACA.

Investigation of complaints

The ACA received enquiries from solicitors, local councils, landowners, telecommunications carriers and the public about matters covered by Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act during 2003–04. Many related to the entitlement of carriers to install facilities, including radiocommunications facilities, and the rights of the landowner, occupants and residents to object. In all cases, enquiries were resolved after information was provided to the enquirer and, where appropriate, referrals were made.

The ACA received 123 complaints and enquiries about the installation of low impact facilities. Information was provided in response to allegations that there had been breaches of the Telecommunications Act and the Telecommunications Code of Practice. No breaches were identified in 2003–04.

Deployment of Radiocommunications Infrastructure Code

Industry Code ACIF 564:2002 Deployment of Radiocommunications Infrastructure, registered in October 2002, requires a carrier to use a precautionary approach in planning and siting communications facilities. It is designed to improve consultation by carriers when they are planning and installing new facilities such as mobile phone service towers. For more information about this code, see this chapter under Industry codes and Chapter 4 under Code compliance.

Access code

Part 5 of Schedule 1 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 requires carriers to provide other carriers with access to telecommunications transmission towers, sites of towers and eligible underground facilities in specified circumstances, unless the ACA has issued a written certificate to the carrier stating that access is not technically feasible. Clause 37 of Schedule 1 permits the ACCC to make a code that sets out the conditions to be complied with in providing access under Part 5 of Schedule 1.

The ACCC developed the Code of Access to Telecommunications Transmission Towers, Sites of Towers and Underground Facilities, which came into operation on 13 October 1999. Compliance with the code is monitored and enforced by the ACA.

In 2003–04, the ACA received two enquiries from carriers, one from a solicitor and one from an international regulatory body seeking advice on arrangements for sharing of carrier facilities. In all cases, enquiries were resolved after information was provided and, where appropriate, referral to the ACCC was made.

Complaints relating to the removal of overhead cables

Clause 51(1) of Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act requires a carrier to remove overhead telecommunications cables from poles within six months after the date of the permanent removal of the last non-telecommunications cable from the poles. A local council may grant an extension of time or an exemption from the requirement to remove the telecommunications cable from the poles.

The ACA's responsibility is limited to monitoring carrier efforts to place their cables underground and ensure they are removed from poles. The ACA has no role in determining which party is responsible for the cost of this work. Disputes about responsibility for costs appear to be the major cause for delay in removing cables from poles.

Three complaints about the operations of clause 51 of the Telecommunications Act were carried over from 2002–03. In the first case, the carrier had sought an extension of time to remove its cables, but the local council refused the application. The carrier subsequently appealed the council decision to the Federal Court, but no decision has been released.

In the remaining two complaints, the carrier had not removed its aerial cabling after six months from when the last non-telecommunications cables were permanently removed from the poles. In both cases, after discussions with the ACA and the local council, the carrier was granted a six-month extension by the local council. The ACA will monitor these three cases.

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Premium rate services

Telephone sex services

Restrictions on access to telephone sex services were introduced to address community concerns that these were too easily accessible by children. Part 9A of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Services Standards) Act 1999 (the TCPSS Act) covers the provision of these services.

In summary, a service provider cannot include a charge for a telephone sex service on a bill to a customer unless:

• the relevant CSP has the written authorisation of the customer requesting access to telephone sex services;
• the customer has been issued with a personal identification number that must be used to access a service; and
• the call was made to a number with an approved prefix-namely '1901'.

Complaints about telephone sex services

The ACA can act on complaints about a telephone sex service if the service appears to have been supplied in breach of Part 9A. The ACA must seek the views of the ABA on whether such a service is a telephone sex service within the terms of the TCPSS Act. Depending on the ABA advice, the ACA may commence enforcement action.

During 2003–04, the ACA received two complaints about access to sexual content. However, only one complaint involved issues subject to the provisions of Part 9A. The ACA wrote to Telstra requesting a report on this complaint.

