Telecommunications services are essential to the Australian community. This position statement outlines the support for a modern universal services framework ensuring all Australians have equitable access to essential telecommunications services – covering fixed voice, mobile and internet services. To meet the needs of consumers, the framework should incorporate the principles of connectivity, accessibility, reliability and...

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Communications and the Arts’ contract management of selected telephone universal service obligations.

The Productivity Commission has called on those interested in the future direction of telecommunications in Australia to contribute to its new public inquiry on the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation. The Productivity Commission released today an issues paper to help people prepare their submissions or provide brief comments through the website. The deadline for submissions is...

The first sections of this paper will review how those issues have been addressed as the technology has changed and, with it, how the universal service has been defined, delivered and paid for in differing regulatory contexts. The Government's policy for the provision of a National Broadband Network (NBN), however, significantly alters the technological and...