Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications,
Information Technology
and the Arts

Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate

Address to AMTA Annual Conference

Sydney
Wednesday 20 September 2006

Introduction

Thank you to you Chris [Althaus CEO AMTA] and to AMTA members for the opportunity to address your annual Conference.

Firstly can I begin by acknowledging the significant work being done by AMTA and your continued efforts in promoting responsible industry practices.

This conference is an excellent opportunity for everyone in the mobile community to come together and discuss the many issues facing your industry, particularly in light of the growing changes in the mobile market.

More Australians than ever are using mobiles and today’s users expect their mobiles to deliver ever increasing types of entertainment and information.
It was not so long ago that mobile phones were the size of a house brick and simply provided voice services. Now a palm-sized mobile phone can offer the same content and functionality as the home computer.

You can have a Dolce and Gabbana mobile phone or a Blackberry and even a mobile phone that lets you access a wireless network when you are at home and a GSM network when you are out and about.

While the evolution of the mobile phone has generated new opportunities for the industry it has also presented challenges – both for industry and Government.

One of the greatest challenges which I will talk about today is how best we can protect vulnerable people – particularly children - from inappropriate and offensive content that can now be accessed from a mobile.

While the Government will do all we can to protect consumers when they are using new technologies we need to strike the right balance.
The challenges we face to protect the community, improve the industry and ensure innovation and investment in mobile phone telephony continue are all challenges we face together.

New Content Services

Undoubtedly as convergence accelerates and our mobile phones become more and more sophisticated, the most pressing regulatory challenge will be how to best ensure we can protect children from offensive and inappropriate content.

The Government supports taking a self-regulatory approach where possible with industry and I applaud the efforts of AMTA in this regard.
We have industry codes of practice that cover issues such as billing, credit management and complaints handling.

And self-regulation extends to information provision to customers and community consultation on the rollout of infrastructure.

As Minister I make no apologies for ensuring consumers are protected and I am committed to continuing to enforce industry self-regulation where it is the most effective means of doing so.
It is important that an effective self-regulatory scheme address concerns about new and emerging mobile premium services and in particular unsolicited mobile phone messaging.

I note that ACMA is currently investigating several companies involved in ‘missed call’ marketing – where a consumer receives a missed call, returns the call and is unwittingly exposed to a marketing message.

Now there is an element of personal responsibility here for any actions taken to respond to the marketing message, but it does demonstrate that new technologies can provide new avenues for unscrupulous operators.

ACMA is investigating whether practices such as these breach the Spam Act and I look forward to the outcome of that investigation.

However, the majority of industry acts responsibly and I would acknowledge AMTA’s continued efforts in developing the Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme which is now being considered by ACMA.

In a regulatory sense, the future challenge will be to continue harnessing the goodwill and co-operation of industry, while ensuring that consumers have appropriate representation and action.

For our part, the Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of self-regulation and industry codes.

Protecting consumers

While industry codes and action by the regulator can crack down on unscrupulous practices, we must do all we can to educate consumers about the dangers of scams, how to avoid high bills and how to make sure they don’t receive inappropriate or offensive content on their mobiles.

AMTA has taken the lead on this important issue by developing a new website Str8tlk to help young people aged 10-18 years have a safer mobile phone experience.
The Str8tlk website contains lots of helpful information about bullying, money, safety, recycling, lost and stolen phones and spam and scams.

With younger children and teenagers increasingly using mobiles to communicate with their friends and families, it is important they have access to plain English information about how to use their mobiles in a safe, responsible and affordable manner.

I congratulate AMTA on these efforts and am pleased to be able to officially launch the Str8tlk website.

AMTA has made considerable efforts to empower students, schools and parents by circulating information about this new website and mobile phone safety to parents and citizens associations, school principals, police, education departments and youth organisations.

The website is now up and running and can be accessed by visiting www.stra8tlk.amta.org.au. Congratulations on this exciting initiative.
The Government is also actively engaged in informing families and children about the potential of harmful material reaching their children over the Internet and mobile phones.

Convergent devices

Last, year my Department undertook a review of the regulation of content delivered to mobile devices.

The Review found that, due to the new capabilities of mobile devices to receive and display audiovisual services, some of the existing regulatory distinctions are being broken down.

The Government is keen to ensure that we have a regulatory framework that is sensible for both how content is accessed today and how it is likely to be accessed in the future.

In June this year I announced that new safeguards will be put in place to protect consumers from inappropriate or harmful material on emerging content services such as 3G mobile phones and subscription-based Internet portals.

Legislation is being developed to provide safeguards comparable to those of traditional media platforms.