Protection against unexpected high bills

While Part 9A of the TCPSS Act regulates access to voice calls providing telephone sex services, it does not extend to telephone sex services supplied on international numbers, websites using Internet diallers, the new 191, 193–7 and 199 prefix premium services or proprietary networks. A direction from the Minister on 13 April 2004 requires the ACA to implement additional safeguards to protect consumers against unexpected high bills from using such content and information services.

The direction requires the ACA to:

1. make a service provider determination setting out rules that will help protect consumers from the potential risks associated with premium services on the 190 number range and numbers accessed via an international access code;
2. make a service provider determination setting out rules that will help protect consumers from the potential risks associated with premium services offered on prefixes commencing with 191, 193–7 and 199 and on proprietary networks; and
3. investigate and report to the Minister on actions taken by industry to address the issue of 'Internet dumping', involving geographic and international numbers, and a range of credit management matters.

The determination required under item (a) was made on 19 May 2004. This relied on consultation on a proposed determination conducted in 2003 in response to an earlier Ministerial direction, and reaffirmed in the 13 April 2004 direction. Among other things, the determination requires CSPs to provide information to their customers about options available to lessen the risk of unexpected high bills for 190 prefix premium services and services accessed by an international access code.

The ACA took action to make the determination required under item (b) by issuing a discussion paper and draft determination on 22 June 2004. The ACA expects to make this service provider determination early in 2004–05.

There is a significant body of work associated with item (c), which requires the ACA to investigate actions by CSPs to address 'Internet dumping', involving the use of local and international numbers, and the measures industry has in place or is developing to address unexpected high bills for carriage and content services in general. Wide-ranging consultation about these matters began in late 2003–04, with a discussion paper to be issued early in 2004–05. The ACA is to report to the Minister on these matters by 13 October 2004.

Access to adult premium rate services

A direction from the Minister on 13 May 2004 required the ACA to develop rules to protect minors from accessing inappropriate or offensive content on premium rate services operating on the 191, 193–7 and 199 number prefixes and on proprietary networks. The ACA varied the Numbering Plan on 19 May 2004 to make these prefixes available for the provision of premium rate services, which are to be used for SMS and multimedia message services (MMS).

Under the direction, the ACA must make rules that:

• require adult SMS or MMS to be supplied on a number prefix, or prefixes, determined by the ACA-adult services are those that are or would be classified 'MA' or 'R' under Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) guidelines;
• prohibit the supply of certain content (content that has or would be classified X or RC under the OFLC guidelines) on SMS or MMS; and
• put appropriate measures in place to restrict access to adult SMS or MMS on specified premium rate prefixes or proprietary networks.

During 2003–04, the ACA consulted extensively with CSPs and consumer organisations on consumer protection matters related to premium rate SMS, MMS and content on proprietary networks, including appropriate access arrangements for adult content. The 19 May 2004 variation to the Numbering Plan reserved the 195 and 196 prefixes for the provision of adult services, but prohibited the supply of adult services on these prefixes until the ACA makes the determination required by the 13 May 2004 Ministerial direction. The ACA expects to make this determination in the 2004 calendar year.

National interest issues

Key performance indicators

• Law enforcement activities are undertaken to the satisfaction of industry and agency participants.
• The level of non-genuine calls to the emergency call service numbers is reduced.

Liaison with law enforcement agencies

The ACA has a legislative obligation to assist law enforcement and national security agencies and ensure carriers and CSPs comply with their obligations to assist these agencies. To this end, the ACA convenes a Law Enforcement Advisory Committee (LEAC) and regularly liaises with agency and industry stakeholders on telecommunications issues relating to law enforcement. The committee provides advice to the ACA on telecommunications issues that affect or relate to criminal law enforcement or safeguarding national security. It also provides an opportunity for law enforcement agencies and carriers to meet and resolve issues of common interest.

Membership of the committee, which met twice during 2003–04, includes representatives from law enforcement and national security agencies, and CSPs (see membership list in Appendix 12). The agenda and minutes of LEAC meetings are confidential.

