communications report 2018–19...part 3 v contents chair’s foreword 1 introduction 3 executive...

COMMUNICATIONS REPORT 2018–19

Australian Communications

and Media Authority

Australian Communications and Media Authority

COMMUNICATIONS REPORT 2018–19

The ACMA Communications report 2018–19 (the Communications report) draws on data from a range of sources including the ACMA’s own databases, information reported by industry, the ACMA’s research using third-party public sources, and commissioned surveys and analysis. The ACMA has made every reasonable effort to provide current and accurate information in the Communications report, but it does not make any guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information.

The ACMA has a statutory reporting obligation under section 105 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 that requires it to collect data from industry for monitoring and reporting purposes.

Comments

The ACMA welcomes feedback on the Communications report. Comments and enquiries about the scope, content and format of the report should be sent to [email protected].

Further information

For further information about ACMA research and links to the Communications report, please go to acma.gov.au/commsreport.

Contact details

CanberraRed Building Benjamin Offices Chan Street Belconnen ACT

PO Box 78 Belconnen ACT 2616

T +61 2 6219 5555

MelbourneLevel 32 Melbourne Central Tower 360 Elizabeth Street Melbourne VIC

PO Box 13112 Law Courts Melbourne VIC 8010

T +61 3 9963 6800

SydneyLevel 5 The Bay Centre 65 Pirrama Road Pyrmont NSW

PO Box Q500 Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230

T +61 2 9334 7700 or 1800 226 667

© Commonwealth of Australia 2020

ISSN: 2204-4256 (online)

With the exception of coats of arms, logos, emblems, images, other third-party material or devices protected by a trademark, this content is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

We request attribution as the Australian Communications and Media Authority Communications report 2018–19. All other rights are reserved.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has undertaken reasonable enquiries to identify material owned by third parties and secure permission for its reproduction. Permission may need to be obtained from third parties to re-use their material.

Part 3

v

Contents

Chair’s foreword 1

Introduction 3

Executive summary 4

Key indicators—at a glance 9

Chapter 1—Supply and access to communications and media services 14

At a glance—our access to services 15

1.1 Infrastructure 16

1.2 Network access and online services 26

1.3 Broadcasting in Australia 29

1.4 Supply of services 37

1.5 Market developments 46

1.6 Advertising expenditure in main media 60

Notes 64

Chapter 2—Consumer engagement with communications and media 70

At a glance—how we engaged 71

2.1 How we communicate 72

2.2 Internet access 75

2.3 Internet activities 80

2.4 Communications applications (apps) 83

2.5 Our satisfaction with communications services 84

2.6 Audio content access and engagement 86

2.7 Video content access and engagement 89

Notes 98

Chapter 3—National interest issues 100

At a glance—in the national interest 101

3.1 Emergency call service 102

3.2 Supporting law enforcement and national security agencies 105

3.3 Interception 107

3.4 Identity-checking requirements for prepaid mobile carriage services 107

3.5 Role of the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) 108

3.6 Handling of life-threatening and unwelcome communications 110

Notes 111

vi Communications report 2018–19

Chapter 4—Telecommunications consumer safeguards and quality of service 112

At a glance—our telco safeguards 113

4.1 Telecommunications Industry Levy and public policy outcomes 114

4.2 Public payphones 115

4.3 Customer Service Guarantee Standard 118

4.4 Network Reliability Framework 123

4.5 Priority assistance 126

4.6 Number portability 128

4.7 Telecommunications policy—development and review 129

4.8 The TCP Code 133

4.9 Cabling regulation 135

4.10 Unsolicited communications—spam and telemarketing 136

4.11 Online content investigations—interactive gambling 138

4.12 Complaints to the TIO 139

4.13 Complaints to the ACMA relating to mobile base stations 142

Notes 144

Appendix—Research methodology 145

Glossary 147

Index 157

Part 3

1

Chair’s foreword

Chair’s foreword

I am pleased to present the ACMA Communications report 2018–19. This annual report tracks changes in the Australian communications and media landscape.

The report’s findings reinforce how central the products and services delivered by the communications and media sector are to the social and economic lives of all Australians.

Australians are using fixed internet connections to deliver data-hungry applications:

> Ninety-one per cent of Australian adults (approximately 17.9 million) retained an internet connection in their home during the six months prior to May 2019. Of all data downloaded, 88.4 per cent (5.3 million TB) was downloaded over fixed networks (including fixed wireless), including 3.5 million TB over NBN fixed-line services.

> Seventy-one per cent of fixed internet services were associated with unlimited data plans at June 2019.

> Of Australian adults with a TV set in the home, 71 per cent had at least one subscription TV or pay-as-you-go video streaming service in their household at May 2019.

> Over 1.6 million Australians downloaded audio or video podcasts between April 2018 and March 2019, an increase from 980,000 for the same period in 2014–15.

Australians are seeing the benefits of industry and government investment in infrastructure and improved consumer outcomes:

> Recognised internationally as a key band for 5G services, the ACMA auctioned available 3.6 GHz spectrum in December 2018. Early access to this spectrum facilitated the release of commercial 5G services in 2019. At June 2019, more than 400 sites across Australia had 5G capable mobile base stations installed.

> The NBN rollout continued with 9.95 million premises ‘ready to connect’ at June 2019—a 41.4 per cent increase from June 2018. A total of 5.532 million premises were connected to the NBN at June 2019—a 37.1 per cent increase from June 2018.

> The government’s Mobile Black Spot Program is improving coverage in regional Australia. At June 2019, 725 base stations had been installed. In May 2019, an additional $160 million was allocated to the program, bringing the government’s total investment to $1 billion.

> Government, regulators and industry have implemented a range of initiatives designed to improve the experience of consumers. In the year to June 2019, new complaints to the TIO decreased by 21.1 per cent and complaints about the quality of services delivered over the NBN decreased by 13.5 per cent.

2 Communications report 2018–19

But OTT and digital platforms continue to present challenges to the revenue model of traditional telecommunication and broadcast service providers:

> Online advertising revenue has increased by 84 per cent since 2014 to reach $8.8 billion. By comparison, revenues associated with traditional advertising mediums of print, television, radio, outdoor and cinema have declined 4.6 per cent since 2014.

> Industry estimates suggest that fixed and mobile service revenues account for $22.13 billion of the total revenue generated by the telecommunications industry in 2018–19 ($41.65 billion)—a 4.1 per cent decrease since 2017–18.

New high-speed networks are creating markets for new, innovative services across the Australian economy:

> It’s estimated that 16 million internet of things (IoT) connected devices are installed in Australia today. There are more than 300 agricultural and food technology companies developing and supplying IoT solutions in Australia.

> Industry research reports that IoT adoption in the Australian home market rose by 57 per cent in the 12 months to 2018 to $1.1 billion. With the average household predicted to have 18 IoT-connected devices by 2023, the market is forecast to be worth $5.3 billion within five years.

> Cloud-based technologies are opening up new markets and opportunities for Australian telecommunication providers and new entrants. Australia’s cloud services market reached $688 million in 2018 with expected growth to $1.2 billion by 2022. Industry research also shows that the Australian market for cloud gaming is expected to increase 119 per cent, from $3.6 billion in 2019 to $7.9 billion in 2021.

Australian consumers and audiences will continue to benefit from communications and media services at home and on the move. However, Australian industry may be the biggest winners from the sector’s delivery of new and emerging technologies, which present opportunities for increased efficiency and productivity across the economy.

Nerida O’Loughlin PSM Chair

Part 3

Introduction

3

Introduction

Legislative basisThe Communications report 2018–19 fulfils multiple legislative obligations under the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005. These include the requirements to:

> report to and advise the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts in relation to the telecommunications industry and on matters affecting consumers or proposed consumers of carriage services

> make available to the public information about matters relating to the telecommunications industry

> inform ourselves and advise the Minister on technological advances and service trends in the broadcasting industry, internet industry and datacasting industry.

Information about the broadcasting industry’s performance in meeting regulatory obligations is also included in this report.

The report was prepared to fulfil the ACMA’s statutory reporting responsibilities under the Telecommunications Act 1997 as in force at the end of 30 June 2019, which required the ACMA to report annually on the performance of carriers and carriage service providers (CSPs) in meeting their regulatory obligations, with specific reference to consumer satisfaction, consumer benefits and quality of service.

On 12 December 2019, the Telecommunications Act was amended by the Communications Legislation Amendment (Deregulation and Other Measures) Act 2019. This removed the reporting requirement for most matters listed in section 105, with the exception of subsection 105 (5A) relating to the requirement to monitor and report on the operation of Part 14 and the costs of compliance with the requirements of that Part of the Act (about national interest matters), and the cost of compliance with the requirements of Part 5-1A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access Act) 1979 (about data retention). The Telecommunications Act was also amended to require that the ACMA publish the report in relation to the matters listed in subsection 105(5A) on its website.

Pursuant to these new obligations, the ACMA published Telecommunications in Australia: Report on interception and disclosures 2018–19 on its website in December 2019. The report examined the communications industry’s cooperation with law enforcement and national security agencies, and the cost of compliance with the requirements of Part 14 of the Telecommunications Act and the cost of compliance with the requirements of Part 5-1A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.

Scope and structure of the reportThe communications report comprises four chapters:

> Chapter 1: Supply and access to communications and media services—analyses key supply-side developments in the Australian communications and media markets during 2018–19. With a focus on supply, it includes the number of CSPs and services in operation, developments with the rollout of communications infrastructure, and the delivery of communications and media services.

> Chapter 2: Consumer engagement with communications and media—looks into how we engage with communications and media services and the benefits we derive. It reports on our changing consumer preferences and satisfaction with communications services.

> Chapter 3: National interest issues—examines the performance of emergency call services and the disclosure of customer information in support of law enforcement and national security investigations.

> Chapter 4: Telecommunications consumer safeguards and quality of service—reports on the performance of key communications safeguards. These include the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011, priority assistance and the Network Reliability Framework, the Do Not Call Register (DNCR), and related unwanted communications rules covering telemarketing and spam complaints. It also examines number portability code compliance and complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).


Executive summary

The key themes to emerge from this year’s communications report are the increasing complexity of the telecommunications landscape along with the continuing demand for online services.

Key highlights for 2018–19 > 5G mobile services were first offered commercially in Australia in May 2019, with take-up expected to expand rapidly in 2020. Increased competition and consumer choice at the network level may be available as the rollout of 5G progresses. This is driving telecommunication carriers to evolve further into vertically-integrated service suppliers by leveraging existing assets to provide new services.

> The proliferation of the internet of things continued across multiple sectors, including consumer and industrial. Examples include smart homes (estimates suggest that 16 million devices are installed in Australia), and agricultural technology and food technology, where more than 300 companies are operating in Australia.

> The shift to mobile continued, with 35.82 million mobile voice and data services now in operation in Australia at June 2019—an increase of 2.8 per cent on the previous year. The number of Australian adults with a fixed-line phone service at home continued to decline—less than half (49 per cent or 9.46 million) of Australian adults had a fixed-line phone at home at June 2019, down from 70 per cent four years ago.

> In the three months to 30 June 2019, 88.4 per cent (5.3 million terabytes (TB)) of data was downloaded over fixed networks (including fixed wireless) and 11.6 per cent (0.7 million TB) using mobile devices.

> Australians are spending more of their viewing time watching online or pay-per-view content—a five percentage point increase on 2018. Conversely, they are spending less time watching free-to-air television in real-time—a five percentage point decrease on 2018.

Infrastructure developmentsThe National Broadband Network (NBN) fixed network rollout continued in 2018–19 with 9.95 million ‘ready to connect’ premises at 30 June 2019—a 41.4 per cent increase from June 2018 (7.04 million premises). At 30 June 2019, 1.64 million premises (91 per cent) identified by the Department of Communications and Arts (DoCA, now the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications) as ‘underserved’ had access to the NBN—an increase of 15.4 per cent since 30 June 2018. NBN Co Limited also commenced work in August 2018 to double the available capacity of its Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) network with its DOCSIS 3.1 upgrade.

Mobile network improvements showed progression in response to consumer demands for increased capacity. In a move towards retiring 3G, Telstra shut down its 3G 2100 MHz network and reallocated the spectrum to increase the capacity of its 4GX network. The collective 4G network coverage reached in excess of 99.4 per cent of Australia’s population in 2019. More than 400 sites across Australia have 5G-capable mobile base stations. This is expected to increase significantly in the next year.

The Mobile Black Spot Program continued to deliver new mobile base stations across Australia. In March 2019, the $25 million fourth-round of the program commenced with 180 new mobile base stations across regional and remote Australia and the government announced $160 million allocated for rounds five and six. At June 2019, 725 new base stations had been delivered as part of the program, including 155 completed in 2018–19.

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Executive summary

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New submarine cable infrastructure investments included:

> Indigo Central (Sydney to Perth) commenced service in May 2019.

> Indigo West between Perth and Singapore, via Jakarta, commenced service in May 2019 and followed the same path of Vocus’s Australia Singapore Cable, which commenced service in September 2018.

> Japan Guam Australia South linking Sydney, Guam and Maroochydore, with service commencement expected at the end of 2019.

> Progression of the Coral Sea Cable System, a 4,700-kilometre-long submarine cable system linking Sydney (Australia), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), and Honiara (Solomon Islands). The Australian Government is funding two-thirds of the cable system.

Connectivity and devicesAt 30 June 2019, there were 306 licensed carriers in Australia, with the ACMA granting 24 carrier licences in 2018–19—an increase of 4.8 per cent. During 2018–19, CSPs were allocated 2.6 million mobile numbers, a 261 per cent increase from the 2017–18 allocation of 720,000 mobile numbers.

There were 7.82 million fixed-line phone services in operation at June 2019, compared to 8.2 million at June 2018, a decline of 4.6 per cent. Conversely, 35.82 million mobile voice and data services were in operation in Australia at June 2019—an increase of 2.8 per cent on 2018.

At June 2019, 83 per cent (approximately 16.4 million) of Australian adults had a smartphone.

At June 2019, 5.5 million homes and businesses were connected to the NBN—an increase of 38 per cent on 2018.

The number of ‘.au’ domain names grew by 1.25 per cent from June 2018 to 3.19 million at June 2019.

There were 43.629 million internet subscriptions in Australia at June 2019. Of these, 35.9 million were mobile subscriptions and 7.729 million were fixed subscriptions. Using data supplied by each country, Australia was ranked 23rd among countries for fixed broadband subscriptions and seventh for mobile broadband subscriptions on a per capita basis by the Organisation for Economic Coordination and Development (OECD) in December 2018.

Eighty-nine per cent of Australian adults accessed the internet—74 per cent went online three or more times a day.

Market developments5G can be viewed as the enabler for a technological paradigm shift, with advanced capabilities supporting new consumer services and industrial applications. 5G mobile services were first offered commercially in May 2019 within Australia. The take-up is expected to expand rapidly from 2020 when the rollout is more advanced, and a greater range of 5G-compatible devices are due to be released.

The ACMA introduced the Radiocommunications (Intelligent Transport Systems) Standard in December 2018 to support the introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles. The introduction is likely to be accelerated as 5G rolls-out, with forecasts suggesting that the global autonomous driving market will be worth US$173.15 billion by 2030.

Traditional telecommunication carriers continued to evolve into vertically-integrated service suppliers to provide services such as cloud computing and over-the-top (OTT) application services. Australia’s cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) market is estimated to reach $688 million in 2018 and $1.2 billion by 2022.


Industry forecasts that the Australian market for cloud gaming is expected to increase from $3.6 million in 2019 to $7.9 million in 2021—a 119 per cent increase. The Australian eSports market lags behind the US and Asian markets, but is growing with notable developments such as the inaugural Melbourne eSports Open. Held in September 2018, it attracted 12,000 fans with content viewed over 12 million times, primarily on social media.

In planning for the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), the Australian Government allocated $29.9 million in May 2018 to fund the development of an AI ‘technology roadmap’ and ‘standards framework’. The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science released the AI ‘ethics framework’ in November 2019. Key use cases of AI in telecommunications and media include spectrum management and contextual advertisement placement services.

Airlines in Australia are offering inflight internet access using Radome-fitted aircraft that use Ku-band satellites to deliver internet access at speeds up to 70Mbps.

Recognising the increasing global interest for earth stations in motion (ESIM) to be used to allow planes, ships, and land vehicles to connect to internet services via satellite, the ACMA sought industry feedback on proposed additional provisions to accommodate Ku-band ESIM in April 2019.

How we communicateThe mobile phone, with its multiple communications channels, remains the most used device to communicate. ACMA consumer survey data showed that in the first half of 2019, 94 per cent of Australian adults had used a mobile phone to make a call, 86 per cent had sent a text message and 60 per cent had used a messaging/calling application.

Households without a fixed-line voice service continued to grow. At June 2019, approximately 9.9 million Australian adults did not use a fixed-line voice service at home—a 10 percentage point increase from June 2018. Household fixed-line phone services are used primarily by Australians aged 55 and over. Use of household fixed-line phone services continued to decline, with only 15 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 reporting using the service in the six months prior to May 2019.

In the six months to May 2019, 90 per cent of Australian adults had accessed the internet, increasing to 99 per cent for those aged 18–34. This decreased to 71 per cent for those aged 65–74, and 52 per cent for those aged 75 and over. At June 2019, approximately 15 million Australian adults accessed the internet three or more times a day—a two per cent increase from 2018.

The mobile phone continued to be the most common device used to access the internet at 87 per cent of adult internet users, followed by a laptop at 69 per cent then tablet at 56 per cent. Seventy-two per cent of online Australian adults used their mobile phone multiple times a day to access the internet.

In the three months to 30 June 2019, 5.3 million TB of data was downloaded over fixed services, compared with 0.7 TB downloaded over mobile services. Fixed NBN services account for 66 per cent (3.5 million TB) of the data downloaded.

Media consumptionEighty-three per cent of Australian internet users viewed video content online in the six months to May 2019, while 65 per cent accessed audio content such as internet radio, music streaming services or podcasts.

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Executive summary

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All surveyed Australians aged 18–24 accessed online video content and at least 93 per cent of those aged 25–44 years, while 54 per cent aged 65–74 and 36 per cent aged 75 and over accessed it in the six months to May 2019.

Over 1.6 million Australians downloaded audio or video podcasts between April 2018 and March 2019, an increase from 980,000 for the same period in 2014–15. Mobile phone podcast downloads increased from 421,000 to 1.3 million.

At May 2019, 78 per cent had listened to FM radio, 33 per cent to AM radio, 16 per cent to digital radio (DAB+) (metropolitan areas only) and 12 per cent to radio online in the previous week. Australians aged 55 and over spent the most time listening to the radio, with at least 23.2 hours a week dedicated to listening over the air or online, compared to Australians aged 18–34 who spent 8.3 hours per week. Listening to AM radio is most popular with Australians 75 and over (12.7 hours per week), while Australians aged 18–35 listened to less than one hour.

Between January and June 2019, Australians spent an average of 68.2 hours a month watching broadcast TV on in-home TV sets (including live and playback), a decline from 70.6 hours between July and December 2018. Watching TV live (at the time of broadcast) also declined, from 62.3 hours per month in 2018 to 59.82 hours in 2019.

At May 2019, 71 per cent of Australian adults (with a TV set in the home) had at least one subscription TV or pay-as-you-go video streaming service in their household, an increase from 69 per cent at June 2018.

In the last seven days to May 2019, 40 per cent of viewing time was spent watching free-to-air (FTA) TV, a decrease from 46 per cent at May 2018. Twenty per cent of viewing time was spent watching an online subscription service or pay-per-view, an increase from 15 per cent at May 2018.

Telecommunications consumer safeguardsAt 30 June 2019, there were 5.32 million services subject to the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard, compared to 5.78 million at 30 June 2017—a decrease of eight per cent.

As per 2018, all qualifying CSPs reported that they had met the CSG performance benchmarks. CSG compensation payments declined from $14.66 million in 2018 to $7.85 million in 2019—a decrease of 46 per cent. This can be partially attributed to the reduction in services subject to the CSG standard and an overall improvement in meeting new connection and fault repair targets.

There were 132,387 new complaints made to the TIO during 2018–19 compared to 167,831 in 2018—a decrease of 21.1 per cent from 2017–18. For services delivered over the NBN, complaints about changing providers or establishing a connection reduced from 14,589 in 2017–18 to 11,635 in 2018–19—a decrease of 20 per cent. Complaints about the quality associated with services delivered over the NBN fell from 27,008 in 2017–18 to 23,362 in 2018–19—a decrease of 13.5 per cent.

Carriers are required to comply with the Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code when installing mobile phone base stations. The ACMA registered a revised version of the code in December 2018, which includes new, tailored consultation provisions dealing with the deployment of small cell mobile phone base stations. In 2018–19, the ACMA responded to 26 enquiries and received 72 complaints relating to compliance with the code.

Complaints about telemarketing reduced by approximately nine per cent in 2018–19 after a 42 per cent and 23 per cent increase (respectively) in the preceding two years. Conversely, complaints about spam increased by approximately 36.5 per cent in 2018–19.


National interestsThe number of calls to the Triple Zero and 112 emergency service numbers increased by 404,461 (4.5 per cent) to 9,400,424 calls in 2018–19. In 2018–19, 75.4 per cent of emergency calls (7,085,612) were made from mobile phones, 24 per cent from fixed-line phones and 1.9 per cent from payphones.

Telstra (the Triple Zero and international emergency number (112) emergency call service provider) performed above the benchmark requirement in the reporting period.

During 2018–19, the number of disclosures made by CSPs and carriers, as reported to the ACMA under section 308 of the Telecommunications Act, was 2,775,961, an increase of 507,165 or 22.4 per cent from 2017–18.

In September 2018, the ACMA completed an investigation under section 510 of the Telecommunications Act into the disruption to the Triple Zero service on 4 May 2018. The ACMA found that Telstra contravened section 22 of the Emergency Call Service Determination on 1,433 occasions. The disruption was triggered by a fire in an inter-capital fibre cable pit and was compounded by network software failures. The ACMA accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Telstra to improve the redundancy and diversity of its network.

Part 3

Key indicators—at a glance

9


Telecommunications services

Number of telecommunications services in operation (millions)

Jun 2015 Jun 2016 Jun 2017 Jun 2018 Jun 20192018–19 change

(%)

Mobile services (voice and data) 31.7 32.59 33.64 34.84 35.82 2.8

Fixed-line phone services (retail and resale) 8.50 8.48 8.46 8.20 7.82 –4.6

Note: Percentage change calculated subject to rounding error.

Sources: Total (retail and resale) 2015–19 figures: ACCC data collected from the providers stated in the Division 12 Report Record Keeping and Reporting Rules.

Fixed internet, mobile handset and mobile broadband services in operation (millions)

Jun 2015 Jun 2016 Jun 2017 Jun 2018 Jun 2019*

Total fixed internet subscriptions† 6.758 7.258 7.641 8.159 7.729

Mobile handset‡ 23.652 24.818 26.330 26.981 27.535

Mobile wireless (dongle, data card, USB modem services)

6.004 6.039 6.107 6.561 8.365

Total internet subscriptions 36.414 38.115 40.078 41.701 43.629

*A methodology and data provider change in 2019 invalidates any comparison with prior data. In June 2019 data was published by the ACCC for its Internet Activity Record Keeping Rule. All previous data provided in the table was published by ABS for Internet Activity 8153.0.

Note: ABS subscriber statistics up to June 2018 measure the number of ‘subscriber lines’ rather than the number of ‘users’. Counts of subscribers are not the same as counts of people/organisations with internet access, as some subscribers may have accounts with more than one ISP or multiple accounts with a single ISP. Relates to ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers. †Totals include data not available separately for publication (e.g., dial-up and n/a).‡Mobile handset means a handheld, electronic, mobile device used to transmit or communicate data, images or voice over a cellular network.

Source: ACCC, Internet activity RKR data June 2019; ABS, 8153.0 Internet activity, Australia, June 2014–18.

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/8153.0/


Australians with a fixed-line phone, smartphone or are mobile-phone-only (millions)


(%)

Fixed-line phone at home 13.07 12.56 11.92 10.98 9.46 –14.00

Own or use a smartphone 13.41 13.75 15.45 15.97 16.4 3.00

Mobile phone users without a home fixed-line telephone 5.32 5.78 6.67 7.82† 9.90 26.60

Mobile-only for internet* 3.84 3.80 3.55 3.00 3.15 n/a

n/a=not available for publication.

*2017 data for smartphone users is not comparable with previous years due to a change in methodology.†Revised data from that previously published.

Note: Data relates to people aged 18 years and over. Percentage changes are calculated on non-rounded data.

Source: See Chapter 1 for explanatory details for this data.

Payphones


(%)

Payphones (Telstra-operated and privately owned)

25,876 24,573 23,226 22,716 20,963 –7.7


Customer Service Guarantee (CSG)—services covered and compensation payments made (millions)


(%)

Number of telephone services covered by the CSG Standard*

6.34 6.11 6.11 5.78 5.32 –8.0

Compensation payments made by CSPs to customers

n/a n/a n/a 14.66 7.85 –46.5


*Relates to the number and value of compensation payments made by CSPs to customers occurring during the financial year.


Communications network and service providers


(%)

Members of the TIO scheme* 1,539 1,599 1,518 1,589 1,464 –7.9

Licensed carriers 235 256 282 292 306 4.8

*Carriers and eligible CSPs are required to join the TIO scheme. Eligible CSPs are those providers that supply fixed standard telephone, mobile or internet services to residential and small-business customers.


Part 3


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Volume of broadband and mobile data downloaded (TB and GB)

Qtr to

Jun 2015 (TB)

Qtr to Jun 2016

(TB)

Qtr to Jun 2017

(TB)

Qtr to Jun 2018

(TB)

Qtr to Jun 2019

(TB)*

Fixed network broadband† 1,349,975 2,049,553 2,913,245 3,714,068 5,290,790

Wireless broadband‡ 38,673 48,100 82,727 123,147 151,165

Mobile handset internet 71,572 121,147 175,076 246,765 545,555

Total volume of data downloaded§ 1,460,220 2,218,801 3,171,048 4,083,980 5,987,510

(GB) (GB) (GB) (GB) (GB)

Average per fixed network subscriber 207 291.9 394.4 475.6 700.97

Average per wireless broadband subscriber 6.3 7.8 13.2 18.2 18.50

Average per mobile phone handset internet subscriber 3 4.9 6.6 9.1 20.29

TB=terabyte, GB=gigabyte.