It will extend the current safeguards applying to content delivered over the Internet or television to content delivered over convergent devices.

It is appropriate to impose new obligations on carriage service providers who offer content services over which they have either direct control or contractual control.
The business models for these services are more like subscription television than the Internet, with consumers charged for content and commercial arrangements between the infrastructure and content providers.

And where service providers can exercise control over the content and benefit from providing it, they should take greater responsibility for limiting the potential exposure of children to such harmful or offensive material that may be available.

This will include ensuring that the intended prohibition on content rated X18+ and above is well adhered to, as well as meeting requirements for consumer advice and age-restrictions on access.

These prohibitions will be backed by strong sanctions for non-compliance, including criminal penalties for serious offences.
There will also be a comprehensive information campaign to help educate parents about how best to keep their children safe when using the Internet and technologies such as mobile phones.

This is part of a broader package of measures – the $116.6 million Protecting Australian Families Online package – that brings together the legislative, regulatory and educational initiatives that the Government supports into a comprehensive plan to protect families.

While we are prepared to take the necessary steps to provide a safer experience both online and over the phone, at the same time we are committed to creating an environment that is conducive to industry development.

New Digital Services

For instance, with the introduction of digital television there are many opportunities for both the broadcasting and telecommunications industries.

Only last week I announced that the Government intends to open up the two reserved channels of broadcasting spectrum for new digital services.

The allocation of these channels for new digital services would also be an opportunity for industry to expand and respond to the challenges of the digital environment.

These channels could include, for example, television services broadcast to mobile reception devices, such as mobile TV.

I understand that a number of industry trials of mobile TV have been undertaken around the world with promising results, including a recent trial in Sydney.

I expect that there will be a great deal of interest in this spectrum when it comes to be auctioned next year and I would predict that there may even be a few people here today that can see the potential in this spectrum.

I have come under fire in recent days for not restricting any player from bidding for this spectrum.

In a bizarre twist it has been called anti-competitive by some.

Instead I believe a level playing field and open market will bring the best outcome for the service and for consumers.

I am interested in services that succeed and are sustainable.

I want to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past which saw too many restrictions placed on who could bid and what could be shown to the ultimate detriment of the service and consumers.

I expect that the auctions for these two allocations of spectrum will take place next year.

To provide further information for parties interested in bidding for the spectrum I have instructed ACMA to publish guidelines on how the spectrum may be used.

At the end of this process – quite apart from eight potential multi-channels on free-to-air television – Australian consumers could have access to up to 30 channels on a mobile TV service and potentially eight new channels in-home.

This is exciting news for Australian consumers.

Coupled with the rollout of Telstra’s 3G network and continued investment from the Government through the $30 million Mobile Connect program it should be an interesting next few years for new services in the mobile industry.

Mobile Phone Towers

New services for consumers can only be facilitated by the rollout of infrastructure and I know another significant and continuing challenge for industry is the issue of mobile phone deployment.

This is an issue on which AMTA and the Mobile Carriers Forum (MCF) have done a lot of work.

In this environment of rapid change, it is inevitable that some individuals and communities will have concerns about the rollout of mobile phone and wireless broadband towers.

Last year, I announced a package of non-legislative initiatives to improve the way mobile phone towers are deployed.

The initiatives included improved community notification requirements, increased public education, improving the design of towers, independent audits of emissions, and a new emission reporting framework.

As an outcome of this package, the Mobile Carriers’ Forum has convened a Design and Innovation Taskforce to assess the latest international design options and how they can be applied to improve the look of new base stations in Australia.

Members of the Taskforce include representatives from the property sector, structural designers and engineers, local government, town planners and the telecommunications industry.

I am also aware of community health concerns regarding the presence of mobile phone infrastructure.

These were highlighted earlier this year by the case of the four people diagnosed with brain tumours after working in a building occupied by the RMIT.

I am encouraged by the efforts of the Mobile Carriers Forum (MCF) to actively address concerns such as these and implement its EME regulatory compliance strategy.

This world leading strategy is coordinating inter-carrier exchange of information to facilitate compliance with cumulative exposure requirements under the relevant standards and regulations.

The Mobile Carriers Forum is also supporting an independent audit of base stations to ensure compliance with Australian Government exposure regulations and to ensure greater transparency in carrier performance.

It is important for community interests to be taken into account, while at the same time meeting the broader national need for modern and efficient telecommunications networks.

This means balancing the needs of nearly 19 million mobile phone users in Australia with concerns residents may have about living near a base station.

One particular issue, which I see as the next real challenge for Government is the relationship Carriers have with local councils particularly when dealing with Low Impact Facilities.