Review of the Law Enforcement Advisory Committee

A review of the committee was conducted in 2003–04, the first review since its inception in 1992. New terms of reference and a different membership structure were proposed for consideration by LEAC members. These changes were proposed to enhance the consideration of law enforcement matters by the ACA and its stakeholders. The review is expected to be finalised early in 2004–05.

Collection of pre-paid mobile phone user information

The Telecommunications (Service Provider – Identity Checks for Pre-paid Public Mobile Telecommunications Services) Determination 2000 was amended in late 2003–04 to permit the industry to submit compliance plans about alternative methods for verifying the identity of purchasers of pre-paid subscriber identity module (SIM) cards for mobile phone use. At 30 June 2004, no such approvals had been granted.

Disclosure of customer information

Customer information provided to telecommunications carriers and CSPs is protected under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act. Carriers and CSPs must not disclose or use that information except in certain limited and restricted circumstances. Those circumstances generally relate only to:

• assisting in investigations by law enforcement or national security agencies, the ACA, the ACCC or the TIO;
• where there is an imminent threat to a person's life or health; or
• satisfying the business needs of other carriers and CSPs.

The ACA is required under clause 50(2)(g) of the Australian Communications Authority Act 1997 to report the number of disclosures made for the above purposes during the reporting period (see Appendix 9). An analysis of the disclosure data will be provided in the ACA's telecommunications performance report for 2003–04.

Emergency call service management

The emergency call service is an operator-assisted service that connects callers to an emergency service organisation (ESO)-that is, a police, fire or ambulance service-in a life-threatening or time-critical situation. The primary emergency service number is 000, which can be dialled from any fixed or mobile phone. There are also two secondary emergency service numbers-112, which can be dialled from GSM mobile phones and CDMA mobile phones, and 106, which connects to the text-based emergency call service for users with a hearing or speech impairment.

The ACA manages the effectiveness and efficiency of certain aspects of the emergency call service in consultation with its Emergency Services Advisory Committee (ESAC), which met four times during 2003–04. Committee membership is listed in Appendix 12.

Investigation into delays in answering emergency calls

During the early hours of the morning of 3 December 2003, a severe storm in Melbourne generated 6,381 calls to 000 during a three hour period-more than three times the volume normally received at that time. The extraordinary volume of calls overloaded the call centres of the Victorian ESOs, which led to upstream delays in Telstra's answering of emergency calls from all states and territories.

During the same period, people in a Canberra suburb were attempting to contact the emergency call service to report a house fire that subsequently destroyed the house. On 9 December 2003, the Minister requested the ACA to investigate and report on the causes of the delays and claims by some callers that their calls to 000 had 'rung out' before being answered.

The ACA made a preliminary report to the Minister on 19 December 2003 and a supplementary report on 27 February 2004. The ACA found that:

• Telstra, as the emergency call person for calls to 000, had complied with its call-answering obligations under the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2002;
• Telstra was adequately resourced and prepared to handle the expected and actual number of calls to 000 during the period of the storm, but had experienced delays in transferring calls to Victorian ESO call-takers, who were struggling to manage an unprecedented volume of calls;
• despite detailed investigations, no evidence could be found to support the claims that some calls to 000 'rang out' before being answered; and
• many callers voluntarily terminated their calls when they were not answered immediately.

The ACA's recommendations arising from its investigation included:

• automatic activation of a recorded voice announcement (RVA) advising callers that delays are being experienced when calls remain unanswered after 30 seconds;
• greater sharing of information between ESOs and the emergency call persons before any activity-such as software upgrades, planned system outages or severe weather warnings-that could affect the normal handling of emergency calls;
• enabling the emergency call person to connect callers who want a state emergency service (SES) to an RVA that advises them how to contact their local SES directly; and
• developing a nationally consistent approach for contacting the SES in each state and territory.

All the recommendations of the ACA's investigation were fulfilled during January and February 2004, in consultation with the ESAC.

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Reducing the volume of non-genuine calls

A key area of ESAC work is the reduction in the volume of non-genuine calls to the emergency call service. Non-genuine calls are calls that do not relate to a life-threatening or time-critical situation, or require an emergency response from the police, fire brigade or ambulance service. They include deliberate nuisance calls, accidental misdials and automatically generated calls from incorrectly programmed fax machines or modems.