*New data provider: In June 2019 data was published by the ACCC for its Internet Activity Record Keeping Rule. All previous data provided in table was published by ABS for Internet Activity 8153.0. The methodology change invalidates a 2017–18 to 2018–19 change comparison.†ADSL, cable, fibre and other fixed-line broadband.‡Includes satellite, fixed wireless, mobile wireless via a datacard, dongle or USB modem, and other wireless broadband. Excludes subscriptions via mobile handsets.

§Total includes dial-up volume in the years to 2017.


Australians accessing online content services (millions)


(%)

Accessed professionally produced online video content*

n/a n/a 8.36 9.63 12.63 31.2

Accessed user-generated content n/a n/a n/a 6.84 8.57 25.3

Watched or played online games n/a n/a n/a 1.53 1.66 8.5


*Excludes user-generated content.

Note: Content accessed in the past seven days to each date.



Australians’ online participation—have broadband or accessed the internet via mobile phone (millions)

Jun 2015 Jun 2016 Jun 2017* Jun 2018 Jun 20192018–19 change

(%)

Have a broadband connection at home 15.72 15.76 16.04 16.66 17.01 2.10

Accessed internet via mobile phone during last 6 months

13.21 12.75 14.37 15.22 15.76 3.55

Number of ‘.au’ domain name registrations† 2.97 3.04 3.11 3.15 3.19 1.27

*2017 data is not comparable with previous years due to a change in methodology.†Excludes domain names registered under ‘.gov.au’.

Note: Data relates to people aged 18 years and over.

Source: See chapters 1 and 2 for explanatory details for this data.

Broadcasting licences

Broadcasting licences for commercial radio and TV, and subscription TV (number)


(%)

Commercial radio 274 274 274 274 274 0

Commercial television 69 69 69 69 69 0

Subscription television* 2,735 2,835 2,835 2,835 2,835 0

*Each subscription service is licensed separately.


Number portability

Local and mobile numbers ported (millions)


(%)

Local geographic numbers 1.224 0.991 1.32 1.249 1.286 3.0

Mobile numbers 1.721 1.734 1.871 2.272 2.55 12.2

Freephone and local rate 0.0125 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.0095 –14.3


Part 3


13

National interest matters

Calls to emergency service numbers Triple Zero and 112


(%)

Total number of calls offered (millions) 8.38 8.35 8.58 9.00 9.40 4.50

Total percentage of calls answered within 10 seconds

96 96 96 96 95 –1.04

Note: ‘Calls offered’ refers to the number of calls waiting at the instant the four-second recorded voice announcement finished.


Disclosures of customer information by carriers and CSPs to support law enforcement and national security agencies


(%)

Total number of disclosures 824,841 667,792 638,371 2,268,796 2,775,961 22.35


Complaints and investigations

Telemarketing and spam complaints/reports/enquiries


(%)

TIO total new complaints 124,417 111,989 158,016 167,831 132,387 –21.1

Telemarketing complaints 18,180 23,059 28,259 40,134 36,583 –8.8

Telemarketing enquiries 12,113 6,740 5,484 14,019 18,750 33.7

Spam (email and SMS) complaints n/a n/a 2,389 3,309 6,333 91.4

Spam enquiries 1,337 1,251 1,458 1,414 1,347 –4.7


Chapter 1Supply and access to communications and media servicesThis chapter describes the communications market, infrastructure and systems that underpin and shape the adoption of technology in an interconnected environment. It examines the major Australian developments designed to enhance the availability, efficiency and use of communications and media services.

This chapter, along with chapters 2 and 4, addresses the statutory reporting requirements under paragraphs 105(3)(a) and (b) of the Telecommunications Act as in force at the end of 30 June 2019.

Chapter 1

15

Supply and access to communications and media services

At a glance—our access to services

NBN

5.53 million premises activated—37.1% increase from June 2018

‘Ready for service’ areas: 10.545 million premises—29.8% increase from June 2018 (8.124 million premises)

5G sites

More than 400 5G-capable base stations installed across Australia

Carrier licenses

306 licensed carriers in Australia at June 2019—increase of 4.8%, with the ACMA granting 24 carrier licences in 2018–19

Fixed-line phones

7.82 million fixed-line phone services at June 2019, compared to 8.20 million services at June 2018—decrease of 4.6%

Mobiles

35.82 million mobile voice and data services—increase of 2.8% from June 2018

96% of Australian adults had a mobile phone, 83% had a smartphone

Internet subscribers

43.6 million internet subscriptions in Australia at June 2019, with 35.9 million mobile subscriptions and 7.729 million fixed subscriptions

IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) may deliver a boost to the local economy worth up to $116 billion and a 2% increase in national productivity by 20251

Online advertising

Made up 53% of main media advertising spend in the 2018 calendar year— an increase of 12%


1.1 Infrastructure

National Broadband NetworkThe National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian Government investment to upgrade Australia’s existing phone and internet infrastructure. NBN Co Limited (NBN Co) is a Commonwealth of Australia-owned government business enterprise. The commitment is to deliver access to peak wholesale download data rates of at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) to premises, and at least 50 Mbps peak wholesale download data rates to 90 per cent of the fixed-line network.2

Fixed network upgrade and replacement

NBN Co is upgrading and, in some cases, replacing broadband network infrastructure used in the supply of services over Telstra’s copper and cable networks. This impacts most services that are supplied by Telstra directly, as well as services supplied by other service providers using Telstra’s copper and cable networks. All premises within the NBN fixed-line footprint (in a ready for service area) are required to switch to the NBN if they wish to retain a phone and/or broadband service. Premises are typically given 18 months from the ready for service date to migrate to the NBN before mandatory disconnection occurs.3 However, the disconnection time frame for business consumers of ‘special services’ (that is, not standard telephone or internet access services) supplied via the Telstra copper network is generally 36 months. NBN Sky Muster Satellite4 and NBN Fixed Wireless5 access networks are typically used to provide broadband services outside of the NBN fixed-line footprint. Customers using these networks may choose to keep their existing phone service or migrate to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service as with the fixed-line network.

The coverage of the NBN, including areas that are active or under construction, is published on NBN Co’s website.6

The NBN uses a mix of broadband technologies. Figure 1.1 shows the capability of NBN broadband technologies and the potential upgrade path for each.

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Infrastructure


Figure 1.1: NBN broadband technologies

Source: NBN Corporate Plan 2019–22, page 11.

NBN-employed technologies and potential upgrade paths

Employed technologies Potential upgrade path

Peak download speed with upgradeCurrent speeds

Deploys fibre optic cable all the way to premises

Up to10 Gbps

Up to10 Gbps

Beingexplored

Beingexplored

NBN

Source: ‘Corporate Plan 2019-22’, Page 11.

fibre cable

copper cable

Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP)

Up to 1Gbps/

400Mbps

Fibre to a neighbourhood then utilises existing copper

Fibre-to-the-node/ building/ curb (FTTN/B/C) Up to

100/40Mbps

Up to50/

20Mbps

Up to25/5Mbps

NG-PON2

Existing fibre and coaxial cable

DOCSIS 3.1/Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1

Hybrid FibreCoaxial (HFC)

Targets remote areas beyond the reach of the fixed network

Sky MusterSatellite

Targets regional areas to deliver services beyond the reach of the fixed-line network

Spectrum optimisationFixed wireless

NextGen VSAT

Up to100/

40Mbps

Up to5 Gbps

NBN

G.fast/ G.mgfast


NBN developments

DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0 (Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1)NBN Co commenced its planned DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) 3.1 upgrade in August 2018.7 DOCSIS 3.1 improves the spectral efficiency of the Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) by doubling the available capacity. NBN Co is now in the process of testing DOCSIS 4.0 (formerly known as Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1), with the expectation of achieving 10 Gbps symmetrical wholesale speeds across the HFC network.8

G.fast and G.mgfastNBN Co commenced trial deployment of G.fast in November 2018 on its FTTC network. Higher speeds (up to 1 Gbps over 100 metres) over existing copper lines are experienced by extending the spectrum range to that employed in the delivery of VDSL2 (Very high-speed Digital Subscriber Line).9

Underserved areasNBN Co has prioritised its access network rollout in underserved areas (see Figure 1.2), with the rollout focused on areas where internet quality and availability have been poorest. The Broadband Availability and Quality Report, published by the Department of Communications and the Arts (DoCA)10, identified approximately 1.8 million underserved premises.11 At 30 June 2019, 1.64 million (91 per cent) premises identified as underserved now have access to the NBN. This represents an increase of 15.4 per cent since 30 June 2018.

Figure 1.2: Underserved vs. non-underserved area rollout (per cent)

Non-underserved RFSUnderserved RFS

74

91 88

Pre Jun-2018

100100

2018–19 2019–20

64

RFS: Ready for service

Source: DoCA

NBN Enterprise Ethernet On 30 October 2018, NBN Co announced the launch of its Enterprise Ethernet product. The built-on-request, point-to-point services offer symmetrical speeds up to 1 Gbps. Services are supplied with a premium service-level agreement between NBN Co and the retail provider.

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Infrastructure


NBN deployment progress

At 30 June 2019, there were:

> 10.545 million premises in ready for service areas—a 29.8 per cent increase from June 2018 (8.124 million premises).

> 9.954 million premises in ready to connect areas12—a 41.4 per cent increase from June 2018 (7.038 million premises).

> 5.532 million activated13 premises—a 37.1 per cent increase since June 2018 (4.036 million premises).

> 91 per cent of premises in non-metropolitan areas (4.9 million premises) with access to the NBN—an 8.9 per cent increase from 30 June 2018.

NBN Co expects to have built the required infrastructure for all Australian homes and businesses by 2020.14 Table 1.1 provides an overview of the status of premises as at 30 June 2019.

Table 1.1: NBN progress by technology—cumulative premises ready to connect and premises activated (millions)

Technology type 30 Jun 2016

30 Jun 2017

30 Jun 2018

30 Jun 2019

2018–19 change

(%)*

Premises ready to connect

Fixed-line footprint 2.005 4.510 5.997 8.852 47.6

Fixed wireless 0.421 0.518 0.610 0.659 8.1

Satellite 0.410 0.418 0.430 0.443 3.0

Total 2.836 5.445 7.038 9.954 41.4

Premises activated†

Fixed-line footprint 0.942 2.183 3.705 5.151 39

Fixed wireless 0.118 0.185 0.240 0.284 18.6

Satellite 0.039 0.075 0.090 0.095 5.7

Total 1.099 2.443 4.036 5.532 37.1

*Percentage change has been calculated on whole numbers.†‘Premises activated’ refers to premises that have an active service installed.

Source: NBN Co, Weekly Progress Report, July 2016, July 2017, July 2018, July 2019.

ACMA research and reports associated with the NBN

The ACMA published a range of reports relating to the NBN during the reporting period, including:

> Quantitative consumer research from residential households and small and medium-sized businesses based on their experiences migrating to services delivered over the NBN.15

> A better practice guide for NBN providers to help companies provide information in a way that makes it easier for customers to understand. This was published jointly with the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA).16


NBN associated reports published by other agencies include:

> The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) continued to publish its quarterly Measuring Broadband Australia report, which aims to increase transparency and encourage greater performance-based competition and better internet performance.

> The ACCC also published the Internet Activity Report, which provides information on the number of services in operation (SIO) and the volume of data downloaded across the NBN (published October 2019).17

> The TIO included NBN complaints data in its annual report.18

> NBN Co published weekly and monthly progress reports, and its annual report is available on the NBN Co website.

Wireless technologies—Australia’s mobile network

Legacy technology—closure of 3G

With the 2G network now closed, attention has turned to the timing of the 3G network retirement. CSPs have begun reallocating spectrum from little-used 3G services to the 4G network. On 30 April 2019, Telstra closed its 3G 2100 MHz network, reallocating the spectrum to increase the capacity of its 4GX network.19 Vodafone began phasing out its 3G 2100 MHz network, reallocating the spectrum to 4G in March 2019, with work scheduled to continue throughout 2019.20 Optus has not announced any 3G retirement plans, while Telstra announced its plan to retire its 3G network by June 2024.21

4G networks

Mobile network operators continued to expand their network coverage in 2018–19, with the three largest mobile carriers rolling out advanced 4G infrastructure on the 700 MHz (Telstra and Optus) and 850 MHz (Vodafone) spectrum bands. Known variously as 4GX (Telstra), 4G Plus (Optus) and 4.9G (Vodafone), these advanced 4G networks can carry voice and internet services, as well as IoT traffic.

During 2018–19, mobile network operator developments included:

> The continued rollout of Telstra’s 4G network to cover 2.5 million square kilometres at 30 June 2019.22 Optus‘s 4G network rollout continued to reach 97.3 per cent of the Australian population, making 4G Plus available in all capital cities and over 700 regional towns.23

> Vodafone launched its 4.9G network in Sydney’s western suburbs in May 2018, with four other metropolitan sites across Australia to be switched on throughout 2018.24 In March 2019, Vodafone announced that it was converting 2100 MHz spectrum from 3G to 4G to provide improved 4G service and capacity to more than two million customers in New South Wales.25

> TPG announced that it had cancelled its plan to enter the mobile market and would halt work on its data-only 4G network.26

Mobile Black Spot ProgramThe Australian Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program aims to improve mobile coverage and competition across Australia.27 The government’s $380 million commitment to the program is supported by additional co-contributions from mobile carriers Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, state and local governments, businesses and community organisations.

https://www.accc.gov.au/regulated-infrastructure/communications/monitoring-reporting/measuring-broadband-australia-program/measuring-broadband-australia-report-1

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Infrastructure


Program activity during the reporting period included:

> In June 2018, the fourth round of the program was launched, with $25 million to deliver improvements in more regional and remote communities.28 In March 2019, the results of the Round 4 competitive process were announced, with funding awarded for 180 new mobile base stations (49 Optus and 131 Telstra) to be delivered across regional and remote Australia.29

> In March 2019, the government announced that an additional $160 million had been allocated for rounds 5 and 6 of the program. This funding forms part of the government’s response to the 2018 Regional Telecommunications Review. The program guidelines for Round 5 were released in April 2019, with submissions for this round closing on 26 September 2019. The outcomes of the competitive assessment process for Round 5 are expected to be announced in early 2020. Round 6 is expected to commence following completion of the Round 5 process.30

> At 30 June 2019, 725 new base stations had been delivered under the program, including 155 completed in 2018–19.31

Mobile phone base stationsOptus, Telstra, and Vodafone are the carriers that operate mobile phone networks in Australia. When installing mobile phone base stations, these carriers are required to comply with the Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code.32 The ACMA registered a revised version of the code in December 2018, which includes new consultation provisions better suited to the rollout of small-scale infrastructure for the deployment of small cell mobile phone base stations, such as those for 5G.

5G networks

Australian network operators have commenced rolling out 5G technology, offering improved capacity, speeds and lower latency compared to 4G.

During 2018–19, network developments included:

> Telstra reported that it acquired 5G spectrum across Australia in the 3.6 GHz auction for $386 million. Telstra also reported that it rolled out more than 320 5G-enabled mobile base stations in 10 cities across Australia with its technology partner, Ericsson. Telstra anticipates increasing coverage fivefold by August 2020 as a further 35 cities and towns are connected.33

> Optus launched its 5G fixed wireless service in January 2019, offering customers access to 5G broadband across three sites (two in Canberra and one in Sydney).34 In May 2019, Optus expanded this program to include select customers in parts of western Sydney, the New South Wales central coast, Canberra and outside Brisbane.35 Optus’s deployment of 5G infrastructure continued, with 70 sites ready at the time of launch36 and a target of 1,200 sites by March 2020.37 In addition to its current holdings in metropolitan areas across the 3.4 to 3.7 GHz bands, Optus acquired spectrum across most of regional Australia in the 3.6 GHz band at auction for $185.1 million.38

> Vodafone is in the process of upgrading its transmission network, rolling out 4,000 kilometres of ’dark fibre’ to more than 3,000 sites across the country in preparation for 5G.39 Currently in the process of conducting detailed infrastructure planning40, Vodafone has indicated that it will launch its 5G service in 2020.41

> TPG has not officially announced plans relating to 5G but has agreements with Vodafone to provide dark fibre to Vodafone’s 3,000 sites over a 15-year period.42


> In December 2018, Vodafone and TPG Telecom announced that their spectrum joint venture company, Mobile JV, had acquired substantial spectrum holdings in the 3.6 GHz spectrum band, with 60 MHz across all metropolitan areas and at least 20 MHz in regional areas for $263.3 million.43

> Airspan Spectrum Holdings Ltd and Dense Air Limited acquired spectrum in the 3.6 GHz spectrum auction in Adelaide (30 MHz), Brisbane (35 MHz), Canberra (35 MHz), Melbourne (5 MHz), Perth (35 MHz) and Sydney (5 MHz)44 for $18.5 million and have intentions of commencing commercial operations in Australia in 2020.45 This is consistent with the unencumbered spectrum licences in the 3.6 GHz band becoming available on 30 March 2020.46

Further discussion of 5G developments is provided under Market developments later in this chapter.

Australian Government developments in 5GThe government is continuing work to ensure that Australia is well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities associated with 5G. In September 2019, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts established an inquiry to ‘investigate the capability, capacity and deployment of 5G, and [to] understand the application of 5G, including use cases for enterprise and government.’47 Submissions to the inquiry were due by 1 November 2019.

Spectrum developments

The ACMA, through its Five-year spectrum outlook 2018–2248, has detailed its planning activities to 2022 and continues to monitor developments across the communications landscape. The ACMA has continued its stakeholder consultation for spectrum planning and management with 5G-related activities.

> In December 2018, the ACMA auctioned 125 MHz of available spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band, which is recognised internationally as a key band for 5G services. All 350 lots available in the auction were sold, realising total revenue of approximately $853 million.49 The government set competition limits that restricted single bidders to acquire a maximum of 60 MHz in urban areas and 80 MHz in regional areas.50 The allocation limits took into account existing spectrum holdings in the broader 3400–3700 MHz band and aimed at preventing any one telecommunications carrier monopolising the spectrum to ensure a competitive mobile broadband market. Licences won at auction will commence in March 2020 and extend until 13 December 2030.51

> The ACMA released two consultation papers in September 2018 that considered planning options for 5G millimetre wave (mmWave) in the 26 GHz band and discussed the suitability of the 28 GHz band for a broad range of users and service types (including 5G). In December 2018, the ACMA commenced consultation on proposed updates to class licensing arrangements that involved additional spectrum in the 60 GHz range for data communication systems, including 5G.

> The ACMA is reconsidering configuration options in the 900 MHz band based on stakeholder feedback, with a focus on optimising the band for longer-term uses for 5G, providing flexibility for licensees to negotiate a downshift in the 850 MHz band, and conversion to longer-term licence tenure.

> In September 2018, the ACMA released an options paper52 outlining planning and configuration options for the 26 GHz band that included 5G coexistence between wireless broadband (5G) and incumbent services. There is significant international interest in both 26 GHz and 28 GHz as potentially the first spectrum to be released for mmWave 5G applications. This means that domestic decisions on 26 GHz are of potential relevance to arrangements in 28 GHz, and vice versa. Consideration of the 28 GHz band is currently at the initial investigation phase.

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Infrastructure


> Following the release of the Future use of the 26 GHz band—planning decisions and preliminary views paper in April 2019, the ACMA began the process to provide the Minister with a recommendation regarding spectrum licensing to support 5G services in the frequency range 25.1–27.5 GHz (the 26 GHz band). This included the May 2019 release of a consultation paper, Draft spectrum reallocation recommendation for the 26 GHz band in cities and regional centres. The consultation closed in June 2019, and 12 submissions were received from stakeholders. A recommendation was then made to the Minister who in turn made the Radiocommunications (Spectrum Re-allocation—26 GHz Band) Declaration 2019 in October 2019. Spectrum in this band can now be allocated across 29 specified cities and regional centres in Australia via a price-based allocation (auction) in early 2021.

> Planning arrangements for the adjacent 27.5–29.5 GHz (the 28 GHz band) are being closely considered in parallel with the 26 GHz band work.

Developments in IoT infrastructure

According to industry reports, IoT activity in 2018–19 included significant technological developments that, with greater cost efficiency, could potentially drive the next wave of IoT adoption.53

Telsyte, a market research, insights and advisory company, reported that IoT adoption in the Australian home market rose by 57 per cent in the 12 months to 2018 to $1.1 billion, driven by a surge in the take-up of smart speakers and the increasing internet connectivity of appliances such as air conditioners and security cameras. With the average household predicted to have 18 IoT-connected devices by 2023, the market is expected to continue its rapid growth and is forecast to be worth $5.3 billion within five years.54

Australia’s CSPs are investing millions of dollars to establish networks in a competitive market and are forming partnerships with government organisations and other technology companies to encourage further take-up of IoT.

Multiple IoT technologies are being rolled out across Australia, many falling into the class known as LPWAN (low-power wide area network). Among these are LTE Cat-M1 (Cat-M1), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Sigfox and LoRaWAN.

LTE Cat-M1 Switched on in August 2017, Telstra’s Cat-M1 IoT network had a coverage area of around 3.5 million square kilometres at June 2019.55 Take-up has been swift, with more than 3.2 million IoT devices connected by September 2019.56

Service provider Verizon has also rolled out a Cat M1 network, offering a voice service using ‘connected mode mobility’, which improves data transfers and handoffs, allowing for seamless transitions when using mobile voice or latency sensitive data.57

NB-IoT (LTE-CAT-NB1) NB-IoT is the most commonly used IoT technology in Australia; 112 NB-IoT networks have been announced so far, with 103 using LoRaWAN technology.58

NB-IoT is more suited to communications in fixed environments such as buildings and is unable to carry voice communications, so is limited to machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. Australia’s communications service providers have been using NB-IoT technology to establish their IoT networks:

> In September 2018, Telstra, together with technology partner Ericsson, deployed NB-IoT Extended Range, a technology that increased Telstra’s NB-IoT coverage to over 3.5 million square kilometres and allows data connections of up to 100 kilometres, more than double the 3GPP standards-based limits.59


> During the 2018–19 year, Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) extended its NB-IoT footprint to 89 per cent of the Australian population.60

> In September 2019, Optus announced a partnership with telco-nanosatellite provider Myriota Pty Ltd, which employs low Earth orbit nanosatellites to retrieve and send data from IoT modules across the country to the cloud.61 According to Optus, this technology will provide those living in regional and remote areas of Australia with low-cost, and long battery life connectivity for their connected devices.

SigfoxIn Australia, Sigfox operator Thinxtra Ltd (Thinxtra) has continued to expand its networks, though at a slower rate compared with those using NB-IoT technology. Heavily focussed on agricultural, urban planning and water resource management, Thinxtra had 2.2 million connected devices in the pipeline in September 2018.62

LoRa/LoRaWAN LoRaWAN networks are being rolled out by a range of organisations, typically municipal councils, utility providers and infrastructure companies. One of the largest deployments will see 48 LoRaWAN gateways installed across the northern suburbs of Melbourne. A federal and state government initiative launched under the Smart Cities Plan, the project seeks to provide insights into community usage of facilities and improve municipal service delivery for the communities of Whittlesea, Banyule, Mitchell, Nillumbik and Moreland.63

LTE-BroadcastLTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) technology enables wireless signals to travel more efficiently, delivering data streams to multiple mobile users, instead of sending an individual stream to each user. This allows for increased network capacity and meets the ever-increasing demand for data and video where network capacity may be limited, such as at major sporting events and concerts. However, the limited number of compatible handsets has discouraged its adoption by some providers.

Submarine cablesSubmarine cable systems are responsible for carrying most international data and voice traffic, with satellite accounting for only one per cent of total traffic. As the global demand for bandwidth continues to rise, submarine cables are more important than ever. In 2018–19, increasing demand to expand capacity, particularly in the Pacific region, saw several cable projects in Australia underway or reach completion.

At June 2019, there were 11 international submarine cables connecting Australia to the rest of the world across three protection zones—two located off the Sydney coast and one located off the Perth coast. There were also five domestic submarine cables, with the addition of Indigo Central (Sydney to Perth), which commenced service in May 2019 (Figure 1.3).

The Indigo Consortium’s international cable (the Indigo West Cable) between Perth and Singapore, via Jakarta was also switched on in May 2019. Indigo West is the second new submarine cable to traverse the Perth–Singapore route, following installation of Vocus’s Australia Singapore Cable in September 2018. This route was previously served by the ageing Sea-Me-We3 cable, which has suffered numerous breaks over the past 15 years.

On the east coast of Australia, construction of the Japan Guam Australia South Cable (JGA-South), has begun. JGA-South will link Sydney to Guam and includes an additional cable branch landing in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. This is the first new cable to land on the east coast outside of the protection zones off Sydney. JGA-South is expected to commence service in early 2020.64

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Infrastructure


Work on the Coral Sea Cable System has also progressed, with the cable now installed at landing sites in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon Islands. The Coral Sea Cable System is a 4,700-kilometre-long submarine cable system linking Sydney to Port Moresby in PNG, and Honiara in the Solomon Islands. The Australian Government is funding two-thirds of the cable system with PNG and Solomon Islands governments jointly contributing to the remaining project costs. The availability of faster, cheaper, and more reliable communications infrastructure is expected to deliver significant economic and development benefits to the region.65

Figure 1.3: Australia region submarine cables

PerthSydney

Singapore

Indonesia

Guam

Madang

Port Moresby

Noumea

Australia-Japan-Cable

Tasman Global Access

Southern Cross - South

Hawaiki

Southern Cross - S

outh

Southern Cross - N

orth

Endeavour

Gondwana-1

PPC-1

APNG-2

Indigo Central

SEAMEW

E3

ASC

Indigo Central

NWSC

NWFON

To Japan To the US

Suva

Pago Pago

Hawaii

RaglanWhenuapaiTakapunaMangawhai

OnslowDevils Creek

Port Hedland

DarwinChristmas Island

Bass Strait 1 and 2 Basslink

APNG-2 - Australia Papua New Guinea 2ASC - Australia Singapore CableNWSC - North West Shelf CableNWFON - North West Fibre Optic NetworkPCC-1 - Pipe Pacific Cable 1SEAMEWE3 - South East Asia Middle East Western Europe 3

Sources: Cable data: ACMA; Map data: snazzy.com, © 2019 Google.

PayphonesTelstra has a Universal Service Obligation (USO) to make sure that payphones are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis, wherever they work or live. There were 15,892 public Telstra USO payphones in 2018–19 with approximately 13 million calls made, 178,253 of which were emergency calls to ‘000’. Telstra has commenced an upgrade project to enhance services offered in metropolitan areas. The new payphones will provide additional services, including mobile phone charging, wi-fi access and communicating emergency alerts, together with tourist and public transport information.66 For more information about payphones in Australia, see Chapter 4.


