The federal government has released an AU$181 million package of measures to placate rural and regional Australia's anger over telecommunications service limitations as the Telstra privatisation progresses.
The centerpiece of the package, released by the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Senator Richard Alston and the Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, is an AU$142.8 million grant designed largely to provide access to affordable broadband services in regional Australia.
The government compiled the package in response to an inquiry which highlighted weaknesses in the provision of telecommunications services to rural and regional Australia.
However, AAP reported that the federal Opposition today lambasted the package as "window dressing" designed to ease the concern of the largely rural-based National Party ahead of the introduction of legislation into parliament later this week to sell the Commonwealth's remaining 50.1 stake in Telstra.
The Opposition's spokesman for communications, Lindsay Tanner, pointed out the package represented a small portion of Telstra's annual capital expenditure budget of around AU$3.3 billion.
Telstra itself -- whose board supports full privatisation -- told AAP it would co-operate with relevant government agencies to implement the recommendations of its majority shareholders.
Telstra's chief executive, Dr Ziggy Switkowski, said "Telstra has built a solid business in regional Australia over many generations and we want to continue to grow that business because it makes good sense".
The carrier's chairman, Bob Mansfield, said while the board had consistently supported full privatisation, the timing of sale of the government's remaining stake remained a matter for the government to resolve.
"Full privatisation would provide Telstra staff, customers, shareholders and future investors with greater certainty about its future," Mansfield said.
"Moreover, if Telstra is to reach its full potential as a successful Australian company, it needs the flexibility that full privatisation offers to grow its business."
The government has broken up the National Broadband Strategy funding as:
ââ,¬Â¢ AU$2.9 million towards kickoff of a National Broadband Strategy Implementation Group;
ââ,¬Â¢ AU$8.4 million towards a network of broadband demand aggregation brokers in regional Australia;
ââ,¬Â¢ AU$23.7 million over four years to a Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the roll-out of broadband into regional Australia in concert with the demand aggregation brokers;
ââ,¬Â¢ AU$107.8 million over four years on the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme, which provides financial incentives to higher bandwidth service providers to offer services in rural and remote areas at prices reasonably equitable to those available in urban areas.
Other measures outlined in this morning's statement include:
ââ,¬Â¢ securing a formal undertaking from Telstra to improve the quality of telecommunications services affected by pair gain systems;
ââ,¬Â¢ a legislated commitment requiring a regular, independent review of the adequacy of regional communications services;
ââ,¬Â¢ Telstra be required to provide a formal undertaking to the government to raise the performance of its worst exchange service areas and;
ââ,¬Â¢ Telstra be required to provide a minimum dial-up Internet speed of 19.2 kbps or equivalent throughput over its fixed-line network.