Non-genuine calls drain the resources of both the Telstra and ESO call-takers. Accordingly, the ACA continued its efforts during the year to minimise the volume of non-genuine calls and to limit their impact. The ACA does not collect statistics from ESOs on the volume of non-emergency or hoax calls to the emergency call service.

Introductory RVA

During February and March 2004, a four-second RVA for all calls to 000 was trialled. The purpose of the RVA was to confirm to callers that they had successfully reached the emergency call service and enable callers who had dialled the number in error to hang up before their call was taken up by the 000 operator.

In a typical week, Telstra call-takers answer about 258,700 calls and many more are abandoned by the caller before being answered, usually because the caller has dialled 000 inadvertently. For each of the four weeks of the trial, the number of calls answered by Telstra call-takers decreased by an average of 17,347 (or 7.2 per cent) to an average of 241,353. By avoiding the need to answer more than 17,000 non-genuine calls each week, the Telstra call-takers were able to answer genuine emergency calls more quickly and efficiently.

The results of the trial were discussed by the ESAC in April 2004 and the committee recommended that the introductory RVA be retained permanently, but only for those calls that cannot be answered immediately. The recommendation was adopted to ensure that the RVA initiative complemented other initiatives to reduce non-genuine calls and delays in answering genuine emergency calls are minimised.

RVA for SES calls

Following its investigation into delays in answering emergency calls (see above), the ACA amended the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2002 to enable Telstra, as the emergency call person, to connect callers seeking an SES to an RVA advising how the SES can be contacted. SES organisations are not recognised as ESOs under the Telecommunications Act or the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999, and cannot be contacted through the 000 emergency call service.

During severe storms, many people call 000 to contact their local SES, unnecessarily tying up Telstra call-takers and diverting resources from handling genuine life-threatening and time-critical emergency calls. In those states that have adopted a single statewide contact number for their SES, the RVA will advise callers how they can contact their local SES directly. This will provide a more useful service to these callers than was previously possible. In those states and territories that do not have a single state-wide contact number for their SES, the RVA will advise callers to contact directory assistance to obtain the correct number for the SES in their area.

Termination of calls with excess digits

To minimise the number of inadvertent calls to 000 and 106 from the fixed network, the ACA has encouraged Telstra and Optus to terminate calls when two or more digits are dialled after the three-digit emergency service number, for example, when a caller dials 000xx. Such calls are understood to often be the result of people misdialling other telephone numbers, for example, the international dialling codes 0011 and 0018, and are an unnecessary contributor to the high proportion of non-genuine calls made to the 000 and 106 emergency call services.

In consultation with the ACA and the ESAC, Telstra and Optus are progressively implementing this initiative on their fixed networks between March and September 2004. The ACA will provide a more detailed report in its telecommunications performance report for 2004–05.

Education and awareness-raising

The extent to which technical solutions can reduce the volume of non-genuine calls is limited and the community needs to be informed and reminded about the correct use of the emergency call service.

The ACA conducted a national print advertising campaign between April and June 2004 to encourage appropriate use of the emergency call service and inform people about what they can expect when they dial 000 to request assistance. The advertisement was also translated into 10 commonly-spoken languages for inclusion in non-English newspapers within culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

As part of its efforts to raise awareness in non-English speaking communities, the ACA also produced a poster explaining when to dial 000, what to expect when calling 000, and the availability of interpreters for callers who do not speak English. The posters were published in Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Korean, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese, and were distributed through avenues including the ACA website, the media, ethnic community organisations and ESOs. The English version of the poster is being distributed to schools and community groups.

Awareness of 112

On 9 February 2004, the Minister requested the ACA's advice on the secondary emergency number 112, which is accessible from GSM mobile phones and can provide increased access to the emergency call service in certain circumstances.

The Minister specifically requested the ACA's advice on:

• the current level of awareness of 112;
• the desirability of further increasing the community's awareness of 112 and the form of any such further promotion;
• the implications of increased awareness and use of 112; and
• the effectiveness of the awareness-raising obligations in the Industry Code ACIF C536:2003 Emergency call service requirements.