1.2 Network access and online services

Carriers and CSPs At 30 June 2019, there were 306 licensed carriers in Australia—an increase of 4.8 per cent since 30 June 2018. In 2018–19, the ACMA granted 24 carrier licences, eight carriers surrendered their licences, and two carrier licensees were deregistered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4: Number of carrier licences

2015–16

2014–15

2017–18

2016–17

2018–19

Total in operation

Total granted

Total surrendered/cancelled

27

31

4

229

249

7

33

275

292

8

27

4

24

306

11

10

Note: Carrier licence data may be different to previously published due to counting errors.

Source: ACMA.

A nominated carrier declaration (NCD) permits the owner(s) of one or more network units to nominate a carrier to be responsible for the units, thereby enabling the units to be used to supply services to the public. At 30 June 2019, there were 93 NCDs in force. In 2018–19, the ACMA granted three NCDs, down from eight in 2017–18 and revoked five67, the same as last year. One trial certificate was issued, compared to four in 2017–18 (Figure 1.5).68

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Network access and online services


Figure 1.5: Number of nominated carrier declarations

2015–16

2014–15

2017–18

2016–17

2018–19

Total in operation

Total granted

Total revoked

90

84

79

8

9

6

2

4

1

8

5

93

91

3

5

Source: ACMA.

While CSPs do not need to be licensed or registered, TIO scheme membership is mandatory for all eligible CSPs that supply or resell telecommunications services to residential customers and small businesses, or that supply or resell public mobile telecommunication services or internet services to any customers. At June 2019, the total number of CSPs identified as members of the TIO scheme fell to 1,464—a 7.9 per cent decrease.69

Allocation of numbers

Smartnumbers

The Numbering System sells the rights of use to smartnumbers (numbers starting with 13, 1300 and 1800, where the number may have a valuable pattern or spell a word). In 2018–19, the rights of use to 4,164 smartnumbers were sold, 477 fewer than 2017–18.

Geographic numbers

In 2018–19, CSPs were allocated 3,073,200 geographic numbers, compared to 6,069,000 in 2017–18 (Figure 1.6). The reduction is partially explained by CSPs erroneously requesting an Australia-wide allocation of numbers, which totalled approximately one million numbers. The ACMA modified its allocation process accordingly to prevent unnecessary allocation. The return of approximately six million numbers is expected in 2019–20 as a result. No geographic numbers were surrendered in 2018–19; however, 956,200 were surrendered in 2017–18.

A total of 18,000 geographic numbers were transferred between CSPs in 2018–19, falling from 19,000 in 2017–18.


Figure 1.6: Number of geographic numbers allocated per annum to CSPs

6,069,000*

7,020,800

3,083,200

1,572,100

2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19

3,073,200

0

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

*Figure previously reported in error as 9,069,000.

Source: ACMA.

Mobile numbers

During 2018–19, CSPs were allocated 2,600,000 new mobile numbers, a 261 per cent increase from 720,000 new mobile numbers in 2017–18.

Other numbers

During 2018–19, one interconnection and routing code, and two mobile network codes were allocated, along with 1,000 internal network and seven premium rate numbers.

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Broadcasting in Australia


1.3 Broadcasting in Australia

Licences in operation The number of commercial broadcasting licences in operation for television and radio did not change during the reporting period. However, minor increases in community radio licences occurred in 2018–19.

At 30 June 2019, the number of active broadcasting licences in Australia were (Figure 1.7):

> 343 commercial broadcasting (radio and television) licences—unchanged from the previous year

> 2,835 subscription television broadcasting licences—unchanged from the previous year

> 469 community radio and television broadcasting licences (including temporary and trial licences)—an increase of five licences from last year.

Figure 1.7: Number of broadcasting licences in operation in Australia

2018–192017–18

Trial community television

Long-term community television

Temporary community radio

Long-term community radio

Subscription television

Commercial television

Commercial radio 274

2,835

2,835

274

69

69

357

353

105

104

5

5

2

2

Source: ACMA.

Community radio broadcasting licences

At 30 June 2019, there were 357 long-term community radio broadcasting licences, representing a range of community interests (Table 1.2). Fifty-one per cent of these licences were for remote Indigenous broadcasting services.


Table 1.2: Number of long-term community radio broadcasting licences by community interest, June 2019

Community interest Number of licences Total (%)

General geographic area 181 51

Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander 91 25

Religious 35 10

Special interest 20 6

Ethnic 6 2

Music 8 2

Senior citizen 8 2

Youth 8 2

Total 357 100

Source: ACMA.

Broadcasting ownership and control: television The media control and diversity rules seek to limit concentration of broadcasting ownership and control within licence areas.

The Seven, Nine and Ten networks operate commercial television broadcasting licences predominantly in metropolitan markets. Their programming is also made available in regional markets through affiliation agreements with the regional television licences controlled by Prime Media Group Limited, Southern Cross Media Group Limited (Southern Cross), WIN Corporation Pty Ltd (WIN) and Imparja Television Pty Ltd.70 Table 1.3 summarises ownership and control of these services in Australia.

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Table 1.3: Ownership and control of commercial television services in Australia

Company Licence type Number Ownership and control—licence areas

Seven Group Holdings Ltd

Metropolitan 5 Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth

Regional 1 Regional Queensland

Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Ltd

Metropolitan 5 Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth

Regional 3Darwin (one sole operation and one joint venture with Southern Cross Media Group Ltd) and Northern New South Wales

Ten Network Holdings Ltd Metropolitan 5 Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth

WIN Corporation Pty Ltd Regional 22

Across regional Australia, including joint ventures in:

Tasmania with Southern Cross Media Group Ltd

Mildura, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Western Zone, South West and Great Southern television licence areas with Prime Media Group Ltd

Also includes three licences in each of Griffith, Riverland, and Mount Gambier South-East licence areas, and one licence in Northern New South Wales

Southern Cross Media Group Ltd Regional 18

Across regional Australia, including joint ventures in:

Darwin with Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd

Tasmania with WIN Corporation Pty Ltd

Mt Isa and Remote Central and Eastern Australia TV2 licence areas with Imparja Television Pty Ltd

Also includes three licences in each of the Broken Hill and Spencer Gulf licence areas

Prime Media Group Ltd Regional 13

Across regional Australia, including joint ventures in Mildura, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Western Zone, South-West, and Great Southern licence areas with WIN Corporation Pty Ltd

Note: Does not include licences for services provided by satellite allocated under section 38C and other licences allocated under subsection 40(1) of the BSA. The number of licences does not add up to the total number of commercial television broadcasting licences (69) due to double counting of joint ventures.

Source: ACMA, Register of Controlled Media Groups and the Media Control Database.71

Notifications of changes in control

During 2018–19, there were several ownership and control changes in the media. Some were the result of takeovers and mergers while others were a result of company restructures.

The key changes that occurred during 2018–19 included:

> On 15 November 2018, News Corp acquired Racing Internet Services Pty Ltd (Racenet). Racenet provides horse racing news and information to consumers along with betting affiliate services to corporate bookmakers. News Corp owned Punters.com.au prior to the acquisition, a website with similar functionality to Racenet.72


> On 30 November 2018, Grant Broadcasters Pty Ltd (Grant Broadcasters) acquired the Hot Tomato Australia Pty Ltd, the commercial radio broadcasting licence in the Gold Coast RA1 licence area. As a result of this transaction, Grant Broadcasters came into a position to exercise control of the licence and Hans Torv, Maria Mann, Kaia Torv and Torv Nominees Pty Limited ceased being able to exercise control of the licence.

> On 7 December 2018, Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited (Nine) acquired all the issued shares of Fairfax Media Limited (Fairfax). As a result of this transaction, Nine came into a position to exercise control of the Fairfax-associated newspapers and the Macquarie Media Limited commercial radio broadcasting licences. Fairfax was subsequently removed from the official ASX list.

> On 31 May 2019, Broadcast Operations Pty Ltd acquired the Bathurst Broadcasters Pty Ltd commercial radio broadcasting licences in Bathurst RA1 from Camplin Broadcasters Pty Ltd. As a result of this transaction, Broadcast Operations, Bill Caralis and Pamela Caralis came into a position to exercise control of the licences. Camplin Broadcasters Pty Ltd, Ron Camplin and Stephanie Camplin ceased being able to exercise control of the licences.

> On 30 June 2019, an entity associated with Antony Catalano and Thorney Investment group acquired Nine’s Australian Community Media (ACM) business, the responsible entity for Nine’s regional associated newspapers. As a result of this transaction, Antony Catalano, Thorney Investment Group Australia Pty Ltd and others assumed control of the ACM regional associated newspapers, with Nine relinquishing control.

Amendments to media ownership legislationThe Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Foreign Media Ownership, Community Radio and Other Measures) Act 2018 commenced on 1 September 2018 and established new notification requirements in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) for foreign persons with interests in Australian media companies.73

From 1 September, a foreign person (as defined in the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975) with company interests of 2.5 per cent or more (a foreign stakeholder) in an Australian media company is required to notify the ACMA of that interest. Australian media companies include companies that hold commercial television or radio broadcasting licences, or that publish newspapers that are associated with commercial broadcasting licence areas.

Foreign persons also have an ongoing obligation to notify the ACMA if they become, or cease to be, a foreign stakeholder, and foreign stakeholders have further annual reporting obligations.

The ACMA must maintain a Register of Foreign Owners of Media Assets. The register must include the information provided by foreign stakeholders and their interests in Australian media assets. The register was published on the ACMA’s website on 1 March 2019.

Notifications by foreign stakeholders

During the reporting period, the ACMA received 222 foreign stakeholder notifications in relation to 92 foreign stakeholders.

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Broadcasting reform in regional television: local information On 16 October 2017, the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Act 2017 (Broadcasting Reform Act) commenced, which reformed the existing regulatory framework for the provision of ‘material of local significance’ (that is, local content) by commercial television broadcasting licensees in regional areas. The Broadcasting Reform Act introduced:

> additional local content obligations for commercial television broadcasting licences already covered by local content rules in the more populous regional licence areas in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania (collectively referred to as ‘aggregated’ licence areas)

> new local content obligations for commercial television broadcasting licences in the remaining ‘non-aggregated’ regional licence areas in South Australia, Western Australia, and western parts of New South Wales and Queensland.

The new and additional local content rules come into effect where a regional commercial television broadcasting licence becomes part of a network of television licences with a common controller that has a market reach in excess of 75 per cent of the Australian population (known as a ‘trigger event’).

To facilitate the new framework, the BSA requires the ACMA to make a local programming determination for regional television licences to come into effect within six months of the legislation being enacted.

Accordingly, on 22 March 2018, the ACMA made the Broadcasting Services Local Programming Determination 2018, which came into effect on 17 April 2018.

Trigger events

There were no regional television trigger events from the time of enactment of the Broadcasting Reform Act to the end of the reporting period.

Non-trigger-event affected licensees

The following regional aggregated commercial television broadcasting licensees in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania must broadcast minimum amounts of material of local significance (local content) as defined by the Broadcasting Services Local Programming Determination 2018.

> Seven Qld, Southern Cross and WIN TV in regional Queensland

> NBN Ltd, Prime Television and WIN TV in northern New South Wales

> Prime Television, Southern Cross and WIN TV in southern New South Wales

> Prime Television, Southern Cross and WIN TV in regional Victoria

> Southern Cross, WIN TV and Southern Cross/WIN joint venture in Tasmania.

For the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, the ACMA did not receive any complaints about compliance under the licence condition or the Determination.

Broadcasting ownership and control: radioThe media control and diversity rules seek to limit concentration of broadcasting ownership and control within licence areas.

> Southern Cross, Australian Radio Network Pty Ltd, Nova Entertainment Pty Ltd and Macquarie Media Limited own most of the capital city commercial radio broadcasting licences.

> Southern Cross, Broadcast Operations Pty Ltd (Super Radio Network) and Grant Broadcasters Pty Ltd remain the three largest networks of regional commercial radio broadcasting licences.


> Nine different networks each control more than six commercial radio broadcasting licences, which is unchanged from the previous year. Together, these nine networks control 231 licences out of a total of 262 commercial radio licences that are subject to the media diversity and control rules under Part 5 of the BSA. This does not include commercial radio broadcasting licences allocated under subsection 40(1) of the BSA. The remaining 34 licences are held by 16 networks/owners, each with five or fewer licences.

Table 1.4 shows the ownership and control of commercial radio services in 2018–19.

Table 1.4: Ownership and control of commercial radio service

Network group companyTotal

licences controlled

Ownership and control—licences and operations

ACE Radio Broadcasters Pty Ltd 13

Licences in regional Victoria and one licence in the regional New South Wales licence area of Albury, which includes parts of regional Victoria.

Australian Radio Network Pty Ltd (HT&E Limited) 13

Metropolitan licences in Adelaide (2), Brisbane (1), Melbourne (2), Perth (1), Sydney (1) and western suburbs, Sydney (1).

One regional radio licence in Katoomba, New South Wales.

Two joint-venture licences with Nova Entertainment Pty Ltd, one in each of Brisbane and Perth, and two joint-ventures with Southern Cross Media Group Ltd in Canberra.

Nova Entertainment Pty Ltd 10

Metropolitan licences in Adelaide (2), Brisbane (1), Melbourne (2) and Sydney (2) as well as one regional radio licence in Gosford, NSW (1).

Two joint-venture licences with Australian Radio Network Pty Ltd, one each in Brisbane and Perth.

Grant Broadcasters Pty Ltd 53

A metropolitan licence in Perth.

Licences in regional areas in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, including five joint-venture licences with Kevin Blyton that are part of the Capital Radio Network.

Macquarie Media Limited (formerly Macquarie Radio Network Ltd)*

7 Metropolitan licences in Brisbane (2), Melbourne (2), Perth (1) and Sydney (2).

Redwave Media Ltd/ Seven Group Holdings Ltd 9 Licences in regional and remote areas in Western Australia.

Southern Cross Media Group Ltd 78

Metropolitan licences in Adelaide (2), Brisbane (2), Melbourne (2), Perth (2) and Sydney (2).

Licences in regional areas in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Two joint-venture licences with Australian Radio Network Pty Ltd in Canberra.

Broadcast Operations Pty Ltd (Super Radio Network) 38

Licences in regional areas of New South Wales and Queensland.

One metropolitan licence in Sydney.

Resonate Broadcasters Pty Ltd and Resonate Regional Radio Pty Limited

10

Licences in regional areas in Queensland, including six held by Resonate Regional Radio Pty Limited—Charleville (2), Emerald (1), Kingaroy (1), Mt Isa (1), and Roma (1), and four held by Resonate Broadcasters Pty Ltd—Longreach (2) and Charters Towers (2).

*Nine acquired the outstanding shares in September 2019, taking 100 per cent ownership.

Note: Table includes networks with more than six licences.

Source: ACMA, Register of controlled media groups and media control database.74

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Local content, information, and presence on regional commercial radioRegional commercial radio licensees are required to broadcast prescribed amounts of material of local significance (local content) each year. For the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, the ACMA did not receive any complaints about compliance with local content obligations.

Regional commercial radio licensees are also required to comply with additional obligations where there has been a change in ownership or control known as a ‘trigger event’. The licensee for a trigger event-affected licence must:

> meet minimum service standards requiring the broadcasting of specified amounts of local news and information

> maintain existing levels of ‘local presence’ (that is, local staff and facilities) for 24 months from the date of the trigger event (the local presence obligation).

The ACMA did not receive any complaints about compliance with minimum service standards or local presence obligations in 2018–19.

Reporting on minimum service standards

As part of the requirement to meet minimum service standards, licensees for trigger event-affected licences are required to submit local content plans to the ACMA for approval within 90 days of the trigger event and must submit annual compliance reports on these plans by 30 September each year.

During the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, there were two trigger events affecting three regional commercial radio licences; none of those licences had previously been affected by a trigger event. All required draft local content plans and local presence reports were provided in the 90-day statutory time frame.

Annual reports for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 were received by all 145 trigger event-affected licensees with local content plans in force. Only two reported non-compliance with their approved local content plans for four licences. These licensees provided less than the minimum number of eligible local weather bulletins specified in their local content plan (although all provided more than the statutory minimum of five eligible local weather bulletins per week). Considering the low impact of the breach and the steps licensees took to rectify the non-compliance, all four cases were resolved with no further action.

Reporting on the local presence obligation

As part of the requirement to maintain existing levels of local presence, licensees for trigger event-affected licences are required to report on the existing levels of local presence within 90 days of a trigger event, and to report again on their compliance with the requirement within three months of the end of the 24-month local presence obligation period.

The 24-month local presence obligation ceased for two regional commercial radio licences. The required end-of-period local presence compliance reports were provided in the required time frame.


Cross-media ownership The following entities control two types of media assets in the same market:

> Southern Cross Media Group controls a combination of radio and television broadcasting licences in 21 radio licence areas.

> Nine controls two radio licences and a newspaper in Melbourne, and two radio licences and a newspaper in Sydney.

> Seven Group Holdings Limited controls a television licence and a newspaper in Perth.

> WIN Corporation controls a radio and television licence in Wollongong.

> Lachlan Murdoch, through his position as Co-Chairman of News Corporation and interests in Nova Entertainment Pty Ltd, controls two radio licences and an associated newspaper in each of the Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Melbourne metropolitan licence areas.

> On 7 December 2018, the merger of Nine and Fairfax Media Limited was completed. At September 2019, Nine commenced purchasing the remainder of the shares (that it did not acquire via the Fairfax merger) to fully own Macquarie Media and increase its cross-media ownership by adding radio.

Notification of changes in control

Commercial television and radio broadcasting licensees and publishers of associated newspapers must notify the ACMA of any changes in control within 10 business days of becoming aware of those changes (section 63 of the BSA). Those who come into a position to exercise control of such licences and associated newspapers are also required to notify the ACMA within 10 business days of becoming aware of the change in control (section 64 of the BSA).

During 2018–19, there were no informal advisory letters, formal warnings or infringement notices given for late notifications of changes in control.

There were eight events affecting the control of media operations. These notifications of change of control affected:

> five commercial television broadcasting licences

> 10 commercial radio broadcasting licences

> 18 associated newspapers.

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Supply of services


1.4 Supply of services

Market overviewOvum estimate that the total revenue generated by Australian telecommunication industry for 2018–19 was $41.65 billion––a four per cent increase since 2017–18. Fixed and mobile service revenues account for $22.13 billion of the total revenue in 2018–19––a 4.1 per cent decrease since 2017–18 and a continuation of the decreasing trend that began in 2015–16. Of the 2018–19 total revenue, fixed service revenues account for $8.56 billion––a 4.8 per cent decrease since 2017–18, while mobile service revenues account for $13.57 billion––a 3.6 per cent decrease since 2017–18.75

There were 7.82 million fixed-line phone services in operation at June 2019, compared to 8.20 million services at June 2018––a decline of 4.6 per cent (Table 1.5). Telstra retail services accounted for 57 per cent of fixed-line phone retail and resale services at June 2019. This continues the 2018–19 decline in fixed-line phone services––three per cent at June 2018.

Table 1.5: Fixed-line services in operation

Jun 15† Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 18 Jun 192018–19 change

(%)

Total 8.50 8.48* 8.46 8.20* 7.82 –4.6

Total Telstra (retail only) 5.98 5.71 5.36 4.89 4.42 –9.6

*ACCC has revised the 2016 figures for total retail and resale subscribers and they are different from those previously published.

†Methodology change from 2015 to report total resale (retail services directly connected via another network) and retail, excluding wholesale services in operation. Previously, the ACMA reported total retail and wholesale, excluding resale services in operation.

Note: Percentage change calculated subject to rounding error.

Sources: Total—2015–19 figures: ACCC data collected from the providers stated in the Division 12 Report Record Keeping and Reporting Rules. Total Telstra (retail only): Telstra annual reports.


Access to a fixed-line phoneThe number of Australian adults with a fixed-line phone service at home continued to decline—less than half (49 per cent or 9.46 million) of Australian adults had a fixed-line phone at home at June 2019, down from 70 per cent four years ago (Figure 1.8).76

Figure 1.8: Australians with a fixed-line phone service at home (percentage)

7068

58

64

2015 2016 2017 201840

50

60

70

80

2019

49

Base: Australians aged 18 years and over, in the 12 months to June of each year.

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source.

Mobile

Carrier market share

During 2018–19, there was little change in the market share for Australia’s three mobile carriers. Telstra’s share of mobile services increased slightly by one percentage point to 54.6 per cent. Optus’s share decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 28.7 per cent, while Vodafone Australia’s share also decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 16.7 per cent (Figure 1.9).

Figure 1.9: Mobile services in operation—carrier share and customer base

2017–18

2018–19

VodafoneOptusTelstra

53.6%

54.6%

29.2% 17.2%

16.7%28.7%

Number of services

Number of services 18.69 m 10.17 m 5.98 m

19.54 m 10.29 m 5.99 m

Notes: Percentage changes are calculated on unrounded figures.

Telstra figure includes satellite services.

Source: Telstra Corporation Limited – Financial results for the full year ended 30 June 2019 – CEO/CFO Analyst Briefing Presentation and Materials77; Singapore Telecommunications Limited and subsidiary companies, Management discussion and analysis of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the first quarter ended 30 June 201978; and Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited ASX Half Year Information 30 June 2019.79

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Supply of services


Access to mobile services

At June 2019, 35.82 million mobile voice and data services were in operation in Australia—an increase of 2.8 per cent on the previous year (Figure 1.10).

Figure 1.10: Mobile services in operation by product category (million)

2016–172017–182018–19Satellite

MVNO/wholesale

Machine-to-machine

Mobile broadband

Prepaid

Postpaid

Total

0.030.030.03

1.041.09

1.942.19

4.975.01

9.359.29

34.8433.57

16.6315.93

35.82

17.42

8.87

4.81

3.13

1.55

Note 1: The total figure includes retail (excluding resale) and wholesale mobile services. The retail services component includes postpaid and prepaid mobile services, mobile broadband, M2M and satellite services.

Note 2: Data may not add up to displayed totals due to rounding.

Note 3: Totals may be different from those previously published by the ACMA due to some providers reclassifying customers into different categories.

Sources: Telstra Corporation Limited – Financial results for the full year ended 30 June 2019 – CEO/CFO Analyst Briefing Presentation and Materials80; Singapore Telecommunications Limited and subsidiary companies, Management discussion and analysis of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the first quarter ended 30 June 201981; and Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited ASX Half Year Information 30 June 2019.82

Mobile phone use and ownership

At June 2019, 83 per cent (approximately 16.4 million) of Australian adults had a smartphone (Figure 1.11). There has been little percentage change over the past five years of those who had a mobile phone of any kind—95 per cent (approximately 18.72 million) in the six months to survey date in May 2019.


Figure 1.11: Own or use a mobile phone, have a smartphone in the last six months (percentage)

May 15 May 18Jun 16 Jun 17

9394 9695 Use a mobile phone

Have a smartphone

0

25

50

75

100

7674

8381

May 19

95

83

Base: Australians aged 18 and over (over the 12 months to June for each year).

Source: ACMA-commissioned surveys, May 2014, 2015, June 2016, 2017, and May 2018 in the six months to May/June of each year.

The mobile phone continues to be the most popular and most frequently used device to access the internet. Chapter 2 provides more detailed information on internet activities and device use.

Prepaid or postpaid

Around 19 million Australian adults were the main users of a mobile phone in the 12 months to June 2019. Of those who knew their payment type, 69 per cent had a postpaid mobile phone plan, with the remaining users having a prepaid plan at June 2019. The proportions of prepaid and postpaid mobile phone users have remained consistent in Australia over the past five years (see Figure 1.12).

Figure 1.12: Mobile phone payment plans—prepaid and postpaid (percentage)

2015–162014–15

7068 69 69

3032 31 31 31

2016–17 2017–18

PostpaidPrepaid

2018–19

69

Note: Numbers may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who are the main user of a mobile phone (over the 12 months to June for each year). Excludes ‘don’t know’ responses.


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Supply of services


Australia’s internet supply

Internet service providers

Table 1.6 provides a snapshot of fixed internet services in operation by number of subscribers in the Australian market for the top four internet service providers (ISPs)—Telstra, Optus, TPG (which includes iiNet) and Vocus Communications (which includes M2 Group).

Table 1.6: Fixed internet services in operation for key Australian ISPs (‘000)

ISP 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2018–19 change (%)

Telstra 5,510 6,141 6.305 2.67

Optus 1,174 1,249 1,141 –8.6

TPG 1,936 1,931 1,926 –0.25

Vocus Communications 550* 528* 502 –4.92

Internet/broadband services for each ISP are calculated by summing the following:

Telstra: The table has been revised in 2018 to include Telstra NBN services and exclude Telstra wholesale services. Terminology used is consistent with that used in company annual reports. Fixed-broadband retail, NBN premise bundled connections excluding voice-only, ISDN access (basic line equivalents).

Optus: bundle and standalone broadband customers.83

TPG: On-net ADSL bundle, on-net ADSL, FTTB, off-net ADSL, NBN.

Vocus Communications: Bundled and DSL, NBN.

Note: Terminology used is consistent with that used in company annual reports. ‘On-net’ refers to services provided by the ISP over its own network. Off-net and off-net resale refer to services provided by an ISP over another ISP’s network. The number of subscribers is measured using the number of subscriber lines rather than number of users. Subscribers may have multiple accounts with more than one ISP. Numbers presented in the table may also include SIO of subsidiaries. Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

Source: Company annual reports and press releases.

Internet subscriptions

There were 43.629 million internet subscriptions in Australia at June 2019 (Table 1.7).


Table 1.7: Internet services in operation by technology type (millions), 2018–19

Technology Jun 19*

Non-NBN

ADSL 1.863

Cable 0.774

Satellite 0.032

Fixed wireless† 0.003

Fibre 0.152

NBN 4.905

Total fixed internet subscriptions 7.729

Mobile handset 27.535

Mobile wireless (dongle, data card, USB modem services) 8.365

Total mobile internet subscriptions 35.9

Total internet subscriptions‡ 43.629

Source: ACCC, Internet activity RKR data June 2019.

*Note new data provider, the ACCC, published its Internet Activity Record for the first time in June 2019. Prior to that, the ABS published Internet Activity Survey results. See the Introduction of the ACCC’s Internet Activity Record for full explanation of compatibility issues preventing direct comparison.84

†Fixed wireless: for example, a service that uses an air interface to connect an internet service. An antenna installed at the customer’s premises receives signals from the service provider’s base station.‡Includes mobile phone handset, mobile wireless broadband, fixed broadband, satellite, fixed wireless, other broadband and dial-up subscriptions.

