052/06
8 June 2006
More scrutiny for plans to remove Payphones
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, today announced a number of initiatives to ensure there is more consultation and better information about any plans Telstra may have to remove payphones from a community.
“There was understandably widespread community concern earlier this year following reports that Telstra was considering removing up to 5000 payphones across Australia,” Senator Coonan said.
“While Telstra should be free to make commercial decisions relating to the location of its payphones, the Government is committed to ensuring that Telstra continues to meet its obligations under the Universal Service Obligation (USO).
“The Government imposes the USO on Telstra as the dominant telecommunications provider to ensure payphones are reasonably accessible to all Australians no matter where they live or work, on an equitable basis. However, Telstra provides only a little over half of the more than 60,000 payphones across Australia.
“I am satisfied that Telstra’s plans to rationalise its payphones did not propose the removal of any USO payphones, however the Government considers that improvements can be made in how Telstra meets its USO obligation.”
To ensure communities can clearly understand their rights to a USO payphone the Government will require Telstra to amend its standard marketing plan to give a clearer description of what constitutes having reasonable access to a payphone and include a description of what constitutes a USO payphone.
Telstra will also be required to more clearly identify which payphones in a community are provided under the USO and to ensure there are robust consultation processes where a non-USO payphone is to be removed or relocated.
“Telstra will be required to incorporate into its website payphone locator - www.telstra.com.au/payphoneservices - a USO payphone icon so communities of less than 50,000 people will be able to identify the USO payphones in their area,” Senator Coonan said.
“In addition I have required Telstra to enhance its consultation processes for the removal of payphones by including on its removal notice the reasons why Telstra intends to remove a payphone and details on how a person can object to the proposed removal,” Senator Coonan said.
“The removal notice will also include an explicit reference to the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) role as the regulator of Telstra’s payphone obligations.”
The Government will also require Telstra to work with the Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts and ACMA to ensure that all public information on its website and brochures clearly sets out these new obligations.
“ACMA will take a more active role in monitoring Telstra’s compliance with its payphone obligations and will enhance its payphone-related complaints and awareness raising activities so consumers can more effectively participate in payphone issues,” Senator Coonan said.
Telstra will engage with its Low Income Measures Assessment Committee and advise them of the new arrangements for payphone consultation processes and complaint mechanisms.
“While many Australians use fixed line or mobile phones as their main means of communications, payphones continue to play an important communications role in communities across Australia,” Senator Coonan said.
“By enhancing the USO process communities can feel assured that they can not only identify where USO payphones are located in their communities but can also feel confident that they will be adequately consulted if there is a proposal to remove or relocate a payphone.
“I thank Telstra for its cooperation during this process and acknowledge the company’s willingness to ensure that communities that rely on payphones will continue to have access to them.”