The Shadow Communications Minister, Stephen Smith, claims the cost of using a GSM mobile phone will increase as a result of a AU$120 million revenue slug in next Tuesday's Budget.
"Sources close to the government have revealed to Labor that the government has unilaterally decided to increase the licence fees for 900 Megahertz(MHz) mobile phone spectrum by AU$120 million over 4 years," Smith said in a statement.
"While Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, the three carriers that currently use this spectrum, will initially have to bear this additional cost, it is inevitable that these higher costs will soon be passed on to consumers as higher mobile phone prices.
The Opposition claims the Communications Minister, Richard Alston, has directed the Australian Communications Authority to increase the licence fees, which he branded a "revenue grabbing decision,"
"Just as troubling is the fact that this AU$120 million revenue grab is 50 percent more than the AU$81 million announced earlier this week that the Howard Government intends to spend on improving mobile phone services in rural and regional Australia," Smith said.
"In effect, the Government is slugging Australian families who use a mobile phone to fund much needed services in rural and regional Australia, while leaving itself with AU$40 million in change."