Table 1.8: Internet subscriptions by technology type (millions), June 2015 to June 2018

Technology type Jun 15 Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 18

ADSL 5.106 5.032 4.233 3.232

Cable 0.996 1.029 1.010 0.937

Satellite 0.69 0.062 n/a 0.132

Fixed wireless* n/a 0.083 0.138 0.217

Fibre 0.420 0.960 2.144 3.640

Other n/a 0.001 n/a 0.001

Total fixed internet subscriptions* 6.758 7.258 7.641 8.159

Mobile handset 23.652 24.818 26.330 26.981

Mobile wireless (dongle, data card, USB modem services) 6.004 6.039 6.107 6.561

Total mobile internet subscriptions 29.656 30.857 32.437 33.542

Total internet subscriptions† 36.414 38.115 40.078 41.701

Source: ABS, 8153.0 Internet activity, Australia, June 2014–18.

*Fixed wireless: for example, includes an NBN fixed wireless service that uses an air interface to connect an internet service. An antenna installed at the customer’s premises receives signals from the service provider’s base station. †Includes mobile phone handset, mobile wireless broadband, fixed broadband, satellite, fixed wireless, other broadband and dial-up subscriptions.

Note: ABS subscriber statistics measure the number of ‘subscriber lines’ rather than the number of ‘users’. Counts of subscribers are not the same as counts of people/organisations with internet access, as some subscribers may have accounts with more than one ISP or multiple accounts with a single ISP. Relates to ISPs with more than 1,000 subscribers.


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Supply of services


June 2019 data from the ACCC indicates that the number of mobile phone services in operation reached 27.535 million, consistent with the growth established by the ABS over the previous four years (Table 1.9). The number of mobile wireless services in Australia hit 8.365 million in June 2019.

Table 1.9: Mobile-internet subscribers in Australia (millions), June 2015–18

Service Jun 15 Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 18

Mobile handset 23.652 24.818 26.330 26.981

Mobile wireless (dongle, datacard, USB modems) 6.004 6.039 6.107 6.561

Sources: ABS, 8153.0 Internet activity, Australia, June 2014–2018.

Subscription video services

The number of Australians accessing subscription video on demand (SVOD) services continued to increase. Industry research shows that 14 million Australians aged 14 and over accessed SVOD or subscription TV in the three months to May 2019, an increase of eight per cent on the same period in 2018.85 Netflix dominated the SVOD market, with 11.5 million Australians using a Netflix subscription, an increase of 18 per cent since 2018. The number of Australians accessing Stan content within their household increased 43 per cent, to 2.9 million.86

Foxtel’s overall subscription numbers increased by 12 per cent during the 2018–19 financial year, reaching 3.1 million at June 2019. The increase can be attributed to strong growth in Foxtel Now subscriber numbers, which rose by 32 per cent to 446,000 in the year to June 2019.87 In July 2019, Foxtel announced that Netflix content would be accessible via its later model set-top boxes.88

The Foxtel-owned sports streaming service Kayo Sports launched in late 2018. Other smaller pay TV and SVOD services that experienced growth in 2019 include Amazon Prime (increased 131 per cent), YouTube Premium (increased 37 per cent) and Fetch (increased 21 per cent).89

Disney+ streaming service launched in Australia on 19 November 2019, offering subscribers access to Disney’s large catalogue, including films from the Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars franchises.90

International trends—fixed and mobile broadband

International data currently available from the OECD provides a broad level comparison of global fixed and mobile broadband penetration (Table 1.9).

In December 2018, Australia was ranked 23rd among OECD countries for fixed broadband subscriptions and seventh for mobile broadband subscriptions, per 100 inhabitants.



Table 1.10: Top 25 ranked countries by broadband and mobile broadband subscriptions, per 100 inhabitants, December 2018

Rank Fixed broadband subscriptions Mobile broadband subscriptions

1 Switzerland 46.78 Japan 172.3

2 Denmark 43.26 Finland 156.6

3 France 43.25 Estonia 148.8

4 Netherlands 42.98 United States 144.4

5 Norway 41.52 Denmark 135.7

6 Korea 41.21 Latvia 130.4

7 Germany 41.20 Australia 129.1

8 United Kingdom 40.00 Sweden 124.4

9 Belgium 39.48 Iceland 119.4

10 Sweden 39.05 Netherlands 116.2

11 Iceland 38.72 Korea 112.6

12 Canada 38.64 OECD 109.7

13 Greece 36.96 Poland 108.4

14 Luxembourg 36.83 Ireland 102.9

15 Portugal 36.80 Lithuania 100.7

16 United States 33.77 Norway 100.2

17 New Zealand 33.76 Israel 100.0

18 Spain 32.00 United Kingdom 99.5

19 Estonia 31.96 New Zealand 98.4

20 Japan 31.69 Spain 98.4

21 Hungary 31.52 Switzerland 94.6

22 Finland 31.49 Luxembourg 93.3

23 Australia 30.69 Chile 91.4

24 Czech Republic 30.07 Italy 90.2

25 Ireland 29.42 France 88.5

All statistical country comparisons should be undertaken with caution. Market, regulatory and geographic factors influence penetration rates, prices, and speeds. Data is supplied by individual countries.

Source: OECD, OECD Broadband Statistics.91

Domain name registrations

Australian businesses and organisations continued to show increased participation online, with the number of ‘.au’ domain names growing by 1.25 per cent to 3.19 million at June 2019.92

The registration of ‘.au’ domain names is administered by the not-for-profit organisation .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA). The ‘.com.au’ domain, designed for commercial entities including companies and businesses, accounts for 88 per cent of the second level-domains, unchanged from 2016.93

At June 2019, 5,153 ‘.gov.au’ domain names were registered (for all tiers of government), up from 4,830 at June 2018.94

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Supply of services


Inquiry into digital platforms

On 4 December 2017, the Australian Government directed the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into digital platforms to examine the effect that search engines, social media platforms and other content aggregation platforms have on competition in the media and advertising services markets. Published in July 201995, the inquiry recommended a range of reforms, including:

> changes to merger law to include consideration of the significance of data and technology

> an update to the definition of personal information in the Privacy Act to include technical information such as IP addresses, location data and device identifiers

> the introduction of a new platform-neutral regulatory framework to reflect the evolving media landscape

> the implementation of a code of conduct by designated digital platforms to govern their relationships with news media business

> the creation by the ACMA of a mandatory industry code to ensure the effective and timely removal of copyright-protected content from digital platforms.

On 12 December 2019, the Australian Government released its response to the inquiry, including:

> $26.9 million to establish a new unit in the ACCC to monitor and report on the state of competition and consumer protection in digital platform markets

> a staged process to reform media regulation covering both online and offline delivery of media content to Australian consumers

> a review of the Privacy Act to strengthen protections for consumers in the online environment.

The ACCC is continuing its investigations into the digital environment, specifically:

> representations by Google over its privacy policy and its collection of location data

> representations by Facebook about the nature of its services and the scope and fairness of its terms and conditions.

Data privacy and security

Over the last few years, the Australian Government has introduced a range of policies and legislative changes that recognise the importance to consumers and business of managing privacy and security.

In August 2018, the government established the Office of the National Data Commissioner (ONDC) to provide oversight and regulation of a public sector data sharing and release framework.96 Appointed to advise the Data Commissioner on a range of data issues, the National Data Advisory Council has emphasised the need to build trust and transparency in government use of data, and the importance of building a strong evidence base to support legislative change.97 The first meeting of the National Data Advisory Council was held on 27 March 2019.


1.5 Market developments

Market convergenceAs the NBN rollout nears completion and 5G commences, convergence is expected to continue in the Australian market, leading to new services and business models.

Market convergence arises as mobile networks are increasingly capable of delivering voice and broadband services at a comparable cost, with equal reliability and service quality levels to fixed-line networks.98

The transformational impacts of 5G could range from incremental improvements to existing services in the near-term, through to a ubiquitous general-purpose technology essential for all economic activity. 5G presents opportunities not previously available—where network responsiveness and faster computational capability supports virtual and augmented reality applications, real-time translations and significantly enhanced mobile broadband.99

Vertical integration is evident. Traditional telecommunication carriers are continuing to evolve into vertically-integrated suppliers, providing amenities such as cloud computing, entertainment, technical financial services (fintech), utilities retailing, agricultural technology (agtech), health and smart automation.100 Media companies are aggregating services and investing in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and eSports, while social media companies are entering the content broadcasting market.101 The increasingly widespread deployment of IoT networks and devices is expected to support new service delivery.102, 103

Importantly, the digital ecosystem is becoming increasingly competitive with digital platforms, OTT providers and IT integrators all seeking to gain market share. While this environment creates opportunities for carriers, it also means they are under ongoing competitive pressure.

As such, vertical integration is occurring in response to declining revenues and reduced profit margins for telecommunications companies. Extending service offerings into new markets provides new revenue opportunities beyond voice and data. In this context, traditional measurements such as average revenue per user (ARPU) are being replaced with profitability-focused models based on individual margin per user (IMPU).104

Profit retention will require close management of cost and performance as the transition from carriage service providers to digital service providers gains momentum. This will require telecommunication companies to incorporate product and customer profitability insights into business decisions by applying advanced analytics and machine learning to existing data assets.105

The following sections provide an overview of key developments and examines how market convergence and the emergence of new services is influencing the telecommunications sector.

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5G: a paradigm shift5G can be viewed as the enabler for a technological paradigm shift from voice-centric to mobile-broadband-based consumer services and industrial applications. Widespread deployment of 5G will likely realise benefits across all sectors but particularly in transport, health, manufacturing and agriculture sectors.106

Early 5G deployments, often termed ‘enhanced mobile broadband’ (eMBB), are aimed at providing an improved mobile user experience through increased network capacity, reliability and high data transfer rates. The widespread proliferation of IoT, often categorised as ‘massive machine type communication’ (mMTC), is expected as 5G matures. This is expected to result in significant productivity gains across multiple industry sectors. The low latency and reliability of 5G networks support the advancement of technologies with critical communications requirements. These use cases are often termed ‘ultra-reliable low latency communications’ (URLLC), referring to mission critical applications such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, and AI.

Figure 1.13 illustrates examples of envisioned use-case categories for mobile telecommunications for 2020 and beyond.

Figure 1.13: Mobile telecommunications for 2020 and beyond

Improved user experience

Mass connectivity

Enhanced mobile broadband

Massive machine-typecommunications

Criticalcommunications

100 Mbps connections, > 1 Gbps peak data

1 million connections/

km2

Ultra-low latency<1 millisecond

High reliability99.999% for mission-critical

communications

Lower power, lower costs10-year battery life

Mission-criticalapplication

Autonomousvehicles

Smart cities

Smart homes 3D and 4K video

Mass cloud computing

Augmented reality and virtual reality

Industry applications

Source: DoCA, 5G—Enabling the future economy, based on figure 2 from the ITU paper, IMT Vision—Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2020 and beyond.


5G mobile services were first offered commercially in Australia in May 2019, with take-up expected to expand rapidly from 2020 when the rollout is more advanced and a greater range of 5G-compatible devices are due to be released.107 Industry forecasts that more than 15 million 5G handsets will be in operation in Australia by mid-2023108, with 1.9 billion handsets operating globally by 2024.109

As 5G networks are in the early stages of deployment, consumer benefit and trend analyses are largely based on forecast and consumer expectation surveys. Indications from such surveys include:

> 5G will make an impact where a vertical market creates the demand. Cisco observed that traditional and subscription television viewing is being displaced by online and mobile video with the greatest growth in mobile video—the demand for high-quality video is likely to drive demand for 5G given its capacity to support greater data transfer rates.110

> Ericsson found that half the smartphone users in Australia thought that mobile broadband speeds were inadequate. As shown in Figure 1.14, the study also identified 31 5G use cases grouped within six main categories, the willingness of users to pay (47 to 79 per cent) for each use case along with their interest level (50 to 80 per cent) and the likely time frame for each to become available to the mainstream (one- to four-year horizon).

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Figure 1.14: 5G use cases, user willingness to pay and likely mainstream availability time frame

AUTOMOTIVE ENTERTAINMENT

GA

MIN

G A

ND

AR

/VR

eMBB SMART HOME

SHO

PPIN

G &

IMM

ER

SIV

E C

OM

MU

NIC

ATI

ON

S

Time horizon

1

2

3

45

6

7

89

10

12

13 14

1516

17

18

19

20

21

2223

24

25

26

2728 2930

31

11

Willingness to pay (%)

50% 80%

50%

80%

50%

80%

50%

80%

50%

80%

50%

80%

50%80%

Consumer interest (%)

50% 80%

Key:

Source: Ericsson, 5G Consumer potential, May 2019.

1 AR Windshield

2 AR Window

3 Autonomous Cars

4 5G see-through cars

5 5G in-car entertainment

6 VR cinema

7 Best seat experience

8 Diorama

9 VR passenger entertainment

10 5G augmented events

11 Arbitrary viewpoint video

12 4K 360-degree action cam

13 AR maps

14 AR/VR learning

15 VR cloud gaming

16 Multiplayer AR gaming

17 Low latency cloud gaming

18 Gigabytes in seconds

19 5G hot zones

20 5G TV

21 5G home wireless broadband

22 Health wearable

23 Home sensor service

24 5G early alarm system

25 Connected robot

26 Sensor enhanced entertainment

27 Real-time translations

28 Virtual tactile shopping

29 Drone delivery

30 3D hologram calling

31 5G facial recognition payment


Further, Deloitte’s Mobile Nation 2019 report presents business leader survey insights about their readiness for 5G and their perception of its impacts.111 Key insights included:

> almost 70 per cent of businesses expect to be using 5G technologies before the end of 2020, with only two per cent thinking that they will never use the next generation of technologies in their business

> a greater percentage of large businesses (200 or more employers) are expecting to adopt 5G technologies by the end of 2020 (87 per cent) compared with small businesses (1–19 employees; 62 per cent)

> over 30 per cent of businesses surveyed ranked the following in their top three as barriers to adopting emerging 5G technologies:112

> too expensive (over 40 per cent)

> would not be useful (over 35 per cent)

> security or privacy concerns (over 30 per cent)

> over 20 per cent of businesses surveyed ranked the following in their top three strategies proposed to overcome these barriers:113

> better understanding of the technology (over 25 per cent)

> analysis of potential costs and benefits (over 25 per cent)

> skills or knowledge for me and/or my staff (over 20 per cent).

5G deployments in Australia

Carriers are making advancements in 5G service offerings in the domestic market:

> Optus offers 5G mobile, 5G Home Broadband plans and a Samsung 5G-compatible handset. They have 290 live 5G sites across Australia, with plans to deliver over 1,000 by March 2020.114

> Telstra have commenced offering 5G plans with free access to its 5G network, until June 2020, along with Samsung, LG and Oppo 5G handsets and a HTC 5G data hub.115

Vodafone is yet to offer 5G services in Australia.116

TPG commenced the rollout of a 4G mobile network using Huawei equipment in 2017, but in January 2019 announced a halt due to the Australian Government’s 5G security guidance concerning Huawei. TPG stated that a key reason for selecting Huawei equipment was that it provided a simple upgrade path.117 On 30 August 2018, TPG proposed a merger with VHA.118 The ACCC formally opposed this on 8 May 2019, citing a substantial lessening of competition in the market for retail mobile services nationally.119 TPG filed a Federal Court claim in May 2019 seeking approval for the proposed merger.

5G deployments globally

Globally, the move toward 5G has proceeded at a rapid pace, with many countries launching 5G home services, as well as fledgling 5G mobile services. Cisco predicts that nearly 12 per cent of global mobile traffic will be on 5G cellular connectivity by 2022, with an average 21 GB of monthly traffic per 5G connection.120 Industry estimates suggest a decline in the use of 4G LTE networks from 2022 onwards.121

> In the US, all four major carriers—Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile—have launched 5G services this year. Having offered the first commercial 5G service in the country in 2018, Verizon launched the first 5G mobile services in the US in April 2019, centred on Chicago and Minneapolis.122 In June 2019, AT&T’s 5G services were limited to business customers only, while Sprint had turned on its network in a range of cities including Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington DC.123

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> In June 2019, China granted 5G licences to its three largest (state run) network operators, ahead of a planned launch date of 2020.124 All three operators launched services in November 2019, with media reporting a planned installation of 50,000 base stations by the end of 2019.125

> In the UK, the first 5G service was launched on 30 May 2019, with coverage limited to large cities including London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester. Rollout of the 5G network across the UK continues, with an additional 25 cities expected to go live by the end of 2019.126

> Following the launch of its first 5G service in April 2019, South Korea announced that it had already reached one million users on the network by June. 5G coverage is limited to urban areas, with 85 cities expected to have access by the end of 2019.127

New developments in communications—smart technologiesThe IoT continues to expand and grow. As discussed below, the IoT is supporting smart city and smart home deployments, and autonomous vehicle trials across Australia.

Smart cities

The Australian Government’s Smart Cities Plan launched in April 2017 supports the development of productive, accessible and innovative cities that attract talent, encourage innovation and create growth.128 As part of the Smart Cities Plan, $50 million has been allocated to the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program to be run over three years from 2017–20.129

2018 saw Brisbane, Adelaide, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Canterbury-Bankstown shortlisted at the inaugural Australian Smart Cities Awards. The City of Ipswich has built a 100 square kilometre IoT network that supports sensor-based data gathering, video analytics, remote asset management, safety and security. The Sunshine Coast Council has implemented smart bins, smart water meters, and smart parking, along with sensors to monitor wildlife and waterways. Its Smart Region Management Platform receives data from sensors, streetlights, and wi-fi access points to manage service delivery in real-time. Other similar projects include:

> The announcement of a Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) by Lake Macquarie City Council in July 2018 that will provide coverage across the local government area (650 square kilometres).130

> Telstra entering into a Smart City partnership in January 2018 with the Tasmanian state government, the federal government, several local councils and the University of Tasmania. The development and trial of new IoT solutions, including an IoT lab, will be established in Launceston and drive the uptake of IoT in the area.131

> The City of Adelaide’s smart parking project, which installed nearly 2,800 parking sensors across the CBD in early 2018. The sensors are linked to a cloud-based platform and the ‘Park Adelaide’ mobile app, launched in 2019. The app provides near real-time information about available on-street parking, along with options to remotely pay for and extend parking time and receive alerts when parking is about to expire.132

> The City of Joondalup in Western Australia set specific goals aimed at transforming Tom Simpson Park, Mullaloo into a smart park by embracing the IoT. The trial includes multiple services and applications:

> environmental sensors that monitor light, temperature, noise, humidity and pollution levels in the park in real time

> a smart bin solution with sensors on the 32 bins located in the park that notify the waste services team when bins need to be emptied, enabling more efficient rubbish collection and insights into which areas of the park are being more frequently accessed by the community

http://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/Homepage.aspx


> an IoT-enabled smart car park connected to the Telstra mobile network that shows how many spaces are available to people travelling to the area, helping traffic flows during peak periods and summer holidays

> an analytics tool and dashboard that provides a real-time view of how the park and its infrastructure are being used, helping the city to monitor park facilities, use resources more efficiently and plan more effectively133

> a smart bench that includes integrated solar panels, two USB ports, wireless charging and wi-fi. Sensors inside the bench gather data about air parameters, bench usage and its system status.134

Smart homes

Smart homes offer varying degrees of automated assistance135, with internet-connected devices that can be monitored and controlled from a remote location, including switches, air purifiers, smoke detectors, security systems, TVs, fridges, dishwashers and voice-activated assistants.136 Ovum forecasted that more than 47 million smart devices will be installed in Australian homes by 2022, a 295 per cent increase on 2019 figures (Figure 1.15).

Figure 1.15: Australian households with smart home devices installed—forecast (000s)

2019 2020 2021 2022

15,945

24,312

34,904

47,197

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

Source: Ovum Forecaster, accessed 26 July 2019.

Smart health

In Australia, all states and territories have prioritised digital health as central to improving service delivery and health outcomes, as have many healthcare providers. In July 2018, the National Digital Health Agency (NDHA) officially launched a National Digital Health Strategy137 to facilitate digital health integration in the health system.138

Encompassing the internet of medical things (IoMT), smart health uses a range of technological innovations, including IoT applications, connected devices, AI and virtual reality to manage and engage with health services about how these services may be delivered in the future. Industry reports have predicted IoMT to be worth $158 billion globally by 2022139, with IoMT connecting internet-enabled medical devices, records and equipment to enable remote patient monitoring, centralised medical records, inventories and healthcare automation. Connected devices such as sensors, wearables and body implants are altering the way Australians manage their health, with an increasing emphasis on self-management and personalised healthcare.140 While IoMT is still relatively early in its development, its potential is already starting to be realised, with medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps transmitting health data directly to specialists without the need for additional consultation.141

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Beyond IoMT, ‘wearables’ continue to grow in capability and are able to monitor a greater range of health and wellbeing data and provide emergency services. Perhaps the most commonly found wearables today are fitness bands. These are equipped with sensors and activity trackers that measure and analyse the physical activity and body functions of the wearer. It is expected that there will be a convergence of smartwatches and fitness band capabilities, with many smartwatches already incorporating and, in some cases surpassing, fitness band functions.142 Examples of this can be seen with the Apple Watch Series 4 and later. These watches can be configured to detect ‘hard fall’ incidents then call emergency services and message emergency contacts with GPS location if no movement is detected for a minute.143 news.com.au reports that in July 2019, an epilepsy sufferer in Sydney collapsed while at home alone. Her Apple Watch detected ‘hard fall’ conditions and alerted emergency services resulting in the dispatch of an ambulance to her location.144

Connected and autonomous vehicles

The global autonomous driving market is forecast to be worth US$173 billion by 2030.145 Australian transport authorities and industry are actively developing Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technology to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of the transport system. This emerging transport technology has the potential to transform mobility in Australia and internationally.146 In May 2017, Australian transport ministers agreed to the Guidelines for Trials of Automated Vehicles in Australia.147 Austroads maintains a list of transport technology trials in Australia by state and territory.148

Following industry consultation, the ACMA made the Radiocommunications (Intelligent Transport Systems) Standard 2018 in December 2018. The standard is based on the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Standard for Intelligent Transport Systems (EN 302 571).149

Smart (managed) motorways

Motorways that have information, communications and control systems incorporated in and alongside the road are commonly termed ‘smart motorways’. This describes the technologies deployed to actively manage traffic flows, improve road capacity and safety, deliver better travel reliability, and provide near-real-time traveller information. The focus of smart motorways is to get the best performance out of road infrastructure to facilitate a more productive and sustainable transport network, and to meet road user and community needs. Smart motorways incorporate an integrated package of intelligent transport system (ITS) interventions. This includes coordinated ramp signalling, speed and lane use management, traveller information (using variable message signs) and network intelligence (for example, from vehicle detection equipment).150

> The NSW Government is investing $470 million to build the M4 Smart Motorway project, due for completion in 2020.151

> In Victoria, smart technology installed by the Victorian Government on the upgraded Tullamarine Freeway, Monash Freeway and M80 Ring Road in Melbourne was switched on in June 2018. The network upgrades include overhead gantries, road sensors, traffic monitoring cameras and freeway-to-freeway ramp signals.152

> Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads Smart Motorways initiative is delivering integrated smart technology to allow the proactive, near-real-time management of the south-east Queensland road network. Technologies deployed include variable speed limit signs, flexible lane control, ramp signalling, travel time signs, electronic message signs and roadside data systems.153


Agricultural and food technology—agtech and foodtech

Agtech incorporates a broad range of connected devices, including robots and drones, driverless vehicles, and ground-based sensors, along with the analytics and platforms required to understand all the new data streams being created.154 There are approximately 300 agtech and foodtech companies operating in Australia.155 While the Australian agtech market is still very much in its infancy when compared to other countries such as the US or Israel156, recent successes include tracking and using agronomical data, blockchain technology for supply chain solutions and farm management software.157

Australia recorded agtech investment increases in 2018 to $29 million. Eighty per cent of Australian investments in agtech were less than A$1 million, with the majority sourced from government grants.158 By comparison, agtech investment in the US increased 67 per cent to $7.9 billion.159 One explanation offered in a 2017 study to partially explain the slow growth in Australia concerns telecommunications access.160 It has been estimated that 40 per cent of the potential value of IoT data in key sectors, including agriculture, will not be realised unless interoperability is achieved.161 A 2017 Council of Rural Research and Development Corporations survey of primary producers found that 40 per cent were dissatisfied with their home internet connectivity and 43 per cent reported having little or no coverage at all when it came to connection across their entire farm.162, 163

Public–private partnerships are also becoming common in agtech. For example, Cisco launched Innovation Central Sydney in 2016, a partnering arrangement with CSIRO’s Data61, University of NSW, National Farmers’ Federation, NSW Farmers Association, ATP Innovations and NSW Department of Primary Industries. The Sydney centre is focused on developing new ideas and IoT solutions for agriculture, transport, and smart cities.164

Cloud adoption

Telecommunications companies are taking advantage of the cloud platform to virtualise products and offer value-add services. Examples include the delivery of unified-communications-as-a-service (UCaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS) and over-the-top (OTT) content.165

Australia’s cloud IaaS market reached $688 million in 2018 with expected growth to $1.2 billion by 2022.166

Ericsson is working with Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to trial 5G ‘edge’ computing technologies. Multi-access edge computing (MEC) is an integral element of 5G architecture. MEC is an evolution in cloud computing that brings the applications from centralised data centres to the network edge, and therefore closer to the end users and their devices. This essentially creates a shortcut in content delivery between the user and host, and the long network path that once separated them.