The ACA reported to the Minister on 28 May 2004. ACA research found that 94.8 per cent of people nominated 000 as the emergency number they would call in an emergency and 3.4 per cent of GSM mobile phone owners nominated 112. The research also found that 5.1 per cent of people generally and 9.8 per cent of GSM mobile phone owners nominated 112 as an alternative emergency number that could be dialled from a mobile phone.

In general, the report did not support a separate publicity program for the 112 emergency number. Currently, CSPs are obliged to advise purchasers of new GSM mobile phones about the 112 capabilities of these phones.

To avoid possible confusion, the ACA recommended continuing promotion of 000 as the emergency call service number in Australia. The ACA also supports continued efforts to pursue technical measures to give the 000 service on GSM mobile phones a similar capability to the 112 service. This would enable all calls to 000 to roam onto any available GSM network if the caller is outside the coverage area of their service provider. Some of the newer GSM mobile phones and SIM cards already have this capability.

Mobile location information

In January 2004, the ACA released a discussion paper on the future use of location information to enhance the handling of emergency calls from mobile phones. The paper, titled Location, Location, Location, was the result of extensive research and consultation with the ESAC. The paper sought to provide industry with an early indication of the likely level of regulation in this area and outline the initiatives the ACA proposed to pursue in the short-to-medium term.

It is expected that, at some point, carriers will introduce accurate location techniques and technologies into their networks when this becomes commercially attractive. Accordingly, the ACA did not propose to require carriers to introduce them solely for providing emergency services with more accurate location information. The ACA instead intends to focus on preparing the emergency call service for the future introduction of these techniques and technologies, to ensure that ESOs can receive and use more detailed location information to advantage once it becomes available.

The closing date for submissions was extended to 30 May 2004 to accommodate interested stakeholders who required additional time, and the ACA is considering comments received.

Accuracy of the Integrated Public Number Database

The Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) is a national database of information about customers of telecommunications services in Australia. It provides information for emergency service and law enforcement purposes, and is also a resource for public number directories and directory assistance services. Telstra manages the IPND under a licence condition.

The accuracy of IPND data, and the processes and procedures associated with the provision of that data, was audited by Callpoint Pty Ltd at the request of the ACA in May 2003. Callpoint reported its findings to the ACA in July 2003. The audit tested the accuracy of address information in a data sample, representing approximately two per cent of the IPND, against address data from Australia Post.

Accuracy was assessed by running IPND address data fields through address validation software using Australia Post's Postal Address File as the reference base. Only 55 per cent of the data sample was found to be either 'verified correct' or a 'good match'. The main contributor to the low result was the high incidence of 'N/A' (not available) entries appearing in the state/territory field. After taking into account that single error, address accuracy was otherwise close to 90 per cent.

The ACA was still concerned about the level of errors identified in the IPND data and responded by giving each data provider a 'report card' detailing the specific types of errors in their customer data. They were requested to rectify all errors in data they provide to the IPND.

Specific recommendations to improve the accuracy of IPND data were directed to the ACIF Working Group convened to review the Industry Code ACIF C555:2000 Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) Data Provider; Data User and IPND Manager. In turn, ACIF established the IPND Data Validation Working Group to consider:

• new code provisions that would require data providers to use address validation software;
• appropriate data validation tools;
• development of a data entry guide; and
• the importance of particular address data fields to IPND data users.

To continue working towards improving the accuracy of IPND data, the ACA undertook to audit the IPND each year until 2006. The aim of the audit program is to:

• effectively measure improvement in the accuracy of the IPND over time against a suitable validation benchmark;
• establish whether accuracy targets (to be set in conjunction with industry) are being met, with a view to raising the level of accuracy of IPND data to as close to 100 per cent as possible; and
• address perceived shortcomings in existing processes and procedures associated with the provision of data to and from the IPND.

A request for tender to conduct an IPND audit program was advertised and Gibson Quai was engaged to undertake the program.

 

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