Telcos have been angered by the draft decision of the competition watchdog, the ACCC, not to declare wholesale mobile roaming services and open up telecommunications to greater market competition.
The decision has attracted the ire of Vodafone and the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition, which accuses the ACCC of continuing to do nothing while Telstra uses its monopoly power to “over-charge consumers and undermine national telecoms competition”.
Also lined up in opposition to the decision are the MyNetFone group, one of Australia’s largest provider of voice and data communications services, Macquarie Telecom as part of the CCC, and mobile network provider Pivotel.
“The ACCC draft decision to continue its hands-off approach to national mobile competition is a perfect example of the old adage that insanity is continuing to do the same thing again and again expecting a different results,” the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition said in a statement.
{loadposition peter}“The ACCC has yet again confused the interests of Telstra’s shareholders — who immediately benefited from a 5% share price increase when the shock do-nothing decision was announced — with the interests of Australian consumers and taxpayers, who pay billions of dollars in price premiums and investment subsidies to Telstra.
“The ACCC examined the problems caused by Telstra’s continued mobile monopoly over large parts of Australia in 1998, 2004 and again starting last year.
“Each time the problems were the same, and each time the ACCC has lacked the courage to step in.”
Vodafone was quick to respond to the ACCC decision, labelling it as a missed opportunity for regional Australia.
“It denies the benefits of increased coverage, competition and choice to Australian mobile customers, especially hundreds of thousands of Australians living in regional and rural areas,” Vodafone chief strategy officer Dan Lloyd said.
“Too many Australians will continue to be held hostage to Telstra, and will have no choice but to pay Telstra’s mobile premium which totals $1.4 billion per year. Since 2006, Telstra has received around $2 billion in government subsidies and funding to build its regional networks, yet it only spends $150 million per year on mobile in regional areas.”
According to Lloyd, the telecommunications divide between the cities and regional areas will only continue to widen, as no other operator will be able to close the coverage gap between Telstra and the rest of the industry.
And, Lloyd says, Telstra will continue to receive a “disproportionate share of taxpayer subsidies and initiatives such as the Mobile Black Spot Programme will not be able to realise their full potential”.
“The extensive evidence and data put forward by Vodafone and many others to support the case was compelling. Vodafone and several other companies committed to increased regional investment if roaming was implemented. It is disappointing for Australian consumers that a scare campaign with no facts or substance has succeeded.”
MyNetFone chief executive and co-founder Rene Sugo weighed into the discussion about the ACCC decision, saying the draft decision reinforced the effective monopoly Telstra has across regional Australia and claiming it continues to restrict consumer choice.
“However, the decision is not a surprise as the current legislative and regulatory environment in Australia is weighted against consumer choice and innovation in the telco sector.
“MNF Group’s proposed mobile virtual number service is now the best alternative to give consumers — especially those in the bush — choice. It would pave the way for over the top (OTT) providers to deliver a choice of services and innovations, for example a way for consumers to secure their digital identity via virtual numbers.
“MNF are waiting on the minister for communications to unblock our virtual mobile number service, and he should act on it urgently given the lack of choice in roaming for retail consumers, especially those in the bush."
And, Peter Bolger, chief executive of mobile network provider Pivotel, said the ACCC decision was a substantial missed opportunity for Australia – “a missed opportunity to deliver improved outcomes for consumers”.
“It’s a missed opportunity to increase competition and a missed opportunity to increase investment in the emerging wireless Internet of things industry. It certainly cements Telstra’s monopoly position in rural Australia.
“While this decision weakens our service offering and the customer benefit that can be derived from it, Pivotel will continue to deliver communication solutions to those in rural and remote Australia.
“Our ecoSphere by Pivotel technology launched just last month, will continue to break down the barriers currently faced by the lack of mobile coverage and we will continue advocating the need for regulation around domestic roaming.”
Meanwhile, the Australian Communicatons Consumer Action Network welcomed the ACCC’s draft decision after previously questioning whether regulated domestic roaming would result in better mobile coverage and improved competition in regional, rural and remote areas.
“ACCAN is a strong advocate for better mobile coverage and improved competition in regional and rural areas,” said ACCAN chief executive Teresa Corbin. “Consumers and small businesses in regional, rural and remote areas want additional coverage where they live, work and travel. It’s unclear whether declaring domestic mobile roaming would achieve this.
“The existing mobile networks need to be upgraded to improve capacity and reduce congestion. Enhancements to mobile networks would go a long way in improving the daily lives of non-metro consumers and ensuring access to emergency services.
“Improving and extending mobile coverage in regional and rural areas needs to be a priority for the government and the mobile network operators. We call on the Federal Government to commit to funding further rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Programme to extend coverage much further.”