5G edge computing is expected to simplify the CBA’s network operations and complexity at bank branches, enhance existing banking applications and deliver new use cases such as artificial intelligence. The trial will explore optimal 5G coverage solutions and provide more flexibility for bank operations and locations.167

Cloud gaming

Cloud gaming enables players to stream a game from a cloud service and from multiple device types (for example, PC, tablet or TV). With 5G viewed as a key enabler, cloud gaming services are being developed by some of the largest technology companies (examples include Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft).168 Ovum forecast (Figure 1.16) that the Australian market for cloud gaming is expected to increase 119 per cent—from $3.6 billion in 2019 to $7.9 billion in 2021.169

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Figure 1.16: Forecast value of cloud gaming in the Australian market ($000s)

2019 2020 2021

7,917

6,789

3,617

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Data source: Ovum Cloud Gaming Forecast, Ovum Forecaster, accessed July 2019.

eSports

The US market for eSports (competitive tournaments of video games) is expected to expand by 35 per cent in 2019, driven by advertising, broadcast licensing and franchise sales. The global eSports market is anticipated to grow at a slower rate due to the maturity of the Asian leagues and uncertainty in China’s regulatory stance. The global eSports market revenue is anticipated to reach US$1 billion in 2019, driven by advertising, broadcast rights and league expansion.170 While the Australian eSports market lags behind the US and Asian markets, notable developments include:

> The inaugural Melbourne eSports Open was held in September 2018 and attracted 12,000 fans with content viewed over 12 million times across Twitter, Facebook and Reddit.171 Visit Victoria has partnered to deliver the Melbourne eSports Open event until 2022.172

> The Adelaide Crows173 and Essendon Football Clubs174 have invested in professional eSports teams. The Australian Football League (AFL) is planning to make its recently acquired Docklands stadium into an eSports hub to capitalise on the exposure to a new and international audience.175 PWC is sponsoring the Australian Esports League.176

> Gfinity Esports Australia and Hoyts entered into a partnership in 2018 with long-term plans to create a chain of eSports arenas across Australia within Hoyts cinema locations. The first arena opened in April 2018 at a Hoyts venue in Sydney’s Moore Park.177 However, Gfinity Esports Australia announced that it would cease operations at the end of November 2019, saying that the Australian market had not developed as forecast.178

A 2018 Deloitte-commissioned survey of Australian consumer media use found that the biggest eSports enthusiasts are millennial males, 33 per cent of whom have attended in person or streamed an eSports event in the last 12 months. Almost half of the male millennial respondents noted that advertising in gaming is a medium to high influence on their purchasing decisions.179

Consumer profiles of Australians watching or playing eSports is provided in Chapter 2.


Automation and AI

Advances in automation technologies using machines to perform tasks that would otherwise be done by humans are expected to significantly boost productivity, efficiencies and provide new opportunities. These technologies will be critical for automating the management of increasing network traffic and the immense flows of data. Automation covers a broad range of technologies, including AI, robotics and IoT.180 In planning for the impacts of AI, the Australian Government allocated $29.9 million to fund the development of an AI ‘technology roadmap’ and ‘standards framework’ in May 2018. CSIRO’s Data61 released a discussion paper designed to encourage conversations about AI ethics in Australia in April 2019. The input helped inform the government’s approach to AI ethics in Australia.181 In November 2019, the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science released the AI ‘ethics framework’ to guide future investments and support responsible technological development.182

Examples of AI application in telecommunications and media include:

> Sennaar’s case study analysis of the six largest telecommunications carriers in the US found that the most common applications of AI are customer service chat bots, customer speech and voice services, and predictive maintenance. Service chat bots are used to automate customer service inquiries, routing customers to the proper agent and routing prospects with buying intent directly to the sales department. Speech and voice services are being used in place of traditional remote-control navigation to explore and purchase media. Predictive maintenance enables the identification of potential hardware problems (for example, mobile or broadcast towers) by detecting signals that usually lead to failure.183

> Spectrum management is expected to make use of AI techniques that include deep learning, convolutional neural networks and reinforcement learning. This includes leveraging AI to address a wide range of wireless networking challenges ranging from network management to dynamic spectrum sharing and resource management.184

> DARPA’s Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) is a three-year competition to develop new spectrum access strategies where radio networks autonomously collaborate to share radio frequency spectrum while avoiding interference. As described by DARPA, ‘SC2 was designed to encourage researchers to develop smart systems that collaboratively, rather than competitively, adapt in real time to today’s fast-changing, congested spectrum environment—redefining the conventional spectrum management roles of humans and machines to maximise the flow of radio frequency (RF) signals’.185 The SC2 finale was held on 23 October 2019.186

> Seven West Media partnered with Amazon Web Services to bring an AI-powered contextual advertisement placement service called 7CAP to its broadcast network. 7CAP uses AI to analyse and code all Seven programming by identifying objects, environments and moods within the content.187

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Blockchain

Blockchain technology is being applied by telecommunications companies in multiple uses, including registry services, fraud avoidance and ‘identity-as-a-service’ type services.188

Mobile carriers often encounter issues related to subscribers on roaming networks, where fraudulent subscribers can access a home network while cloning the roaming subscriber’s identity. Mobile carriers registered with a blockchain Hyperledger network can exchange transactional information that cannot be changed. It is executed based on a consensus model using smart contract rules. This improves the mobile carrier’s visibility of the subscriber, enables quick payment reconciliation and reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions.189

South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics, telecommunications providers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, and banks KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank have all formed a consortium to build a blockchain network for the deployment of mobile authentication services. The product is designed to protect consumer data and to save information issued by institutions and companies securely on their smartphones.190

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is utilising blockchain on a large scale to address the problem of unsolicited communications (spam). The TRAI developed a ’do not disturb’ registry in 2010 that now holds 230 million registrations. Organisations have circumvented regulation by obtaining consumer consent covertly, engaging unregistered telemarketers or by fraudulent activity. In response, the TRAI introduced new regulations requiring explicit consent to be recorded by a third party that is activated only after subscriber confirmation. Registry services also employ distributed ledger technology (blockchain) to deliver cryptographically secure information that is available only on a need-to-know basis and prevent fraud. The TRAI states that a distributed ledger, ‘uniformly enforces compliance’, since actions cannot be denied and records cannot be tampered with.191

Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, is trialling the porting and management of telephone numbers using blockchain and ledger technology. Ofcom cite numerous potential benefits of the technology application including improved customer experience when moving a number between providers, lower regulatory and business costs, increased industry agility and more effective management of nuisance calls and fraud.192

eSIM and remote SIM provisioning

Traditional SIM cards are likely to be fully replaced within the next few years with embedded universal integrated circuit cards (eUICCs), commonly referred to as eSIMs. Key drivers for this technological change are the robustness and size of the SIM needed to support IoT devices. As eSIMs are circuit board components that may be found on remotely installed devices, they must include the ability to support multiple profiles and allow configuration across the air (wireless networks).193

eSIMs are an important contributor to IoT growth. The combination of eSIM and commercial IoT roaming agreements between national telecommunications companies is key to implementing a global market for IoT-enabled products such as connected cars. eSIMs will also facilitate the capability for telecommunications companies to import and introduce IoT products.

Australian carriers Optus, Telstra and Vodaphone all offer eSIM devices.


In-flight communication

With the proliferation of portable access devices (for example, laptops, smartphones and tablets) and widespread availability of the internet, consumers are always expecting connectivity. Airlines are broadly providing inflight internet services. In Australia, Qantas is progressively rolling out inflight wi-fi across its domestic fleet194, while Virgin is progressively rolling out wi-fi to most services including international flights195 utilising 2Ku technology from a specialist provider, Gogo.196 Radome-fitted aircraft utilise Ku-band satellites to deliver internet access at speeds up to 70 Mbps, as shown in Figure 1.17.

Figure 1.17: Aircraft passenger internet access

How it works

Aircraft fitted withradome and antenna

Data centre

Up to 70MbpsKu-band

Source: ACMA

Recognising the increasing global interest for Earth stations in motion (ESIM) to be used to allow planes, ships, and land vehicles to connect to internet services via satellite, ACMA sought industry consultation on proposed additional provisions to accommodate Ku-band ESIM in April 2019.197

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Communications industry mergers and acquisitionsTable 1.11 lists the reported merger and acquisition activity for the period.

Table 1.11: Mergers and acquisitions

Purchaser Target Date Value Commentary

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (Nine)

Fairfax Media Ltd 26 July 2019 $4 billion

Completed on 7 December 2018. Nine acquired all Fairfax shares under a Scheme of Arrangement.198

Vodafone Hutchison Australia199

TPG Telecom Ltd

30 August 2018 Undisclosed

The ACCC formally opposed the proposed merger on 8 May 2019, citing a substantial lessening of competition in the market for retail mobile services nationally.200

Proceedings are progressing for a Federal Court claim filed by TPG on 24 May 2019 seeking approval for the proposed merger.201

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd202

Hivint Pty Ltd28 December 2018

UndisclosedHivint are a professional services company specialising in cybersecurity.

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (Nine)

Macquarie Media Ltd

13 September 2019

Undisclosed

On 13 September 2019, Nine announced an off-market takeover bid for Macquarie Media Ltd.203

On 15 October 2019, Nine announced it would complete the compulsory purchase of outstanding shares in Macquarie Media Ltd as it had succeeded in attaining a relevant interest of over 90% of ordinary shares.204

AGL

Southern Phone Company Limited (SPC)

16 October 2019 $27.5 million

AGL announced it had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire SPC, a regional telecommunications business.205


1.6 Advertising expenditure in main media

Traditional media markets continue to be challenged by the increasing shift to online content delivery, disrupting traditional revenue streams for print media and commercial broadcasters. The reliance on an advertising-based business model, which uses circulation or audience numbers, is being challenged by changes in content creation, delivery, and consumer consumption. The opposite is true for digital platforms, where advertising-based revenue models are built on their unique ability to collect and analyse data using algorithms, AI and machine learning. AI technologies are becoming more widely applied across industries including media. Delivering increased audience/market insights and more targeted advertising has made the online domain a more attractive channel for advertisers.

Share of advertising expenditure

As Australian content consumption has shifted to the online domain, the advertising dollar has become more focused on digital platforms, a trend visible in Figure 1.18. While in 2014, online advertising made up 37 per cent of the total advertising expenditure in Australia, in 2018, it accounted for over half of Australia’s advertising spend, at 53 per cent in 2018.

Conversely, the share of Australian advertising expenditure occupied by print and television advertising has continued to contract. Print, which in 2014 was a major source of advertising revenue at 19 per cent, has shrunk to 11 per cent of revenue in 2018, while television’s share has declined from 30 per cent to 22 per cent.

Figure 1.18: Share of advertising expenditure by main media category for 2014 and 2018 (percentage)

2014 19 830 5 1

16537

37

11

CinemaOutdoorOnlineRadioTelevisionPrint media

222018

Note: Displayed totals may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Source: CEASA.

Growth in advertising expenditure

Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA) data for the year ended 31 December 2018 shows that the combined advertising expenditure across the main media categories—print, television, radio, online, outdoor and cinema—increased by 6.4 per cent in 2018 to $16.6 billion.206

Online advertising revenue increased by 12 per cent in 2018 to reach $8.8 billion. Much of this growth has been driven by increases in advertising for mobile format (up by 26 per cent) and online video advertising (up by 15 per cent).207

Cinema advertising saw minimal change, expanding by less than one per cent in 2018, while outdoor advertising increased by 11 per cent (Figure 1.19).

In contrast to previous years, advertising in print media grew in the year to December 2018, increasing by two per cent to $1.9 billion.

Television advertising expenditure was down almost three per cent to $3.63 billion and radio advertising was up almost four per cent to $1.19 billion.

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Figure 1.19: Advertising expenditure by main media category ($ million)

2014 2015 2016 2017

Radio

Cinema

Print media Television

Online

Outdoor

2018

2,467

4,798

1,054

3,929

60295

2,333

6,015

1,108

3,906

678115

2,009

7,397

1,145

3,797

789121

7,917

1,150

1,866

3,721

837129

8,838

1,192

1,899

3,627

927130

Source: CEASA.

Online advertising expenditure

Between 2014 and 2018, online advertising expenditure almost doubled, increasing by 84 per cent to $8.8 billion. While the 2018 calendar year saw growth continue across all online advertising categories, classifieds revenue exhibited the highest level of growth at 15 per cent. Revenue in the search and directories category increased by five per cent, and in the online general category by six per cent (Figure 1.20).

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia reports that video and mobile formats continued to gain share of the digital advertising market during the financial year to June 2019. Video advertising was the fastest growing display format, increasing by 15 per cent to $1.5 billion.208 The shift from desktop to mobile continued, with total revenue from the mobile format reaching $1 billion in the 2017–18 financial year (up by 28.4 per cent) to $4.6 billion, including search and display. 209

Search and directories advertising grew by eight per cent in the year to June 2019 to $4.04 billion.210


Figure 1.20: Online advertising expenditure ($ million)

2014 2015 2016 2017

7,917

3,571

1,498

2,8482,687

2,120

1,4531,300

9291,135

2,416

3,410

2,760

4,798

6,015

7,397

Total online spend

Search and directories

Classifieds

Online general

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

3,898

8,838

1,640

3,300

2018

Source: CEASA.

Advertising expenditure by media category

Regional television and radioWhile the television and radio sector’s share of advertising expenditure has remained stable over the last five years, there was a slight decline in total television advertising expenditure (Figure 1.21).

In the 2018 calendar year, expenditure on metropolitan television advertising was almost four times greater than regional television ($2,466 million compared to $663 million, respectively). Radio advertising expenditure in the metropolitan market was over twice that of its regional expenditure ($809 million compared to $383 million, respectively).

Chapter 1

63

Advertising expenditure in main media


Figure 1.21: Television and radio advertising expenditure for metropolitan and regional markets ($ million)

358 365

780

715 750

758799

736

2,650 2,6432,547 2,490

695

783

367339

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

Metropolitan television

Metropolitan radio

Regional radio

Regional television

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

2,466

809

663383

Source: CEASA.


Notes1 IoTAA, IoTAA & KPMG ‘State of Nation’ Briefing Report, (webpage), accessed October 2019.

2 NBN, ‘Statement of Expectations’, (webpage) accessed November 2019.

3 NBN, ‘About NBN Co’, (webpage), accessed September 2019.

4 NBN, ‘nbn™ Sky Muster™ satellite explained’, (webpage), accessed September 2019.

5 NBN, ‘nbn™ Fixed Wireless made easy’, (webpage), accessed September 2019.

6 NBN Co, ‘Explore the nbn™ network rollout’, (interactive map), accessed 19 July 2019.

7 NBN Co, ‘NBN Co enables DOCSIS 3.1 on HFC network’, (media release), 8 August 2018.

8 NBN Co, Corporate Plan 2019-22, August 2018.

9 ibid.

10 DoCA, Broadband Availability and Quality Report, February 2014.

11 ibid.

12 When a premises within an area declared ready for service is made serviceable. An order can then be placed, and a service connected.

13 Refers to premises that have an active service installed.

14 NBN Co, Corporate Plan 2020-23, accessed November 2019.

15 ACMA, NBN consumer experience: Households and businesses—the end-to-end journey, August 2018.

16 ACMA, New better practice guide for telcos, July 2018.

17 ACCC, Internet Activity Record Keeping Rule (RKR), 31 October 2019.

18 TIO, Annual Report 2018-19, 25 September 2019.

19 Telstra, ‘Additional information about the 2100 MHz layer of our 3G mobile service closure’, Crowd Support (website), accessed 14 June 2019.

20 R. Crozier, ‘Vodafone starts re-purposing 2100 MHz spectrum to 4G’, ITNews, 11 March 2019.

21 Telstra, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5: the continuing evolution of our mobile network, (media release), 9 October 2019.

22 Telstra, Telstra Annual Report 2019, 30 August 2019.

23 Singtel, Management discussion and analysis of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the first quarter ended 30 June 2019, 8 August 2019.

24 Vodafone, ‘First FDD Massive MIMO trial site lights up Parramatta’, (media release), 21 May 2018.

25 Vodafone, ‘Vodafone boosting its 4G network in New South Wales’, (media release), 11 March 2019.

26 TPG, Annual Report Year ended 31 July 2019, accessed November 2019.

27 DoCA, ‘Mobile Black Spot Program’, (webpage), accessed 17 July 2018.

28 Department of Communications and the Arts, ‘New round for the Mobile Black Spot Program’, (media release), 10 June 2018.

29 DoCA, ‘Mobile Black Spot Program’, (webpage), accessed 18 June 2019.

30 DoCA , ‘$160 million to eliminate more mobile black spots’, (media release), accessed November 2019.

31 DoCA, Annual Report 2018–19, accessed 1 November 2019.

32 On 29 January 2019, TPG Telecom Limited (PIPE Networks) advised the market that it ceased the rollout of its mobile network in Australia.

33 Telstra, Financial results for the full year ended 30 June 2019 – CEO/CFO Analyst Briefing Presentation and Materials, 15 August 2019, p. 6.

34 J.P. Tomas, ‘Optus launches 5G home broadband services in two Australian cities’, RCR Wireless News, 31 January 2019.

35 R. Crozier, ‘Optus claims 100Mbps average speeds on 5G fixed wireless’, ITNews, 20 May 2019.

36 Optus, ‘Optus to connect next round of 5G Customers’, (media release), 20 May 2019.

37 Optus, ‘Optus reveals first 50 Ericsson 5G site locations’, (media release), 13 May 2019.

38 ACMA, ‘3.6 GHz band spectrum auction results’, (webpage), accessed 10 December 2018.

39 A. Hextell, ‘Australia’s 5G future: Almost here, almost Ready?’, Red Wire, Vodafone, September 2019.

40 Hutchison Telecommunications, ASX Half-year information, 30 June 2019, p. 6.

41 Vodafone, ‘Need help with our network?’, (webpage), accessed 16 July 2019.

https://www.iotimpact.com.au/iot-state-of-the-nation/

https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/Policies/soe-shareholder-minister-letter.pdf

https://www2.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co

https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/network-technology/sky-muster-explained

https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/network-technology/fixed-wireless-explained

https://www.nbnco.com.au/residential/learn/rollout-map

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/DOCSIS-3-1-on-HFC-network

https://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/2018/documents/media-centre/corporate-plan-report-2019-2022.pdf

https://www.communications.gov.au/publications/broadband-availability-and-quality-report

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/corporate-plan-2020-2023

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/nbn-consumer-experience-households-and-businesses-the-end-to-end-journey

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/new-better-practice-guide-for-telcos

https://www.accc.gov.au/regulated-infrastructure/communications/monitoring-reporting/internet-activity-record-keeping-rule-rkr/june-2019-report

https://www.tio.com.au/reports-updates/annual-report-2018-19

https://crowdsupport.telstra.com.au/t5/News-Feed/Additional-information-about-the-2100-MHz-layer-of-our-3G-mobile/ba-p/780699

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/vodafone-starts-re-purposing-2100-mhz-spectrum-to-4g-520361

https://exchange.telstra.com.au/1-2-3-4-and-5-the-continuing-evolution-of-our-mobile-network/

https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/about-us/investors/pdf%20F/2019-Annual-Report.PDF

https://www.optus.com.au/content/dam/optus/documents/about-us/media-centre/financial-reports/2019/AUG%201stqtr-MDA.pdf

https://www.optus.com.au/content/dam/optus/documents/about-us/media-centre/financial-reports/2019/AUG%201stqtr-MDA.pdf

https://www.vodafone.com.au/media/vodafone-launches-4-9g-in-sydneys-west

https://www.vodafone.com.au/media/vodafone-boosting-its-4g-network-in-new-south-wales

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20191018/pdf/449m4t2mycgndz.pdf

https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone/mobile-services-and-coverage/mobile-black-spot-program

https://www.communications.gov.au/departmental-news/new-round-mobile-black-spot-program

https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone/mobile-services-and-coverage/mobile-black-spot-program

https://www.minister.communications.gov.au/minister/bridget-mckenzie/news/160-million-eliminate-more-mobile-black-spots

https://www.communications.gov.au/who-we-are/department/annual-reports

https://events.miraqle.com/DownloadFile.axd?file=/Report/ComNews/20190815/02133818.pdf

https://events.miraqle.com/DownloadFile.axd?file=/Report/ComNews/20190815/02133818.pdf

https://www.rcrwireless.com/20190131/5g/optus-launches-5g-home-broadband-services-two-australian-cities

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/optus-claims-100mbps-average-speeds-on-5g-fixed-wireless-525440

https://www.optus.com.au/about/media-centre/media-releases/2019/05/Optus-to-connect-next-round-of-5G-Customers

https://www.optus.com.au/about/media-centre/media-releases/2019/05/Optus-reveals-first-50-Ericsson-5G-site-locations

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/3-6-ghz-band-spectrum-auction-results

https://www.vodafone.com.au/red-wire/5g-vodafone-rollout

http://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/HTA/02127798.pdf

https://www.vodafone.com.au/support/network/5g

Chapter 1

65Supply and access to communications and media services

Notes

42 TPG, ‘TPG Telecom & Vodafone Hutchison Australia: merger of equals’, (investor presentation), 30 August 2018, p. 12.

43 ACMA, ‘3.6 GHz band spectrum auction results’, (webpage),10 December 2018.

44 Spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band has been harmonised as a ‘coverage layer’ for 5G services. The auction outcome can be found at: ACMA, ‘3.6 GHz band spectrum auction results’, (webpage), accessed 10 December 2018. Spectrum in Perth will be available for use in March 2023 as opposed to the rest of the licences, which are available for use in March 2020.

45 Global Banking and Finance Review, ‘AutoAir 5G Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Test Bed Goes Live’, 13 February 2019.

46 ACMA, ‘3.6 GHz band auction: FAQs’, (webpage), accessed 7 November 2018.

47 Parliament of Australia, ‘5G opportunities and challenges to be examined’, (media release), 19 September 2019.

48 ACMA, Five-year spectrum outlook 2018–22, September 2018.

49 ACMA, ‘5G spectrum auction on its way’, (media release), 6 August 2018.

50 DoCA, ‘Spectrum auction limits promote competition’, (webpage), accessed 11 July 2018.

51 ACMA, ‘Australia’s 5G auction concludes’, (media release), 9 December 2018.

52 ACMA, ‘Options for wireless broadband in the 26 GHz band’, (webpage), accessed September 2018.

53 Telsyte, ‘Australian IoT@home market cracks $1bn, paving the way for iot-commerce services’, (media release), 14 May 2019.

54 Telsyte, ‘Australian IoT@Home market cracks $1bn, paving the way for IoT-Commerce services’, 14 May 2019.

55 Telstra, Telstra Annual Report 2019, 30 August 2019.

56 G. Loots, ‘Over 3 million new IoT ‘things’ on our network’, Telstra Exchange, 5 September 2019.

57 T. Chan, ‘Verizon puts voice on its nationwide Cat-M network’, Communications Day, 31 August 2018.

58 I Kasujee, ‘Analysys Mason: Sigfox accounts for fewer LPWA deployments than NB-IoT and LoRaWAN, but the company is finding its niche’, IoT Business News, 20 June 2019.

59 Telstra, ‘Telstra and Ericsson launch Global IoT capability’, (media release), 25 February 2019.

60 Hutchison Telecoms, Annual Report 2018–19, 30 July 2019.

61 B. Foye, ‘Optus to bring IoT to the bush with nanosatellites’, CRN, 21 August 2019.

62 I. Kasujee, ‘Analysys Mason: Sigfox accounts for fewer LPWA deployments than NB-IoT and LoRaWAN, but the company is finding its niche’, IoT Business News, 20 June 2019.

63 L. Terrett, ‘Smart cities and digital transformation — it is all about the interface’, GovTechReview, 1 July 2019.

64 Submarine cable networks, ‘JGA’, accessed November 2019.

65 DFAT, The Coral Sea Cable System: supporting the future digital economies of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, 25 September 2018.

66 Telstra Exchange, ‘Our commitment to modernising payphones in Australia’, (webpage), accessed 18 November 2019.

67 A nominated carrier declaration is subject to the carrier satisfying the ACMA that it would be able to comply with carrier-related obligations for those network units.

68 A trial certificate permits the owner of one or more network units to trial new network units and services without the need for a carrier licence. A trial certificate may be issued for a period up to six months.

69 The TIO maintained register may not reflect the actual number of eligible CSPs.

70 Imparja Television Pty Ltd and Southern Cross jointly control digital-only television licences, one in each of the remote central and eastern Australian television licence areas and the Mt Isa television licence area.

71 ACMA, Register of controlled media groups, (webpage), accessed October 2019.

72 ACCC, ‘News Corp - proposed acquisition of Racing Internet Services Pty Ltd (Racenet)’, (webpage), accessed 12 September 2019.

73 ACMA, ‘Register of Foreign Owners of Media Assets’, (webpage) accessed October 2019.

74 ibid.

75 Ovum, ‘World Information Series – Subregion Total Revenues’, (database), accessed November 2019.

76 Roy Morgan Single Source Australia.

77 Telstra, Telstra Corporation Limited – Financial results for the full year ended 30 June 2019 – CEO/CFO Analyst Briefing Presentation and Materials, 15 August 2019.

https://www.tpg.com.au/about/pdfs/TPG%20and%20VHA%20Merger%20of%20Equals%20-%20ASX%20Investor%20Presentation%2030-Aug-18.pdf



https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/category/news/autoair-5g-connected-and-autonomous-vehicle-test-bed-goes-live/

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/3-6-ghz-band-auction-faqs

https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/5G_opportunities_and_challenges_to_be_examined

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/~/link.aspx?_id=5B4C9F37CCBD46F98C8B70A435BBE795&_z=z

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/australias-5g-spectrum-auction-on-its-way

https://www.communications.gov.au/departmental-news/spectrum-auction-limits-promote-competition

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/australias-5g-auction-concludes

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/options-for-wireless-broadband-in-the-26-ghz-band

https://www.telsyte.com.au/announcements/2019/5/14/australian-iothome-market-cracks-1bn-paving-the-way-for-iot-commerce-services

https://www.telsyte.com.au/announcements/2019/5/14/australian-iothome-market-cracks-1bn-paving-the-way-for-iot-commerce-services

https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/about-us/investors/pdf%20F/2019-Annual-Report.PDF

https://iotbusinessnews.com/2019/06/20/30213-analysys-mason-sigfox-accounts-for-fewer-lpwa-deployments-than-nb-iot-and-lorawan-but-the-company-is-finding-its-niche/


https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/Telstra_Ericsson_launch_Global_IoT_capability

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190730/pdf/4470f42g5jz99t.pdf

https://www.crn.com.au/news/optus-to-bring-iot-to-the-bush-with-nanosatellites-529894



https://www.govtechreview.com.au/content/gov-geospatial/sponsored/smart-cities-and-digital-transformation-it-is-all-about-the-interface-1540796882

https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/systems/asia-australia/jga

https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/supporting-the-future-digital-economies-of-papua-new-guinea-and-solomon-islands.aspx

https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/supporting-the-future-digital-economies-of-papua-new-guinea-and-solomon-islands.aspx

https://exchange.telstra.com.au/modernising-payphones/

https://www.acma.gov.au/register-control-media-groups

https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/mergers-registers/public-informal-merger-reviews/news-corp-proposed-acquisition-of-racing-internet-services-pty-ltd-racenet

https://www.acma.gov.au/register-foreign-owners-media-assets

https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/about-us/investors/pdf%20F/150819-FY19-Analyst-Presentation.pdf

https://www.telstra.com.au/content/dam/tcom/about-us/investors/pdf%20F/150819-FY19-Analyst-Presentation.pdf


78 SingTel, Singapore Telecommunications Limited and subsidiary companies, Management discussion and analysis of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the first quarter ended 30 June 2019, October 2019.