While I certainly acknowledge the work that has been undertaken by industry thus far, I believe industry may be able to do more to help break down these barriers.

I acknowledge the efforts of the newly formed Communications Alliance as well as the Mobile Carriers Forum for developing the Deployment of Mobile Phone Infrastructure Code of practice.

The Code, released in January of this year, which mandates that carriers adopt a precautionary and consultative approach when installing mobile phone towers, is a responsible and co-operative approach to this ongoing concern.

The associated ACIF document ‘Guidelines for Local Government’ aims to better facilitate Council involvement in the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, by identifying when and how Councils can get involved in Code processes.

This allows councils to participate more effectively in the location, design, installation and operation of telecommunications facilities constructed in their area.

But it is imperative that we continue to improve and learn from the experiences of the past and do not fall into the trap of complacency and disengagement.

Mobile phone coverage is one of the top tier consumer issues in telecommunications and there is always room for improvement – I even have a blackspot in my lounge-room!

Transition from CDMA to 3GSM

During my many visits across rural, regional and remote Australia, I was consistently told how critical mobile phone telephony is to these communities – to families, to businesses and to farms.

That is why Telstra’s decision to replace its CDMA network with a new third generation network has been met with some trepidation.

I understand these concerns. But I also understand Telstra’s desire to deliver next generation mobile services to regional communities including wireless broadband.

I welcome Telstra’s investment in a 3G mobile network and I recognise Telstra’s efforts to ensure the rollout of the new network is smooth and the transition between networks a successful one.

In an increasingly competitive market all carriers need to look to new services and new networks to keep up with demand for faster and more innovative services.

Telstra has given a commitment that it will continue to operate the existing CDMA network until this new network provides equivalent or better coverage.

I am also pleased that Telstra has stated that the new network will utilise around 80 per cent of the existing network infrastructure including those towers built with Government assistance.

Importantly, Telstra has advised that the new network will have the same coverage footprint as CDMA.

In February, I announced the establishment of a CDMA/3G Working Group to ensure a smooth transition to a new national 3G network.

This Group includes representatives from Telstra, my Department and ACMA.

The working group is examining a number of key issues relating to the transition including what the change to a 3G network means for existing customers.

As a critical next step in the transition, ACMA will undertake a series of audits of Telstra’s CDMA network and its new 3G network as an independent and very clear way to compare coverage.

The field testing in more than 80 sites across Australia will include city and regional centres, but will mainly focus on rural, regional and remote areas.

Field testing of CDMA will occur towards the end of 2006 and testing of 3G in late 2007, depending on how the roll-out is progressing and ACMA will then report to me about its findings.

I make it clear that the Government will continue to work with Telstra during the transition to ensure that we can give consumers comfort that they will not be left without a mobile phone service at the end of this process.

Mobile Connect

The Government is of course committed to improving access to mobile communications for all Australians regardless of where they live.

In recent years, the Government has provided more than $145 million for the expansion of mobile phone coverage in regional Australia.

The Government’s Networking the Nation has resulted in over 284 extra towers or repeaters.

The Government’s Mobile Phones on Highways program has provided near continuous coverage to almost 10 000 kms of major highways.

Over 230 towns and 62 sections of regional highways also now have mobile coverage thanks to Government funding following the Besley inquiry.

Over 60 more locations are being covered through our Extended Mobile Phone Coverage program.

Further funding will be provided to extend terrestrial coverage through the $29.5m Mobile Connect program, which is part of the Government’s $ 3.1 billion Connect Australia package.

As a safety net for the two per cent of the population living in areas outside terrestrial mobile networks, the Government offers a subsidy for the purchase of a satellite phone.

And Mobile Connect provides further funding for the subsidy scheme, which has been extended until June 2009.

I hope to shortly announce the next stage in both the Mobile Connect and Broadband Connect elements of the Government’s $1.1 billion Connect Australia package.

This will give industry real incentive to keep making investments in critical communications infrastructure across Australia.

Conclusion

It is my aim to encourage a high-quality, competitive telecommunications market in Australia.

Part of this will mean ensuring that the regulatory environment continues to meet the needs of law enforcement agencies as they strive to protect consumers, while enabling industry to move forward.

With the continued assistance of industry I am sure that we can be successful in striking this balance.

An open dialogue between industry and Government is important to ensure that telecommunications continue to improve Australia’s prosperity and our way of life.

I look forward to a continued productive partnership between AMTA, Industry and Government.

I wish you luck with your discussions over the next two days and I look forward to hearing the outcomes. Thank you