Recommendations

Recommendation 1

The Government should set, in consultation with industry, a ten-year national target for an optic fibre consumer access network roll-out and should invest the necessary regulatory and compliance powers with the Australian Communications Authority to ensure that this target is met (para. 4.69).

Recommendation 2

The Committee recommends that the Government's accepted definitions of ADSL and broadband speeds reflect international best practice standards and should not be determined or overly influenced by product definitions of speed offered by Telstra and other carriers. The Government should review these definitions every twelve months to ensure that speeds remain contemporary (para. 4.70).

Recommendation 3

The Committee recommends that the Productivity Commission be tasked to undertake a full examination of all the options for structural reform in Australian telecommunications, including but not restricted to, the structural separation of Telstra (para. 4.77).

Recommendation 4

The Committee recommends that Telstra be required to divest its shareholding in Foxtel (para. 4.79).

Recommendation 5

The Government should direct the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to provide further advice on its recommendations in its report Emerging Market Structures in the Communications Sector on the feasibility of introducing a content access regime (para. 4.80).

Recommendation 6

The Government should direct the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to provide further advice on its recommendations in its report Emerging Market Structures in the Communication Sector that Telstra be required to divest itself of its HFC network (para. 4.81).

Recommendation 7

The Government should review section 151AKA(10) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 to determine whether, under some circumstances, it may prevent the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission from acting swiftly to address anti-competitive conduct. Consideration should be given to the necessity and the effectiveness of issuing consultation and competition notices in addressing anti-competitive conduct (para. 4.84).

Recommendation 8

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission should examine and report on the anti-competitive effects of the current peering arrangements which allow the exchange of traffic between Tier 1 providers on a settlement-free basis and which creates cost disadvantages for smaller ISPs (para. 4.85).

Recommendation 9

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission should examine the availability of access to, and cost of, backhaul services for carriers building or proposing to build new broadband infrastructure. Consideration should also be given to the high costs of backhaul services in regional and remote areas in light of the fact that distance based charging is not a characteristic of the Internet (para. 4.86).

Recommendation 10

The Committee recommends that the Australian Communications Authority be provided with all of Telstra's current geospatial datasets, and that the Australian Communications Authority make available these datasets on request, in a useable format, to other carriers and ISPs (para. 4.88).