79 Vodafone, Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited ASX Half Year Information 30 June 2019’, 30 July 2019.

80 Telstra, Telstra Corporation Limited – Financial results for the full year ended 30 June 2019 – CEO/CFO Analyst Briefing Presentation and Materials, 15 August 2019.

81 SingTel, Singapore Telecommunications Limited and subsidiary companies, Management discussion and analysis of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the first quarter ended 30 June 2019, accessed September 2019.

82 Hutchison, Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited ASX Half Year Information 30 June 2019, accessed September 2019.

83 SingTel, ‘The Singtel Group’s results for the first quarter ended Jun 2019’, (webpage), accessed November 2019.

84 ACCC, Internet activity report, accessed November 2019

85 Roy Morgan, ‘Almost 14 million Australians have subscription or pay TV’, (media release), 1 July 2019.

86 ibid.

87 M. Mason, ‘Kayo numbers jump, but Foxtel earnings still under pressure’, Australian Financial Review, 10 May 2019.

88 Kelly, V., ‘Foxtel to ‘revolutionise’ TV with Netflix integration, increased on-demand offering and simplified interface’, Mumbrella, 24 July 2019.

89 Roy Morgan, ‘Almost 14 million Australians have subscription or pay TV’, (media release), 1 July 2019.

90 Donoghue, P., ‘Disney+ is coming to Australia, but how many streaming services is too many?’, ABC News, 22 August 2019.

91 OECD, ‘Fixed and mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants’, December 2018.

92 auDA, ‘ACMA 2018–19 annual information request’, July 2019.

93 ibid.

94 ibid. Does not include tas.gov.au or nt.gov.au domains.

95 ACCC, ‘Digital platforms inquiry’, (webpage), accessed November 2019

96 For further information, see www.datacommissioner.gov.au.

97 Office of the National Data Commissioner, National Data Advisory Council - Meetings, (webpage), 27 March 2019.

98 S Chowdhury, ‘Telco trends and transformation priorities for 2019’, The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience, February 2019, accessed September 2019.

99 DoCA, Impacts of 5G on productivity and economic growth, April 2018.

100 FinTech, ‘What is FinTech?’, (webpage), accessed August 2019.

101 Deloitte, 2019 Media & Entertainment Industry Outlook, accessed October 2019.

102 PWC, Entertainment and Media Outlook 2019: Internet Access, (webpage), accessed November 2019.

103 S Chowdhury, ‘Telco trends and transformation priorities for 2019’, The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience, February 2019, accessed September 2019.

104 ibid.

105 ibid.

106 BCAR, ‘Impacts of 5G on productivity and economic growth’, accessed November 2019.

107 S. Sharwood, ‘Optus, Vodafone say 5G launch will be a slow burn’, iTnews, 16 August 2018.

108 Telsyte, ‘5G Set To Rejuvenate Australian Mobile Services Market’, (media release), 25 June 2019.

109 Ericsson, Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2019.

110 Cisco, Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017–2022, February 2019.

111 Deloitte, Mobile Nation 2019: The 5G future, April 2019, p. 7.

112 Deloitte, 5G mobile technology: Are businesses ready to seize the opportunity?, September 2018, p. 11.

113 ibid, p. 12.

114 T. Donnelly, Optus expands 5G broadband and mobile offers’, Canstar Blue, 4 November 2019.

https://www.singtel.com/content/dam/singtel/investorRelations/financialResults/2020/Q1FY20-SGX.pdf



https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/investors/financial-information/financial-results

https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/investors/financial-information/financial-results




https://www.singtel.com/about-Us/investor-relations/financial-results

https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Internet%20Activity%20Report%20%28June%202019%29.pdf

http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8036-svod-netflix-foxtel-stan-fetch-youtube-amazon-pay-tv-may-2019-201907010501

https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/kayo-numbers-jump-but-foxtel-earnings-still-under-pressure-20190510-p51lvr

https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-to-revolutionise-tv-with-netflix-integration-increased-on-demand-offering-and-simplified-interface-590428?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Foxtel%20to%20%E2%80%98revolutionise%E2%80%99%20TV%20with%20Netflix%20integration%2C%20increased%20on-demand%20offering%20and%20simplified%20i&utm_campaign=Mumbrella%20Daily%20-%2025%2F07%2F19

https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-to-revolutionise-tv-with-netflix-integration-increased-on-demand-offering-and-simplified-interface-590428?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Foxtel%20to%20%E2%80%98revolutionise%E2%80%99%20TV%20with%20Netflix%20integration%2C%20increased%20on-demand%20offering%20and%20simplified%20i&utm_campaign=Mumbrella%20Daily%20-%2025%2F07%2F19

http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8036-svod-netflix-foxtel-stan-fetch-youtube-amazon-pay-tv-may-2019-201907010501

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-22/disney+-is-coming-how-many-streaming-services-is-too-many/11431268

https://www.oecd.org/sti/broadband/1.2.OECD-FixedMobileBB-2018-12.xls

https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/inquiries-ongoing/digital-platforms-inquiry

https://www.datacommissioner.gov.au/

https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2019/02/25/top-telco-trends-2019/

C://Users/SChilds/OneDrive%20-%20Australian%20Communications%20and%20Media%20Authority/Downloads/impacts-5g-productivity-economic-growth%20(6).pdf

https://fintechaustralia.org.au/learn/

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/us-tmt-2019-media-and-entertainment-industry-outlook.pdf

https://www.pwc.com.au/industry/entertainment-and-media-trends-analysis/outlook/internet-access.html


https://www.communications.gov.au/file/35551/download?token=0MlSFttv

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/optus-vodafone-say-5g-launch-will-be-a-slow-burn-500267

https://www.telsyte.com.au/announcements/2019/6/24/5g-adoption-in-australia-set-to-rejuvenate-price-driven-mobile-services-market

https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobility-report/reports/june-2019

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white-paper-c11-741490.html

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-mobile-nation-2019-080419.pdf

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-5g-mobile-technology-170918.pdf

Chapter 1


Notes

115 Telstra, ‘Telstra 5G is ready. Now in selected areas’, (webpage), accessed September 2019.

116 Vodafone, ‘Need help with our network?’, (webpage), accessed September 2019.

117 TPG, ‘Australian Mobile Rollout Update’, (ASX announcement), 29 January 2019.

118 TPG, ‘Proposed Merger of Equals Between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia’, (ASX announcement), 30 August 2018.

119 ACCC, ‘TPG Telecom Limited (TPG) - proposed merger with Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd (VHA)’, ACCC merger reviews, accessed September 2019.

120 Cisco, Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017–2022 White Paper, 27 February 2019.

121 Ovum forecaster, accessed November 2019.

122 J Dolcourt, ‘Testing Verizon’s early 5G speeds was a mess, but I’m still excited about our data future’, CNET.com, 10 April 2019.

123 L Lynne, ‘5G is lighting up 9 US cities and we speed-tested it for you’, CNet, 1 June 2019.

124 J H Jorwitz, S Jiang, ‘China issues 5G licences in timely boost for Huawei’, Reuters, 6 June 2019.

125 Y Yang, B Goh, ‘China’s state telecoms to launch 5G services on Friday’, Reuters, 31 October 2019.

126 J McCann, ‘5G in the UK: everything you need to know’, techradar, June 2019.

127 S McCaskill, ‘SK Telecom reaches one million 5G subscribers’, RCRWireless News, 22 August 2019.

128 Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, Smart Cities Plan, 4 October 2018.

129 ibid.

130 Lake Macquarie City Council, ‘Lake Macquarie leads digital transformation’, (media release), 9 July 2018.

131 Telstra, ‘Telstra adds narrowband capability to Australia’s leading IoT network’, (media release), 12 January 2018.

132 City of Adelaide, ‘Smart Parking’, (webpage), accessed 8 August 2018.

133 Sustainability Matters, ‘Transforming communities and creating smart spaces with the IoT’, (webpage), accessed August 2019.

134 City of Joondalup, ‘City’s ‘Smart Park’ made even smarter’, (media release), 3 April 2019.

135 S. Powell, ‘Hi-tech Google Home and Alexa not smart enough to be error-free’, The Australian, 23 July 2017.

136 A. Meola, ‘What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? Meaning and definition’, Business Insider, 10 May 2018.

137 Australia’s Digital Health Agency, ‘Health Ministers approve Australia’s national digital health strategy’, (media release), 4 August 2017.

138 Australia’s Digital Health Agency, ‘Day dawns on Australia’s digital health strategy’, (media release), 3 July 2018.

139 Deloitte, MedTech and the Internet of Medical Things, July 2018.

140 KPMG, Healthcare reimagined–Trends and predictions 2018, 4 February 2018.

141 G. Heydon, F. Zeichner, Enabling the Internet of Things for Australia, Communications Alliance, 30 October 2015.

142 Statista, ‘Wearables’, (webpage), accessed September 2019.

143 Apple, ‘Use fall detection with Apple Watch’, (webpage), accessed November 2019.

144 news.com.au, ‘Emergency texts from Apple Watch set off chain reaction to save mum-of-three’s life’, 31 July 2019.

145 Frost and Sullivan, Global Autonomous Driving Market Outlook, (presentation), March 2018.

146 Australian Trade and Investment Commission, ‘Connected and automated vehicles’, (webpage), July 2019.

147 National Transport Commission, ‘Guidelines for trials of automated vehicles in Australia’, 2017.

148 Austroads,’Trials’, (webpage). accessed November 2019.

149 ACMA, ‘Proposal to amend short range devices standard and make new intelligent transport system standard - Consultation 25/2018’, (webpage), accessed November 2019.

150 Austroads, Guide to Smart Motorways, December 2016.

151 NSW Transport, Roads and Maritime Services, ‘M4 Smart Motorway project’, (webpage), accessed 2 August 2018.

152 Premier of Victoria, ‘Switching On Melbourne’s Managed Motorway Network’, (media release), 2 June 2018.

153 State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), ‘Smart motorways’, (webpage), accessed 7 August 2019.

154 J. Brookes, ‘Cover Story: Australia Could Lead the World in AgTech. Or We Might Just Bugger it Up, Again’, Which-50, 6 August 2018.

https://www.telstra.com.au/5g

https://www.vodafone.com.au/support/network/5g

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190129/pdf/44247b6xdpq097.pdf

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180830/pdf/43xv0j845mwx16.pdf

https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/mergers-registers/public-informal-merger-reviews/tpg-telecom-limited-tpg-proposed-merger-with-vodafone-hutchison-australia-pty-ltd-vha

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white-paper-c11-741490.html

https://www.cnet.com/news/testing-verizons-early-5g-speeds-was-a-mess-but-im-still-excited-about-our-data-future/

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-telecom-5g/china-issues-5g-licenses-in-timely-boost-for-huawei-idUSKCN1T707T

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https://www.google.com/search?rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-AU%3AIE-Address&ei=axocXZ72DNH-rQHi65nQCA&q=94991774&oq=94991774&gs_l=psy-ab.3...4619.4619..7431...0.0..0.171.171.0j1......0....1..gws-wiz.PMXDK5XjmLQ

https://www.rcrwireless.com/20190822/5g/sk-telecom-reaches-1-million-5g-subscribers

https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/smart-cities/plan/files/Smart_Cities_Plan.pdf

https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/media/media-releases/Telstra-adds-narrowband-capability-to-Australias-leading-IoT-network

https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/city-business/why-adelaide/adelaide-smart-city/smart-parking

https://www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/waste/case-study/transforming-communities-and-creating-smart-spaces-with-the-iot-156224248

https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/citys-smart-park-made-even-smarter?nocache=true

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/hitech-google-home-and-alexa-not-smart-enough-to-be-errorfree/news-story/0ecdc6656a11ef448d9978c9eecea53e

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-internet-of-things-definition-2016-8?IR=T

https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/news-and-events/news/health-ministers-approve-australia-s-national-digital-health-strategy

https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/news-and-events/news/media-release-day-dawns-on-australia-s-digital-health-strategy

https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/life-sciences-and-healthcare/articles/medtech-internet-of-medical-things.html

https://home.kpmg.com/au/en/home/insights/2018/01/healthcare-reimagined-report.html

https://www.commsalliance.com.au/Documents/Publications-by-Topic/IoT

https://www.statista.com/outlook/319/107/wearables/australia

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208944

https://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/wearables/emergency-texts-from-apple-watch-set-off-chain-reaction-to-save-mumofthrees-life/news-story/3729e19d0a1cdefd67083cf40f2368e2

https://info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/K24A-2018%20Frost%20%26%20Sullivan%20-%20Global%20Autonomous%20Driving%20Outlook.pdf

https://www.austrade.gov.au/future-transport/connected-automated-vehicles/

https://www.ntc.gov.au/sites/default/files/assets/files/AV_trial_guidelines.pdf

https://austroads.com.au/drivers-and-vehicles/future-vehicles-and-technology/trials

https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2019-08/proposal-amend-short-range-devices-standard-and-make-new-intelligent-transport-system-standard-consultation-252018

https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2019-08/proposal-amend-short-range-devices-standard-and-make-new-intelligent-transport-system-standard-consultation-252018

https://austroads.com.au/network-operations/network-management/guide-to-smart-motorways

https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/m4/index.html

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/180602-Switching-On-Melbourne’s-Managed-Motorway-Network.pdf/

https://qldtraffic.qld.gov.au/more/Smart-Motorways/index.html

https://which-50.com/cover-story-why-australia-can-be-the-global-agtech-leader-and-why-it-isnt-yet/


155 National Farmers’ Federation, Talking 2030, (discussion paper), 23 March 2018.

156 Australian Farm Institute, Enhancing private-sector investment in agricultural research and development and extension (RD&E) in Australia , 2017.

157 S. Maughan, C. McFarland, J. Mondschein, B. Saling, Z. Meers, A. Herrmann, Australian AgTech: Opportunities and challenges as seen from a US venture capital perspective, United States Studies Centre, 2018.

158 AgFunder, AgFunder AgriFood Investing report, 2018.

159 ibid.

160 Ernst & Young, Agricultural Innovation - A National Approach to Grow Australia’s Future: Full report, March 2019.

161 J. Bughin, M. Chui, J. Manyika, ‘An executive’s guide to the Internet of Things’, McKinsey Quarterly (McKinsey and Co), August 2015.

162 D. Lamb, Accelerating Precision to Decision Agriculture - Enabling digital agriculture in Australia, Council of Rural Research and Development Corporations, 2017.

163 A Zhang, E Jakku, R Llewellyn, E Baker, ‘Surveying the needs and drivers for digital agriculture in Australia, Farm Policy Journal, Vol 15 No 1, Autumn Quarter 2018.

164 B Gardiner, ‘New Sydney innovation centre to develop IoT technologies’, CIO, 16 February 2016.

165 S. Chowdhury, ‘Telco trends and transformation priorities for 2019’, The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience, 25 February 2019.

166 Telsyte, ‘Cloud climbs to new heights in Australia as market growth continues’, 2 April 2019.

167 Ericsson, ‘Telstra, CBA and Ericsson to trial 5G for the banking sector’, (media release), 26 February 2019.

168 S. Feldman ‘The Sky Is the Limit for Cloud Gaming’, Statista, 27 March 2019.

169 Ovum, ‘Cloud Gaming Forecast, Ovum Forecaster’, July 2019.

170 Deloitte, ‘TMT Predictions 2019 What does the future hold for tech, media, and telco?’ (webpage) accessed 12 September 2019.

171 TEG, ‘Melbourne eSports Open 2018 Debut Sees Thousands of eSports Fans’, 14 March 2019.

172 Victorian Government,’Melbourne To Be Australia’s Home Of Esport’, 3 June 2018.

173 Adelaide Crows, ‘Crows strike eSports agreement’, 17 May 2017.

174 Essendon FC, ‘Esports: First year wrap-up’, (webpage), 13 September 2018.

175 AFL, ‘Understanding esports: how the AFL is involved’, accessed 12 September 2019.

176 PWC, ‘PwC Australia sponsors the Australian ESports League (AEL)’, (media release), October 2018.

177 HOYTS, ‘Gfinity Esports Australia and HOYTS announce a multi million dollar partnership to invest in Esports Arenas across Australia’, (media release), May 2019.

178 Gfinity Esports Australia,’Announcement: Gfinity Esports Australia To Cease Operations from end November 2019’, (media release) 14 August 2019.

179 Deloitte, Media Consumer Survey 2018, accessed September 2019.

180 AlphaBeta, The Automation Advantage, accessed 31 August 2019.

181 DIIS, ‘Artificial Intelligence: Australia’s Ethics Framework’, (webpage), accessed 12th September 2019

182 DIIS, ‘AI Ethics Framework’, (webpage), accessed November 2019.

183 K. Sennaar, ‘Telecom Machine Learning Applications – Comparing AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and More’, Emerj, 29 Jan 2019.

184 IEEE, ‘Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven spectrum management’, China Communications, Vol 16, Iss 1, Jan 2019.

185 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Spectrum Collaboration Challenge, accessed October 2019.

186 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Spectrum Collaboration Challenge Highlights, (webpage), accessed October 2019.

187 Seven West Media, ‘Seven Delivers for Partners in 2020’, (media release), 23 October 2019, p.5.

188 S. Chowdhury, ‘Telco trends and transformation priorities for 2019’, The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience, 25 February 2019.

189 IBM, ‘Blockchain for telecom roaming, fraud, and overage management’, 18 September 2018.

190 C. Mu-Hyun, ‘Samsung, telcos, and banks to collaborate on blockchain mobile authentication’, 2DNET, 15 July 2019.

191 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, ‘Information Note to the Press (Press Release No. 58/2018)’, 29 May 2018.

https://www.talking2030.com/

https://www.crdc.com.au/sites/default/files/pdf/RDE_Report_web_0.pdf

https://www.crdc.com.au/sites/default/files/pdf/RDE_Report_web_0.pdf

https://www.ussc.edu.au/analysis/australian-agtech-opportunities-and-challenges-as-seen-from-a-us-venture-capital-perspective

https://www.ussc.edu.au/analysis/australian-agtech-opportunities-and-challenges-as-seen-from-a-us-venture-capital-perspective

https://research.agfunder.com/2018/AgFunder-Agrifood-Tech-Investing-Report-2018.pdf

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/sitecollectiondocuments/agriculture-food/innovation/full-report-agricultural-innovation.PDF

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/an-executives-guide-to-the-internet-of-things

https://www.crdc.com.au/sites/default/files/P2D%20telecommunications%20-%20UNE%20Final%20Report.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Airong_Zhang/publication/324486222_Surveying_the_needs_and_drivers_for_digital_agriculture_in_Australia/links/5acff5bca6fdcc8784119031/Surveying-the-needs-and-drivers-for-digital-agriculture-in-Australia.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Airong_Zhang/publication/324486222_Surveying_the_needs_and_drivers_for_digital_agriculture_in_Australia/links/5acff5bca6fdcc8784119031/Surveying-the-needs-and-drivers-for-digital-agriculture-in-Australia.pdf

https://www.cio.com.au/article/593969/new-sydney-innovation-centre-develop-iot-technologies/


https://www.telsyte.com.au/announcements/2019/4/2/cloud-climbs-to-new-heights-in-australia-as-market-growth-continues?rq=Australia%E2%80%99s%20cloud%20Infrastructure-as-a-Service%20(IaaS)%20market%20%24688%20million%20in%202018

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2/2019/2/telstra-cba-and-ericsson-to-trial-5g-for-the-banking-sector

https://www.statista.com/chart/17501/cloud-gaming/

https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-predictions.html

https://melbourneesportsopen.com.au/what-is-this-a-headline-for-ants/

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/melbourne-to-be-australias-home-of-esport/

https://www.afc.com.au/news/2017-05-17/crows-strike-esports-agreement

https://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2018-09-14/esports-first-year-wrapup

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-12-21/understanding-esports-how-the-afl-is-involved

https://www.pwc.com.au/press-room/2018/pwc-australia-sponsors-australian-esports-league.html

https://s3-cdn.hoyts.com.au/media/1996/hoyts_gfinity-esports-australia.pdf

https://s3-cdn.hoyts.com.au/media/1996/hoyts_gfinity-esports-australia.pdf

http://images.content.deloitte.com.au/Web/DELOITTEAUSTRALIA/%7Bcdafce4f-483e-49b4-8f00-cbb947586250%7D_20180914-tel-inbound-media-consumer-survey-2018-report.pdf?elqTrackId=7d262a84bd414084877f28acba8f5876&elqaid=227&elqat=2

https://www.alphabeta.com/our-research/the-automation-advantage/

https://consult.industry.gov.au/strategic-policy/artificial-intelligence-ethics-framework/

https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/building-australias-artificial-intelligence-capability/ai-ethics-framework

https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/telecom-machine-learning-applications/

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8633298

https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/spectrum-collaboration-challenge

https://www.spectrumcollaborationchallenge.com/

http://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/news-and-media/2019/


https://developer.ibm.com/patterns/blockchain-for-telecom-roaming-fraud-and-overage-management/

https://www.zdnet.com/article/samsung-telcos-banks-to-collaborate-on-blockchain-mobile-authentication/

https://main.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PRNo5829052018.pdf

Chapter 1


Notes

192 Ofcom, ‘How blockchain technology could help to manage UK telephone numbers’, 9 October 2018.

193 GSMA, ‘eSIM Whitepaper The what and how of Remote SIM Provisioning’, March 2018.

194 QANTAS, ‘Inflight Communication’, (webpage), accessed July 2019.

195 Virgin Australia, ‘In-Flight Wifi’, (webpage), accessed July 2019.

196 Gogo, ‘About Gogo’, (webpage), accessed July 2019.

197 ACMA, ‘Earth stations in motion in Ku band’, (consultation paper), March 2019.

198 Nine, ‘Merger of Fairfax and Nine Implemented’, (media release) 7 December 2018.

199 TPG, ‘Proposed Merger of Equals Between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia’, (ASX announcement), accessed September 2019.

200 ACCC, ‘TPG Telecom Limited (TPG) - proposed merger with Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd (VHA)’, Public informer merger reviews, accessed September 2019.

201 TPG, ‘Federal Court Proceedings’, (ASX announcement), 24 May 2019.

202 Singtel, ‘Asset Acquisitions and Disposals: Completion of acquisition of shares in Hivint Pty Limited’, 28 December 2018.

203 Nine, ‘Notice of Dispatch of Bidders Statement to MRN Shareholders’, 13 September 2019.

204 Nine, ‘Close of offer period and compulsory acquisition of shares by Fairfax Media Ltd’, 15 October 2019.

205 AGL, ‘AGL enters agreement offering to acquire Southern Phone Company Limited’, (media release), 16 October 2019.

206 Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA), ‘Advertising expenditure in main media: Year ended 31st December 2018’, April 2019.

207 IAB Australia, ‘Online advertising Q1 2019 sees seasonal drop while year-on-year growth continues apace’, 27 May 2019.

208 IAB Australia, Online advertising continues year-on-year growth to reach $9 billion, 2 September 2019.

209 ibid.

210 ibid.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/blockchain-technology-uk-telephone-numbers

https://www.gsma.com/esim/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/esim-whitepaper.pdf

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-experience/onboard/communication.html

https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/experience/on-board-the-flight/in-flight-wifi/

https://www.gogoair.com/about-gogo/

https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/earth-stations-in-motion-in-ku-band

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20181207/pdf/4411kg1z1b7tdw.pdf

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180830/pdf/43xv0j845mwx16.pdf

https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/mergers-registers/public-informal-merger-reviews/tpg-telecom-limited-tpg-proposed-merger-with-vodafone-hutchison-australia-pty-ltd-vha

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190524/pdf/445c74wtpbvtjr.pdf

https://www.singtel.com/content/dam/singtel/investorRelations/stockExchange/2018/20181228-CompleteAcquisitionOfHivint.pdf

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190913/pdf/448htr0lqhzglw.pdf

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20191015/pdf/449hlb7rbx6gg1.pdf

https://www.agl.com.au/about-agl/media-centre/asx-and-media-releases/2019/october/agl-enters-agreement-offering-to-acquire-southern-phone-company-limited

This chapter examines how Australians use communications and media services, including broadcasting and online services. It focuses on online activities—our take-up and use of devices that connect to the internet— and on viewing behaviours, including access and engagement to new and traditional services and devices, as well as subscription, online viewing and new online services.

This chapter addresses the statutory requirements under paragraphs s.105(3)(b)(ii) and (iii) of the Telecommunications Act as in force at the end of 30 June 2019.

Consumer engagement with communications and media

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

71Consumer engagement with communications and media

At a glance—how we engaged

Fixed-line phones

44% of Australian adults used a fixed-line phone at home— down from 48% in 2018

Mobile-only Australians

51% of Australian adults were mobile-only for voice, 16% were mobile-only for internet

Australians online

90% of adult Australians accessed the internet—stable since 2013–14

45% of internet households were connected over the NBN

Devices used to go online by internet users

87% mobile, 69% laptop, 56% tablet

2 in 5 online Australians used 5 or more types of devices

Volume of data downloaded

Just under 6 million TB over fixed and mobile networks

Mobile data

27% of mobile users with a postpaid plan had an allowance of 21GB or more— up from 3% in 2017

Apps

67% of Australian adults communicated via messages and voice or video calls

Viewing content

76% of Australian adults in metro cities watched FTA television weekly, down from 86% in 2014–15

83% of Australian adults accessed video online

71% of Australian adults (with a TV set in the home) had at least one subscription or pay-as-you-go service in their household, an increase from 69% at June 2018

Listening to music/radio

89% listened to the radio (over the air or online) in the 6 months to May 2019

65% of Australian adults accessed audio content online

46% used a music streaming service


2.1 How we communicate

Australians use a diverse range of devices and ways to communicate. The mobile phone offers multiple communications channels and was the most used service, with 94 per cent of Australian adults making personal calls and 86 per cent sending text messages in the six months prior to survey in May 2019. Forty-four per cent of Australian adults used a fixed-line phone for personal use in the six months prior to the survey date in May 2019 (Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1: Use of communications for personal purposes, by service type (percentage)

May 1520

40

60

80

100

May 18 May 19Jun 17Jun 16

Mobile phone call

Messaging/calling app*

Fixed-line phone

Email

Social networking

Text from mobile phone

94

86

80

63

60

96

86

80

66

64

95

86

79

60

54

63

6768

44

48

92

83

82

64

94

86

84

65

*Includes video calls. Data not available prior to June 2017.

