The Federal Government has passed the universal service reform legislation through the Senate, which the Government hopes will ensure the ongoing delivery of key telecommunication consumer safeguards during and after the rollout of the NBN.

 

“This legislation safeguards key telecommunications services for all Australians, particularly those in rural, regional and remote Australia, during and after the transition to the NBN,”  Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy said.

 

“Telstra has historically had a regulated Universal Service Obligation (USO) to make standard telephone and payphone services reasonably accessible to all Australians.

 

“However, under the Structural Separation Undertaking recently accepted by the ACCC, Telstra will progressively decommission its copper network as the NBN optical fibre network is rolled out. The wholesale-only NBN will create a level playing field for all retail providers and enable the industry to move to a new, more competitive structure that will benefit consumers

 

“The legislation responds to this structural reform of the industry by moving from a regulatory model for delivery of universal service, with obligations imposed directly on Telstra and other service providers, to a more accountable and flexible contractual model,” Senator Conroy said.