Base: Australians aged 18 and over.

Note: Broken line indicates a change in methodology in 2016 and 2017 and means that some differences between these and prior years may be explained by the methodology rather than any significant difference.

Source: ACMA-commissioned surveys, May 2015, June 2016 and 2017, May 2018 and 2019 (mobile phone call, email, text from mobile phone, social networking and instant messaging), in the six months prior to May/June of each year.

Chapter 2

73

How we communicate


The majority of Australians aged 55 and over continued to use fixed-line phones. For those aged under 55, use of a fixed-line phone has declined, with only 15 per cent of those aged 18–34 having used the service in the six months to May 2019 (Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2: Use of fixed-line phone, by age (percentage)

Total

35–44 years

45–54 years

55–64 years

65–74 years

75+ years

18–34 years

91

81

54

40

25

77

8183

76

66

48

44

27

15

48

6865

54

35

71

21

May 18 May 19Jun 17

20

40

60

80

100

0


Source: ACMA-commissioned surveys, June 2017, May 2018 and May 2019, in the six months prior to May/June of each year.

Age continues to be a strong predictor of technology use. More Australians aged 65 and over use traditional communications services, compared to all other age groups who are increasingly communicating using OTT services.1

At May 2019, 60 per cent of Australian adults had used five or more separate communications services in the last six months.


Mobile-only for voice and internet

Australian adults are now choosing to rely solely on their mobile phone for personal voice communications. The proportion of mobile-only for voice consumers—those who have a mobile phone and no fixed-line phone at home—is continuing to grow. At June 2019, 51 per cent of Australian adults (approximately 9.9 million) were mobile-only for voice, up from 41 per cent in 2018 (Figure 2.3).

Mobile-only for internet is a term used for those who go online at home but do not have a fixed broadband connection. At June 2019, 16 per cent of Australian adults who accessed the internet (approximately 3.15 million) were in this category, remaining consistent with 2018.

Figure 2.3: Mobile-only for voice and internet at home (percentage)

Mobile-only for voice

Mobile-only for internet

2017–18 2018–192016–172015–162014–15

20

0

40

60

80

51

2931

21 21 1916

4136

16

Base: Australians aged 18 and over in the 12 months to June of each year.


Chapter 2

75

Internet access


2.2 Internet access

ConnectivityAustralians access the internet over both fixed and mobile networks from a range of devices across locations. In the six months to May 2019, 90 per cent of Australian adults had accessed the internet, with near universal access by those aged 18–34 (99 per cent). This decreased to 71 per cent for those aged 65–74, and 52 per cent for those aged 75 and over.2

Internet connectivity trends at home have remained relatively stable over the last few years (Figure 2.4). In the six months prior to the survey date in May 2019:

> 91 per cent of Australian adults (approximately 17.9 million) had an internet connection in the home at some time, an increase from 87 per cent in the six months prior to the survey date in May 2018.

> 80 per cent (approximately 15.8 million) accessed the internet via a mobile phone.

Figure 2.4: Method of internet access (percentage)

Home internet connection*

Used the internet via a mobile phone

7370

75

79 80

91

878789

85

†

100

80

60May 15 May 18 May 19Jun 17Jun 16

*Includes ADSL, cable, fibre, satellite, fixed wireless, mobile wireless internet services—using dongles, datacards or USB modems. Excludes mobile handset internet.†Relates to use of the internet via a mobile phone handset in the prior six months.


Note 1: The changes in methodology for the consumer survey data in 2016 and 2017 (marked by a dashed line) mean that some differences between these years may be explained by the methodology rather than any significant difference.

Note 2: June 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 internet definitions include ADSL, cable, NBN, USB modem, portable wi-fi modem, SIM card for tablet, internet key and dial-up.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey June 2015, 2016 and 2017 and May 2018 and 2019, in the six months prior to May/June of each year.

Frequency of internet useAt June 2019, 76 per cent of adult Australians (approximately 15 million) accessed the internet three or more times a day, a minor increase from 74 per cent at June 2018 and 71 per cent at June 2017. Frequency of use related to age—90 per cent of Australians aged 18–24 accessed the internet three or more times a day, compared to 48 per cent of those aged 65 and over.3


Australians connected to the NBNAt June 2019, 5.5 million premises were connected to the NBN, an increase of 38 per cent on the previous year. For homes and businesses, 9.93 million were able to connect to services over the NBN, compared to 7.038 million premises in June 2018.4

ACMA consumer survey data showed that 45 per cent of households with an internet connection were connected over the NBN (in May 2019). Of those connected over the NBN who were able to identify the employed technology:

> 74 per cent were connected via a fixed line (FTTP, FTTN, FTTB, FTTC or HFC)

> 19 per cent had a fixed wireless connection

> three per cent had a satellite connection.

Just under half (42 per cent) of Australian adults had both their internet and phone connected to the NBN, a decrease from 56 per cent at May 2018. Just over half (54 per cent) only had an internet connection, and three per cent only had a phone connection.5

Offline Australians At May 2019, 10 per cent of Australian adults had not been online in the last six months. Almost half of Australians (48 per cent) aged 75 and over had not been online in the six months to May 2019, compared to 2018, where 54 per cent had not. Less than one per cent of those aged 18–34 had not been online.6

Device types and frequency of useIn May 2019, the mobile phone was the most popular device used to go online (87 per cent), followed by a laptop (69 per cent), then tablet (56 per cent). Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of Australian adults used their mobile phone multiple times a day to access the internet (Figure 2.5).

After the mobile phone, laptops and tablets were the next most frequently used to access the internet in the last six months—45 per cent of Australian adults used a laptop computer at least once a day to go online, while 36 per cent used their tablet.

Chapter 2

77

Internet access


Figure 2.5: Frequency of internet use, by device (percentage)

Less often NeverMonthlyWeeklyOnce a dayMultiple times a day

TV/Smart TV

Tablet computer

Desktop computer

Laptop computer

Mobile phone

Digital media player

Other games console

e-reader

Portable games console

Personal video recorder

mp3 player

72

30

22

22

18

6

2 2

2

4

3

6

10

911

14

13

15

9

3

2

3

3

4

5 31

13

444

524

3 52

76

79

90

93

92

97

6

4

4

2 2

15

14

3

3

34

7

87

Total used

69

56

48

48

24

21

10

7

8

3

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who accessed the internet in the last six months (n=1,992).

Note 1: Numbers may not add up to 100 per cent or displayed totals due to rounding.

Note 2: Data labels for values <2 per cent are not displayed.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2019.

Australians adults are continuing to use a combination of devices to go online. In May 2019, almost two in five online Australian adults had accessed the internet in the last six months via five or more different types of devices, up from one in five adults at June 2017. Fifty-six per cent used four or more types of devices and, there are now fewer online Australian adults who only use one type of device—eight per cent in 2019 compared to 15 per cent just two years ago (Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6: Number of types of devices used to access the internet (percentage)

Jun 17

May 18

81737

1014

18 15

19

21

40

23

17

23

19 19

4 devices 3 devices 2 devices5+ devices 1 device

May 19

Base: Australian adults aged 18 and over who accessed the internet in the last six months; June 2017 (n=2,181), May 2018 (n=2,015) and May 2019 (n=1,992).

Note: Totals subject to rounding errors.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, June 2017, May 2018 and 2019.


Voice-enabled devices

ACMA research found that as of May 2019, 10 per cent of adult Australians had a voice-controlled speaker connected to the internet, compared to five per cent at May 2018. Australians aged 18–24 were the most likely to own one of these devices (22 per cent), as well as those with an annual household income of $150,000 or more (20 per cent).7 Industry research reported that for households with a device, the average number of voice-enabled devices within a household is 1.5, with 55 per cent using them every day and 86 per cent every week.8

Other smart devices

Fifty per cent of Australian adults used a smart device (a device other than a computer, tablet or mobile phone) connected to the internet at May 2019, an increase from 48.1 per cent over the past year. The smart TV was still the most common smart device, used by 39 per cent of Australian adults at May 2019. Wearable devices were the second most common and remained steady between 2018 and 2019 at 14 per cent, after increasing four per cent between 2017 and 2018. Other smart-home products, such as security cameras, GPS tracking tags or devices, dishwashers, fridges, lighting, and heating and cooling systems, were each used by no more than six per cent of Australian adults.9

Volume of data downloaded In the three months to 30 June 2019, a total of 5.3 million TB of data was downloaded over fixed networks and 0.7 million TB using mobile devices.

Sixty-six per cent (3.5 million TB) of the data downloaded over fixed internet was via NBN services, while 34 per cent (1.8 million TB) was downloaded via services not connected to the NBN (Figure 2.7).

Sixty-one per cent (0.42 million TB) of data downloaded over mobile networks was via postpaid services, more than double that downloaded via prepaid services (0.12 million TB).

During the June quarter of 2019, the average amount of data downloaded per service was:

> 709.4 GB over NBN fixed internet connections

> 641.4 GB over non-NBN fixed internet connections

> 18.07 GB over mobile broadband.

Figure 2.7: Volume of data downloaded in the quarter to June 2019 (TB)

3,479,428

1,811,362

422,646

151,165

122,909

5,290,790

696,720

Prepaid

Mobile broadband

Postpaid

Total mobile

Non-NBN

NBN

Total fixed

Note: Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sum of components and the total. The ACCC reports that ‘statistics on volume of data downloaded should only be considered as an indicative measure of internet activity during the reference period’.

Source: ACCC, Internet Activity Record Keeping Rule (RKR), June 2019 report. Note: ACCC is the new data provider. The ACCC published its Internet Activity Record for the first time in June 2019, Prior to that, the ABS published Internet Activity Survey results. See the Introduction of the ACCC’s Internet Activity Record for full explanation of compatibility issues preventing direct comparison.10

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Internet access


Mobile data allowance

Mobile data plan allowances continued to grow, providing Australians with increased on-the-go internet connectivity and video viewing without financial penalty. At May 2019, 94 per cent of Australian adults had a data allowance included in their mobile plans.11

Postpaid plans with a monthly data allowance of 21 GB or more are the most popular in 2019, a significant increase from 2017 when only three per cent reported having a data allowance over 21 GB (Figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8: Postpaid plan mobile phone users’ monthly data allowance (percentage)

2712

3

1920

12

2425

25

4.1–10 GB

30

3343

69

12

May 19May 18Jun 17

11–20 GB

20+ GB

4 GB or less

No data

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who used a mobile phone and have a postpaid mobile plan (n=1,812).

Note 1: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Note 2: Categories were changed slightly between 2018 and 2019 and therefore changes in the data may be due to methodology changes.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, June 2017, May 2018 and 2019.

ACMA research12 found that 38 per cent of mobile users used an app to track their mobile phone usage or spending. Heavy data users, who had a plan of 20 GB or more, were more likely to check their usage (56 per cent, compared with 39 per cent with less than 20 GB).

Unlimited data plans

At June 2019, 5.49 million fixed-line internet services were associated with unlimited data plans. This represents 71.1 per cent of all fixed-line services in operation. In comparison, 845,000 mobile services were associated with unlimited data plans, representing 2.4 per cent of all mobile services in operation.


2.3 Internet activities

Performing activities onlineNinety-four per cent of Australian adult internet users researched information, sent or received emails or browsed the web during the six-months prior to being surveyed in May 2019. Forty per cent of the Australian adult population played games online via a mobile app, 36 per cent sold goods or services online, 15 per cent purchased lottery tickets, nine per cent gambled online and three per cent engaged in virtual reality (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9: Activities performed online by internet users in the last six months, 2018 and 2019 (percentage)

Engaging in virtual reality

Online gambling

Purchasing lottery tickets

Selling goods or services

Playing games via mobile app

Work or study from home

Accessing audio content

Buying goods or services

Viewing video content

Banking or paying bills

Browsing or surfing

Email

Research and information

36

94

94

94

86

83

78

65

64

15

39

94

95

93

87

82

79

61

3940

65

12

98

35

May 19May 18


Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are excluded from analysis.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2018 and May 2019.

Accessing online video and audio contentEighty-three per cent of Australian internet users viewed video content online in the six months prior to being surveyed in May 2019, while three in five (65 per cent) accessed audio content such as internet radio, music streaming services or podcasts (Figure 2.10 and Figure 2.11).

Engagement with these activities was associated with age—all users aged 18–34 accessed online video content, along with 93 per cent of those aged 35–44, while 54 per cent aged 65–74 and 36 per cent aged 75 and over accessed online video content in the six months prior to being surveyed in May 2019.

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Internet activities


Figure 2.10: Australians accessing online video content in the six months to May, by age, 2018 and 2019 (percentage)

8283

97

9393

7981

8267

5458

3633

May 19May 18

75+ years

65–74 years

55–64 years

45–54 years

35–44 years

18–34 years

Total

97




Figure 2.11: Australians accessing online audio content in the last six months to May, by age, 2018 and 2019 (percentage)

6561

8884

7471

6353

4744

3031

1711

May 19May 18

75+ years

65–74 years

55–64 years

45–54 years

35–44 years

18–34 years

Total





News consumptionAccording to research by the University of Canberra, Australians are accessing news via fewer channels than previous years. One-third of news consumers (33 per cent) used four or more sources to find news in 2019, a decrease from 40 per cent in 2016; while the number of people using one or two sources has increased from 36 per cent in 2016 to 45 per cent in 2019.13

Watching TV news was the most popular source of news (66 per cent), followed by online news (52 per cent), social media/blogs (46 per cent), radio (37 per cent) and print (28 per cent).14 When asked about news source, 42 per cent of the respondents cited watching TV as the main source, 25 per cent cited online news as the main source, while 18 per cent cited social media. Radio and print are the main source for less than 10 per cent of respondents (Figure 2.12).

Figure 2.12: Main source of news (percentage)

38 38 38

42

2725

18181718

810

8

8

7 6

9

2927

0

10

20

30

40

50

201920182017

Online news

Television

Social media/blog

Radio

Print

2016

Source: News and Media Research Centre, Digital news report: Australia 2019, Canberra University.

Forty-seven per cent of Australian news consumers aged 18–21, and 33 per cent of 22 to 37-year-olds, use social media as their main source of news.15

Online gambling and lottery activitiesEight per cent of Australian adults gambled online and 14 per cent purchased a lottery ticket in the six months to May 2019. Participation in online gambling is significantly higher among males (13 per cent) compared to females (four per cent).16

Participating in the lottery was the most popular form of gambling (67 per cent), followed by betting on racing and sports betting (18 per cent) and playing poker machines (eight per cent).17

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Communications applications (apps)


2.4 Communications applications (apps)

At May 2019, 67 per cent of Australian internet users had used an app to communicate via messages, voice, or video calls in the last six months. Using an app to send messages was the most popular (58 per cent) and 29 per cent did all three (Figure 2.13). Just over two-thirds (70 per cent) used an app for social networking and two in five (40 per cent) used an app to track mobile phone usage and spend.18

Figure 2.13: Use of communications apps in the last six months, by activity, May 2019 (percentage)

Used an app to do all three

Video calls

Voice calls

Send messages

Used an app to communicate 67

58

42

41

29

Note: Not comparable to previous year due to changes to the questionnaire.



Eighty-four per cent of those aged 18–34 used an app to send messages or make video or voice calls, compared with a third of those aged 65 and over. Similarly, 85 per cent of those aged 18–34 years used an app for social networking, compared to around a third of those aged 65 and over.19

At May 2019, Facebook Messenger was the most used communications app in Australia, with 65 per cent of online Australian adults using it to either send messages, or make voice or video calls. WhatsApp is the second most used communication app (38 per cent), followed by Instagram (28 per cent), FaceTime (27 per cent), and Skype (21 per cent). 20

Sixteen per cent of online Australians did not use an app to communicate in the last six months, more than half (57 per cent) used between one and three different apps and 27 per cent used four or more.21


2.5 Our satisfaction with communications services

Under s.105(3)(b)(ii) and (iii) of the Telecommunications Act, the ACMA is required to report on the adequacy and quality of billing services and billing information services, along with other quality of service levels. Consumer satisfaction survey results, together with complaints data, provide an indication of how industry is performing in these areas, and whether these have changed year on year.

Australian adults rated overall satisfaction levels for mobile phone services as 3.8 out of five, fixed-line phone services as 3.5 out of five and internet services as 3.3 out of five. Consumers rated call quality satisfaction levels the highest, with 3.9 out of five for their mobile service and 3.7 out of five for their fixed-line services.

Internet consumers had the highest average satisfaction level with the level of billing information at 3.4 out of five. Satisfaction level ratings for call wait time when contacting service providers remain the lowest across mobile, fixed-line and internet services, with 3.0, 2.8 and 2.9 out of five, respectively (see Figure 2.14, Figure 2.15 and Figure 2.16).

Figure 2.14: Consumer satisfaction with aspects of their mobile phone service (average out of five)

0 1 2 3 4 5

Call wait time when contactingyour service provider

Complaints handling

Data costs

Customer service

Coverage

Data speed for mobile internet

Service reliability

Call costs

Billing information

Quality of voice calls

Your mobile service overall3.7

3.8

3.93.9

3.83.8

3.73.73.73.7

3.63.6

3.63.5

3.43.4

3.43.1

3.33.2

3.03.0

May 19May 18

Base: Australians aged 18 years and over who have used a mobile phone in the last six months; May 2018 (n=2,064) and May 2019 (n=2,034).

Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding. ‘Don’t know’ and ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are excluded from analysis. Figures are an average out of five.


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Our satisfaction with communications services


Figure 2.15: Consumer satisfaction with aspects of their fixed-line phone service (average out of five)

0 1 2 3 4 5

Call wait time when contacting your service provider

Line rental costs

Complaints handling

Customer service

Call costs

Service reliability

Billing information

Quality of call

Your fixed-line phone service overall3.53.5

3.73.7

3.73.7

3.2

3.43.4

3.43.4

3.4

3.03.0

2.82.8

May 19May 18

3.73.8

Base: Australians aged 18 years and over who have used a fixed-line phone in the last six months; May 2018 (n=1,176) and May 2019 (n=997).

Notes: Numbers may not add up due to rounding. ‘Don’t know’ and ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are excluded from analysis.


Figure 2.16: Consumer satisfaction with aspects of their internet service (average out of five)

3.33.3

3.43.5

3.33.4

3.13.0

3.13.1

3.13.1

3.23.1

3.33.3

3.12.9

2.92.9

May 19May 18

0 1 2 3 4 5

Call wait time when contacting your service provider

Speed of repairing faults

Complaints handling

Cost

Data speed

Technical support

Customer service

Service reliability

Billing information

Your internet service overall

Base: Australians aged 18 years and over who have internet access in their household; May 2018 (n=1,994) and May 2019 (n=1,976).



Technical experienceThe average satisfaction level ratings out of five for primary internet service at home was 4.2 for mobile broadband, 4.1 for NBN, 3.9 for cable and ADSL, and 3.2 for mobile phone. The level of satisfaction with the technical quality of online video has remained consistent year on year. Australians aged 18 and over rated their satisfaction level a four out of five on average.22


2.6 Audio content access and engagement

Radio listening Eighty-three per cent of Australian adults listened to the radio in an average seven-day period in the 12 months to June 2019, compared to 86 per cent in 2017–18 (Figure 2.17).

This decline appears to have been driven by the lower proportion of younger adults listening. In the 12-month period to June 2019, 72 per cent of Australian adults aged 18–34 had listened to broadcast radio in the last seven days, compared to 87 per cent of adults aged 35 and over in the same period.23

Figure 2.17: Listening to radio, last seven days (percentage)

83

86

88

88

86

2016–17

2015–16

2014–15

2017–18

2018–19


Note: Changes to Roy Morgan weighting methodology in 2014 may have resulted in some differences to 2014–15 data reported in previous communications reports.


ACMA research found that 89 per cent of adult Australians listened to the radio (over the air or online) in the six months to May 2019 and 81 per cent listened in the last seven days. Sixty-four per cent of Australian adults had a radio at home.24

Forty per cent of Australians aged 18–34 had a radio at home and 17 per cent listened to AM radio, whereas 73 per cent of Australians aged 35 and over had a radio at home and 47 per cent listened to AM radio.

Sixty per cent of Australian adults cited the format or content of AM radio as the most common reason for not listening.

Time spent listening to radio

Australian adults are continuing to spend more time listening to analog radio (AM and FM) rather than digital or online radio. At May 2019, in the previous week, 78 per cent had listened to FM radio, 33 per cent to AM radio, 16 per cent to digital radio (DAB+) (metropolitan areas only) and 12 per cent to radio online.25

ACMA research found that in the previous seven days during May 2019, Australian adults spent an average of 9.2 hours per week listening to FM radio in the car and/or at home, accounting for more than half of the total time spent listening to the radio (16.1 hours). Listening to AM radio (at home or in the car) averaged 4.4 hours, while listening to digital radio and online radio averaged 1.6 hours and one hour, respectively (Figure 2.18).

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Audio content access and engagement


Australians aged 55 and over spend the most time listening to the radio, with at least 23.2 hours a week dedicated to listening over the air or online, compared to Australians aged 18–34 who spent an average of 8.3 hours per week. Listening to AM radio is most popular with Australians aged 75 and over (12.7 hours per week), while Australians aged 18–34 listened to less than one hour (Figure 2.18).

Figure 2.18: Average time spent listening to the radio in the last seven days, May 2019 (percentage)

75+ years55–74 years35–54 years18–34 yearsTotal

FM radio in the car

Radio online via the internet

AM radio in the car AM radio at home or somewhere else

FM radio at home or somewhere else

Digital radio anywhere

1.6 1.1

1.0 1.4

1.0

1.4

2.0

2.63.9

2.8

4.6

4.6

16.1

8.3

14.5

2.3

23.223.9

1.3

1.61.6

4.9

7.3

4.7

4.65.3

4.1

3.2

6.3

8.8

60

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who listened to the radio in the previous seven days (n=1,889); 18–34 years (n=299), 35–64 years (n=616), 65–74 years (n=786), 75+ years (n=188).

Note 1: Numbers may not add up to category total due to rounding.

Note 2: Data label for values <1 per cent are not displayed.

Note 3: Time spent listening to digital radio was only asked of those who live in metropolitan areas.


Digital and online radio

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) reported that the number of DAB+ radios in Australia (including those in cars) increased by 24 per cent from 3.80 million in 2017 to 4.73 million in 2018. The average weekly listeners (aged 10 and over) of DAB+ in the five metro cities increased by 16 per cent from 3.62 million to 4.21 million listeners in 2018.26

ACMA data showed that one in six Australian adults (16 per cent) listened to the radio online in the last six months and one in eight (12 per cent) listened in the last seven days. Online radio streaming is more prevalent for Australians under 45, with 21 per cent listening to the radio online in the last six months, compared to 13 per cent aged 45 and over.27

Music streaming servicesAt May 2019, 46 per cent of Australian adults had used a music streaming service such as Spotify or Apple Music in the previous seven days.28 Spotify increased its market share as the most used music streaming service, with 70 per cent of adults using the service in the seven days to May 2019, an increase from 59 per cent in May 2018. Apple Music is the second most popular (13 per cent) followed by Google Play Music (10 per cent) (Figure 2.19).


Figure 2.19: Music streaming service usage (percentage)

TuneIn

iTunes Radio

iHeartRadio

Other

ABC listen

Google Play

Apple Music

Spotify 7059

1316

1010

712

69

57

84

36

May 19May 18

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who used music streaming services in the last seven days; 2019 (n=903), 2018 (n=843).


Australians spent an average of 10.9 hours a week streaming online music services in May 2019, compared to 9.8 hours in 2018. Those aged 18–24 spent the most time at 13.4 hours per week, while those aged 75 and over spent 5.1 hours.29

PodcastsAccording to Roy Morgan Research, over 1.6 million Australians downloaded audio or video podcasts between July 2018 and June 2019, an increase from 908,000 during the same time in 2014–15. Podcasts downloaded via mobile phone increased from 403,000 to over 1.3 million in the same period.30

Podcast awareness, frequency and time spent listening is continuing to increase. In the first quarter of 2019, 83 per cent of Australians aged 12 and over were familiar with the term ‘podcasting’, an increase from 78 per cent in 2018. Thirty per cent listened to a podcast (up from 29 per cent in 2018) and 22 per cent listened monthly, up from 18 per cent in 2018. Fifteen per cent listened weekly, an increase from 10 per cent in 2017. Those who listened to podcasts weekly listened to an average of six per week.31

Research conducted by the ABC showed that 70 per cent of podcast listeners live in capital cities, 22 per cent in regional locations and eight per cent in rural areas. ACMA consumer research found that 80 per cent of podcasts that were accessed in the seven days prior to the survey were listened to in their entirety. Home remained the most common location in which to listen to podcasts (76 per cent), while two-thirds (67 per cent) listened while out and about. Completing household or garden chores was the most common activity performed while listening to podcasts (62 per cent), followed by relaxing at home (59 per cent) and while riding on public transport and commuting to work or school via car, truck or taxi (45 per cent each). The research also found that 59 per cent of podcast listeners indicated they are listening to more podcasts compared with the previous year.32

The most popular podcasts for Australians aged 14–34 were comedy podcasts, while society and culture podcasts were most popular for those aged 35 and over.33

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Video content access and engagement


2.7 Video content access and engagement

Free-to-air broadcast TVTime spent watching traditional live free-to-air (FTA) broadcast television (viewed at the time of broadcast) via the television set is declining, while the number of streamed minutes of catch-up or live content from FTA commercial broadcasters34 video on demand (BVOD) services is increasing.

Between January and June 2019, Australians spent an average of 68 hours and 14 minutes a month watching broadcast TV on a television (including live and playback), a decline from 70 hours and 38 minutes between July and December 2018. Watching TV live (at the time of broadcast) also declined from 62 hours and 16 minutes per month in 2018, to 59 hours and 49 minutes in 2019.35

Australians aged 50 and over are the largest consumers of live FTA TV, with the average time spent viewing increasing to 93 hours and 18 minutes a month for those aged 50–64 and 129 hours and 37 minutes for those aged 65 and over. Teenagers (aged 13–17) and those aged 18 to 24 years watched the least live TV (15 hours and 28 minutes, and 17 hours and 15 minutes, respectively).36

The proportion of Australian adults watching live FTA TV is decreasing, along with the amount of time spent viewing live FTA TV. In an average week in 2018–19, 76 per cent of Australian adults in the five major cities watched at least five minutes of live FTA TV—a decline from 86 per cent since 2014–15. In regional television markets, 74 per cent on average watched weekly—a decline of 10 percentage points from 2014–15 (Figure 2.20).

Figure 2.20: FTA television viewing—average weekly cumulative reach (five minutes consecutive, percentage)

Metropolitan

Regional

8481

79 78

80

76

74

8284

86

60

80

100

2018–192017–182016–172015–162014–15

Base: People aged 18 and over in the five mainland metropolitan markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) for OzTAM, and for the combined regional markets for RegionalTAM.

Note 1: Definition of reach—the cumulative percentage or total (usually expressed in thousands) of a population that has been counted as viewers at least once during a specified interval. From 27 December 2015, figures are consolidated to 28 days.

Note 2: Data in graph is only representative of those who are watching traditional FTA TV and does not include viewing of broadcaster’s online catch-up services or other online video viewing.

Source: ©OzTAM Pty Limited and Regional TAM Pty Limited 2019. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, the data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) without the prior written consent of OzTAM and/or RegionalTAM.


FTA broadcast video on demand (BVOD)Despite the decline, live FTA broadcast TV remains the most watched of any type of content (though increasingly more viewers are using online catch-up services).

Research from Think TV37 shows that viewing of commercial BVOD (online viewing of FTA content) increased by 35 per cent between July and December 2018, and January and June 2019. A total of 339.8 million hours of live and on demand video were streamed in the first half of 2019, compared to 251.4 million in the first half of 2018. Seventy per cent of streaming hours were for on demand content, with 30 per cent streaming live content (Figure 2.21).

Figure 2.21: Broadcast video on demand (BVOD) total hours viewed, live and on demand

Jul–Dec 18

Jan–Jun 19 103.6 million

251.4 million

339.8 million236.2 million

78.4 million172.9 million On demandLive

Source: Think TV, Fact Pack, H1 2019.

ACMA research showed that 28 per cent of Australian adults used an FTA TV catch-up service in the past seven days at May 2019. ABC iView was the most watched service, with 67 per cent of catch-up video users watching iView, while SBS On Demand was the second most-watched service at 50 per cent in 2018. 7Plus, 9Now and TenPlay usage decreased from 2018 (Figure 2.22).

Figure 2.22: Catch-up TV services used in the last seven days (percentage)

TenPlay

9Now

7Plus

SBS On Demand

iView63

67

5550

4133

32

32

3524 May 19

May 18

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who watched catch-up TV for FTA programs in the last seven days; 2018 (n=498) and 2019 (n=765).


https://thinktv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FACT-PACK-H1-2019_020919_Public.pdf

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Subscription TV and streaming video on demand (SVOD)Australians have embraced subscription and streaming services, with over half (51 per cent) reporting they had watched subscription or pay-as-you-go video content in the survey week to May 2019 (Figure 2.23).

Figure 2.23: Watched subscription or pay-as-you-go services in the last seven days (percentage)

51

42

32

May 19

May 18

Jun 17

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who have a television set in the home; 2017 (n=2,198), 2018 (n=1,805), 2019 (n=1,979).

Note: Numbers may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, June 2017, May 2018 and May 2019.

With the number of available subscription and streaming services in the market continuing to increase (as mentioned in Chapter 1), more Australians are subscribing to multiple services. Industry research found that 43 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over had more than one SVOD service, increasing from 30 per cent since 2018.38

Australians aged 18–44 were more likely to have watched subscription and streaming services in the last seven days, compared to those over the age of 44 (71 per cent compared to 34 per cent).39

With more choice available in online subscription services, Australian adults are subscribing to more services. At May 2019, 71 per cent of Australian adults (with a TV set in the home) had at least one subscription or pay-as-you-go service in their household, an increase from 69 per cent at June 2018.

Twenty-eight per cent of Australian adults had one subscription service at May 2019, a decrease from 30 per cent in 2018. Forty-two per cent had at least two services at May 2019, an increase from 39 per cent at June 2017, while the number of adult Australians who did not have any services in the household has decreased from 37 per cent in 2017 to 29 per cent in 2019 (Figure 2.24).

Figure 2.24: Number of subscription services in the household (percentage)

Jun 17

May 18

May 19 11

8

4 37

31

29

1+ services

9

10

12 19

21

16 34

30

28

3 services 2 services 1 service4+ services None

71

69

63

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who have a television set in the home; 2017 (n=2,198), 2018 (n=1,805), 2019 (n=1,979).


Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, June 2017, May 2018 and May 2019.


Twenty-nine per cent of Australian adults with a television did not have a subscription service in their household. Among 18–44-year olds, only 13 per cent did not have a subscription, compared to 61 per cent of those aged 65 and over. The most common subscription service in the households of Australian consumers was Netflix at 55 per cent, while Foxtel was the next most common at 22 per cent.

Figure 2.25: Subscriptions or pay-as-you-go services Australians have in their household (percentage)

None of these

Something else

Kayo

BigPond Movies

Optus TV

Fetch on Optus

Fetch TV

YouTube Premium

Amazon Prime

Telstra TV

Google Play

Apple TV

Foxtel Now

iTunes

Stan

Foxtel

Netflix 5550

22 24

1713

1113

98

6

66

9

6

4

4

n/a

n/a

4

4

3

32

5

55

1

11

2

30

1

29 May 19May 18

n/a=not available prior to 2019.

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who have a television set in the home; 2018 (n=1,805), 2019 (n=1,979).

Note: For 2018, Foxtel includes both Foxtel Play and Foxtel Now, which launched in June 2017 when Foxtel Play ceased.

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2018 and 2019.

Figure 2.26 shows the viewing habits by adult Australians of online services:

> Fifty-four per cent watched Netflix in the last six months to May 2019, and 47 per cent in the last seven days.

> Twenty per cent watched YouTube (excluding user-generated content) in the last six months and 12 per cent in the last seven days.

> Twenty per cent watched Foxtel in the last six months, and 15 per cent watched in the last seven days.

> Thirty-one per cent did not watch any online video services in the last six months, and 38 per cent in the last seven days.

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Figure 2.26: Online video services used in the last six months and seven days (percentage)

None

BigPond movies or BigPond TV

Some other video service

Google Play

Fetch TV

iTunes

Stan

Foxtel

YouTube, excluding user-generated content

Netflix 5447

2012

2015

1712

62

544

222

1<1

3138

Last 6 monthsLast 7 days

Base: Australians aged 18 and over; 2019 (n=2,067).

Note: Foxtel online includes only online services Foxtel GO and Foxtel Now, and does not include those watching via a set-top box.


Time spent watching video content (FTA and online)Watching FTA TV (live or recorded) continued to be the platform that adult Australians spend the most time watching (excluding pre-recorded DVDs). However, this dominance is declining, with the growing popularity of online services such as Netflix and Stan, and the increased take-up of catch-up TV.

In the seven days to May 2019, 40 per cent of viewing time was spent watching FTA TV, a decrease from 46 per cent at May 2018. Twenty per cent of viewing time was spent watching an online subscription service or pay-per-view, an increase from 15 per cent at May 2018.

Watching Foxtel (live or recorded) accounted for 15 per cent of Australian adults’ total viewing time (down from 18 per cent in May 2018). Watching other online content such as YouTube accounted for 11 per cent (up from eight per cent), while watching broadcaster’s catch-up TV or movies for free accounted for 10 per cent (also up from eight per cent). Only three per cent of viewing time was spent watching or playing games online (Figure 2.27).


Figure 2.27: Time spent watching TV (live or recorded) or professional online video content (percentage)

May 18

May 19 10

815

20 15

18 8

11 3

546

40

FTA TV Online subscription service or pay-as-you-go

Foxtel Other content online

Catch-up TV or movies for free

Games online

FTA=free-to-air.

*Excludes user-generated content.

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who watched any FTA TV or online video content in the last seven days; 2018 (n=1,891), 2019 (n=1929).



When comparing age groups, those aged 18–34 years spent the highest proportion of viewing time watching via an online subscription or pay-per-view service at 36 per cent, while only spending 10 per cent of their viewing time watching FTA TV (live or recorded). Australians aged 55 and over spent at least 50 per cent of their time watching FTA TV, and 15 per cent (or less) watching online subscription services or pay-per view.40

Video viewer profileOn average, Australian adults watched a total of 21.4 hours of TV and online content in the last seven days when surveyed during May 2019. Forty-five per cent of time was spent viewing online video content41—an increase from 36 per cent in 2018.

Australians aged 75 plus, spent the most time watching TV and online video content on average—27.7 hours in the last seven days when surveyed during May 2019. Live and recorded FTA TV occupied 65 per cent of their viewing time.

Australians aged 18–34 spent 82 per cent of their TV viewing time watching online content in 2019, compared to 75 per cent in 2018. They spent 6.9 hours watching subscription TV or pay-per-view content, compared to only 1.9 hours watching FTA TV (live or recorded). Other online content (including user-generated content) was mostly watched by those aged 18–34 (4.6 hours).

The viewing habits of Australians aged 35–54 most closely resembled the overall viewing profile (Figure 2.28).

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Figure 2.28: Time spent watching TV (live or recorded) and online video content by age (average hours)

75+55-7435-5418-34Total

8.7

4.7

2.31.8

2.46.9

2.0

4.4

2.7

1.1

1.9

2.46.7

17.93.2

1.6

3.7

3.6

1.4

4.92.4

21.619.5 19.4

25.3 25.2

2.3

4.3

1.3

15.2

Hou

rs

% of time watching online

82 46 26 1045


FTA TV (live or recorded)Foxtel (live or recorded)

STV or pay-per-view

Other online content (includinguser generated)

Played or watched games online

STV=Subscription TV.

FTA=Free-to-air TV.

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who watched any FTA TV or online video content in the last seven days (n=1,891); 18–34 years (n=326), 35–54 years (n=592), 55–74 years (n=800), 75+ years (n=173).

Note 1: Numbers may not add up to category totals due to rounding.

Note 2: Other online excludes user-generated content.

Note 3: Data label for values <1 per cent are not displayed.


Access to online content ACMA research shows that 70 per cent of Australian adults (approximately 13.9 million) watched some online TV or online video content in the seven days to May 2019, an increase from 61 per cent at May 2018. Sixty-five per cent (approximately 12.9 million) watched professionally produced content online and 43 per cent (approximately 8.6 million) accessed other online content, including user generated.42

Australians aged 18–44 years are more likely to have watched any online content in the last seven days, with 88 per cent doing so at May 2019, compared to less than 32 per cent of those aged 65 and over.43

Online subscription services or pay-per-view was the most regularly watched content, with 49 per cent of Australian adults watching in the last seven days, an increase from 41 per cent at May 2018. Viewing other online content, which included user-generated content and catch-up TV or movies for free, also increased year on year (Figure 2.29).


Figure 2.29: Online content watched (percentage)

Games online (watched or played)


Other content online (including user generated)

Online subscription service or pay-per-view

Total 7061

4149

4338

4333

89

May 19May 18

Base: Australians aged 18 and over; 2018 (n=1,973), 2019 (n=2,067).

Source: ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2018 and 2019.

Devices and services used to access video contentThe number of devices per household used to access video content has remained steady. Industry research shows that Australian households had an average of 6.6 video-capable screens per household between January and June 2019, steady from the July to December 2018 period.44

ACMA research showed that 64 per cent of Australians had access to a device or service to stream video content in their home. The smart TV was by far the most commonly used device for streaming video content (34 per cent), followed by Google Chromecast (15 per cent) and Apple TV (13 per cent). A third of Australians aged 18 and over (33 per cent) did not stream video content in their home (Figure 2.30).

Figure 2.30: TV devices or services used for streaming video (percentage)

I don't stream video content

Don't know

Other

Fetch TV

Telstra TV

Freeview Plus

Game consoles

Apple TV

Google Chromecast

Smart TV 34

15

13

12

9

9

7

6

1

33

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who have a television set in the home (n=1,934).

Note: Game consoles include those such as PlayStation, Xbox and Wii.


For Australian adults, the TV set remains the main way to watch video content, including online content. However, free video content (such as YouTube) and user-generated content is more likely to be watched on computers or mobile devices (Figure 2.31).

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Figure 2.31: Devices used for viewing different types of content (percentage)

Games online (watched or played)

Other content online (including YouTube)

Movies or TV shows for free over the internet

Catch-up TV for FTA programs

Video content via an online subscription service

Foxtel (live or recorded)

FTA TV (live or recorded) 976

45

3

713

1389

76

2238

4919

12

224

33

4461

67

41

53

17

27

3

3

14

2018

5

23

1623

3

TV

Desktop/laptop computer Tablet

Mobile phone

Other

FTA=free-to-air TV.

Base: Australians aged 18 and over who in the last six months watched FTA TV live or recorded (n=1,474), Foxtel or other STV channels live or recorded (n=551), video content via an online subscription service (n=720), catch-up TV for FTA programs (n=496), movies or TV shows for free over the internet (n=304), user-generated content on an online platform (n=715).

Note: Data includes multiple responses. ‘Don’t know’ and ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are excluded from analysis.


eSports—online entertainmenteSports continue to increase in popularity as an entertainment source. Annual revenue for the platform is set to surpass $US1 billion (A$1.47 billion) in 2019.45 ACMA research showed that 1.7 million (eight per cent) Australian adults had watched or played games online, including eSports and fantasy sports in the seven days to May 2019, spending an average of under one hour per week. They were mainly using a desktop or laptop (49 per cent) to watch or participate, followed by a mobile phone (38 per cent), TV (22 per cent) and tablet (19 per cent).46

Australians in the 18–34 year age group were the largest participants or consumers of eSports (19 per cent), spending an average of two hours a week, while only four per cent of Australians aged 35 and over had watched or played eSports in the last seven days to May 2019.47


Notes1 ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2018 and May 2019.

2 ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2019.

3 Roy Morgan Single Source, Australians aged 18 and over.

4 NBN Co, ‘Monthly Progress Report June 2019’, 24 July 2019.


6 ACMA-commissioned survey, May 2018 and May 2019.


8 Deloitte, Media Consumer Survey 2018, Australian media and digital preferences—seventh edition, August 2018.

9 ACMA-commissioned survey, June 2017, May 2018 and May 2019.

10 ibid


12 ibid.

13 News & Media Research Centre, Digital news report: Australia 2019, University of Canberra, 12 June 2019.

14 ibid.

15 ibid.


17 ibid.

18 ibid.

19 ibid.

20 ibid.

21 ibid.

22 ibid.

23 Roy Morgan Single Source, Australians aged 18 and over.


25 ibid.

26 Commercial Radio, ‘Big audience boost for DAB+ radio stations’, (media release), 18 February 2019.


28 ibid.

29 ibid.

30 Roy Morgan Research, ‘Podcasts growing in popularity in Australia’, (media release), 22 July 2019.

31 Edison Research and Triton Digital, The Infinite Dial, Australia 2019, Commercial Radio Australia, 2 May 2019.

32 ABC audience insights, ABC Podcast Research 2019, 3 October 2019.

33 ibid.

34 Commercial broadcasters—Seven, Nine and Ten Networks and does not include ABC and SBS.

35 ThinkTV, Fact Pack H1, 2 September 2019.

36 ibid.

37 ibid.

38 Telsyte, ‘Australians turn to multiple subscriptions for entertainment’, (media release), 19 August 2019.


40 ibid.

41 Online video—subscription video on demand, catch-up TV, movies or other free video content, pay-per-view, watching or paying games and user-generated video content.


43 ibid.

44 ThinkTV, Fact Pack H1, 2019.

https://content.deloitte.com.au/20180824-tel-inbound-media-consumer-survey-2018-registration?_ga=2.247412231.2032757276.1537165761-1050269347.1537165761

https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/nmrc/digital-news-report-australia-2019

http://www.commercialradio.com.au/content/mediareleases/2019/2019-02-18-big-audience-boost-for-dab-radio-statio

http://www.roymorgan.com.au/findings/8056-podcast-listeners-australia-march-2019-201907190703

https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-australia-2019/

https://about.abc.net.au/media-room/abc-podcast-survey-reveals-just-how-engaged-podcast-audiences-are/

https://www.telsyte.com.au/announcements/2018/7/30/svod-feeds-australians-insatiable-appetite-for-streaming-content-ybrdk

https://thinktv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FACT-PACK-H1-2019_020919_Public.pdf

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99Consumer engagement with communications and media

Notes

45 Mantesso, S., ‘How esports went from child’s play to a multi-million-dollar global juggernaut’, abc.net.au, 10 September 2019.


47 ibid.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-10/how-esports-went-from-childs-play-to-global-juggernaut/11480732

This chapter reports on the performance of the emergency call service, the performance of carriers and carriage service providers in relation to national interest issues, cooperation with law enforcement agencies and the cost of compliance with the requirements of Part 14 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 and Part 5-1A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act).

It includes information about the communications industry’s support for law enforcement and national security agencies through the maintenance of communications interception capabilities and the authorised disclosure of information.

This chapter addresses the statutory requirements under subsection 105(5A) of the Telecommunications Act as in force at the end of 30 June 2019.

National interest issues

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

101


At a glance—in the national interest

Emergency call service

Calls to Triple Zero and 112 increased by 404,461 to 9,400,424 in the year to June 2019—up 4.5%

Emergency Call Person’s (Telstra) time taken to answer emergency service calls exceeded benchmarks—97.5% in 10 seconds, 92.8% in 5 seconds

Disclosures of customer information

2.8 million by CSPs and carriers reported under the Telecommunications Act and TIA Act in the year to June 2019

Integrated Public Number Database (IPND)

71.1 million connected services at 30 June 2019, compared with 70.9 million at 30 June 2018


3.1 Emergency call service

The emergency call service is an operator-assisted service that connects callers to an emergency service organisation (ESO)—police, fire, or ambulance—in life-threatening or time-critical situations. Under the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 20191, carriage service providers (CSPs) are required to provide free access to the emergency call service from standard telephone and mobile services.

The emergency call service is provided by the Emergency Call Person (ECP). During the 2018–19 reporting year, ECPs were:

> Telstra—for calls made to the primary emergency service number (Triple Zero) and to the international emergency number 112 from mobile phones.

> Australian Communications Exchange (ACE)—for calls to the emergency service number 106. The number 106 has been specified in the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015 as an emergency service number and is used with teletypewriters (TTYs).

This section outlines the volume and type of calls to the emergency call service, along with the performance of the ECPs in answering emergency calls.

Triple Zero and 112When dialling Triple Zero, a recorded voice announcement (RVA) provides callers who have inadvertently dialled Triple Zero with the opportunity to hang up before the call is connected to the ECP. In 2018–19, 4.6 per cent of calls to Triple Zero were from callers who hung up after hearing the RVA before connection to the ECP, leaving 95.4 per cent of calls to be connected to the ECP.

The number of calls to the Triple Zero and 112 emergency service numbers increased by 404,461 (4.5 per cent) to 9,400,424 calls in 2018–19 (Table 3.1).

In 2018–19, 75.4 per cent of emergency calls (7,085,612) were made from mobile phones (Table 3.1). Calls from fixed-line phones represented 24.0 per cent of emergency calls, while 1.9 per cent were made from public payphones.2

Telstra’s performance in answering emergency calls

Section 32 of the Emergency Call Service Determination sets out performance criteria for the ECP answering calls to Triple Zero and 112:

> 85 per cent of emergency calls answered within five seconds

> 95 per cent of emergency calls answered within 10 seconds.

Telstra performed above the regulatory requirement in the reporting period (Table 3.1).

Calls connected to ESOs

The ECP for Triple Zero and 112 transfers emergency calls to the relevant state or territory emergency service answering point that is responsible for arranging the dispatch of an emergency response. In 2018–19, 6,668,838 calls were transferred to an ESO, an increase of 3.2 per cent on the previous year (Table 3.1).

Calls identified by the ECP as being non-emergency calls are not connected to an ESO. Non-emergency calls include misdials, automatically generated calls from incorrectly programmed fax machines or modems, callers reporting matters that are not emergencies, and hoax and malicious calls.

The proportion of ECP-answered calls that were transferred to an ESO was 74.6 per cent in 2018–19, a negligible change from 74.8 per cent in the previous year (Table 3.1).

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Emergency call service


Table 3.1: Call volumes to emergency service numbers Triple Zero and 112, and call answering times

2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19

Total number of calls offered* 8,377,394 8,350,745 8,580,119 8,995,963 9,400,424

Calls offered from mobile phones (%) 66.9 68.7 69.7 73.3 75.4

Calls offered from public payphones (%) 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.2 1.9

Calls answered (%) 96.0 96.4 96.3 96.2 95.4

transferred to an ESO 5,888,050 6,178,484 6,335,601 6,456,103 6,668,838

transferred to an ESO (%) 73.2 77.2 77.1 74.8 74. 6

Of calls answered, those that wait 5 seconds or fewer (%)

97.3 94.9 93.2 96.3 92.8

Of calls answered, those that wait 10 seconds or fewer (%)

98.7 98.4 97.9 98.5 97.5

*The term ‘calls offered’ refers to the number of calls received by the ECP after the RVA and includes unanswered calls.

Note: The RVA gives people who have inadvertently or otherwise dialled Triple Zero the opportunity to hang up before being connected to the ECP. Calls answered refers to the percentage of these calls that were answered.

Source: ECP (Telstra).

Investigation into Triple Zero service disruption

In September 2018, the ACMA completed an investigation under section 510 of the Telecommunications Act into the disruption to the Triple Zero service on 4 May 2018. The ACMA found that Telstra, as the ECP, contravened section 22 of the Emergency Call Service Determination on 1,433 occasions, by failing to ensure that calls made to Triple Zero using its networks were carried to the operator of the Emergency Call Service. The disruption was triggered by a fire in an inter-capital fibre cable pit and was compounded by network software failures.

As a result of the investigation, the ACMA accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Telstra.

Under the enforceable undertaking, Telstra has committed to improving the redundancy and diversity of its network, developing new communication protocols to be used in the event of another disruption and benchmarking its systems against international best practice.

National Relay Service The relay service provider for the National Relay Service (NRS) is the ECP for the emergency service number 106, as specified in the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Persons) Determination 2019.3 During the 2018–19 reporting year, ACE was contracted by the Commonwealth as the NRS provider to operate the 106 text emergency service. The 106 text emergency service is available for users with a teletypewriter (TTY). There were 99 genuine calls to ESOs via the 106 text emergency service in 2018–19, compared to 94 in 2017–18.


As shown in Figure 3.1, a significant number of genuine calls were also relayed by the NRS to ESOs via the Triple Zero emergency services number. In these circumstances, TTY users contact the NRS via normal access numbers and request the call be relayed to Triple Zero, rather than dialling the 106 text emergency service number from their TTY. Calls to Triple Zero can also be relayed through the NRS for internet relay and Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) callers, as these users are unable to access the 106 number through these services.

A total of 768 calls were made to Triple Zero using SMS relay (web browser), video relay and captioned relay in 2018–19, compared to 787 calls using these three services in 2017–18. This represents a 2.4 per cent decrease in the use of these technologies, with the use of the captioned relay alone decreasing by 11 per cent in the year to June 2019.

Internet relay and Speak and Listen users can also make calls via a mobile app, rather than an internet browser. The app also allows the caller to insert the location into the call using the GPS function of the device. There were 103 calls made via the app in 2018–19, compared to 90 calls in 2017–18.

A total of 1,522 genuine emergency calls were made via the NRS across all modes (captioned relay, SMS relay, internet relay, TTY, Speak and Listen, and video relay), compared to 1,418 calls in 2017–18.

Figure 3.1: Number of genuine emergency calls via the NRS

TTY—000

TTY—106

SMS relay—000

2016–17

Speak and Listen—000

518

Internet relay—app

Internet relay—000

Video relay—000

Captioned relay—000

Total calls

12

94

49

120

275

7

75

226

182

233209

3

52

90

405

575

1,522

1,4181,302

2017–18

511

247

10

113

34

99

103

2018–19

Base: Number of calls.

Source: NRS provider (ACE).

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105

Supporting law enforcement and national security agencies


3.2 Supporting law enforcement and national security agencies

Carriers and CSPs are obliged to provide reasonably necessary assistance to law enforcement and national security agencies under section 313 of the Telecommunications Act. This usually involves providing information about consumers of telecommunications services and their communications for the purposes of:

> enforcing the criminal law

> enforcing laws that impose a pecuniary penalty

> assisting the enforcement of the criminal laws in force in a foreign country

> protecting the public revenue

> safeguarding national security.

During the reporting period, the ACMA did not receive any referrals of carriers or CSPs from the Communications Access Co-ordinator (CAC), located in the Department of Home Affairs, for enforcement of their obligations under section 313.

Providing assistance Section 314 of the Telecommunications Act applies if a carrier or CSP is required to provide help to an officer or authority of the Commonwealth, a state or a territory under subsections 313(3) or (4). A person providing information must not profit from, nor be charged for, the cost of providing that information.

Disclosure of customer informationCustomer information provided to telecommunications carriers, CSPs and telecommunications contractors is protected under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act and cannot be disclosed to other parties except in certain circumstances, including:

> where it is required or authorised by a warrant or under law

> where the disclosure may assist the ACMA, ACCC, TIO or the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to conduct their functions or powers or, in the case of the TIO, assist in the consideration of a complaint

> where there is an imminent threat to someone’s life or health.

Carriers and CSPs are required to report to the ACMA on any disclosures of information authorised under either Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act or Chapter 4 of the TIA Act.

During 2018–19, the number of disclosures reported to the ACMA under the TIA Act and section 308 of the Telecommunications Act, was 2,775,961, an increase of 507,165 or 22.4 per cent from 2017–18. Of these, approximately 65 per cent were made with the knowledge or consent of the person concerned under section 289 of the Telecommunications Act.

Carrier and CSP data also indicate that 17 per cent of disclosures were covered by an authorisation-in-force to access existing information or documents under section 178 of the TIA Act.

The number and reason for disclosures made during 2018–19, as reported to the ACMA under section 308 of the Telecommunications Act, are in Table 3.2.


Table 3.2: Disclosures of customer information by carriers and CSPs

Reason for disclosure (Sub)sectionNumber of disclosures

2017–18 2018–19

Under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act

Authorised by or under law 280 11,976 8,432

Made as a witness under summons 281 520 86

To assist the ACMA 284(1) 248,913 744*

To assist the Office of the eSafety Commissioner 284(1A) 0 0

To assist the ACCC 284(2) 9 94

To assist the TIO 284(3) 55,843 244,876

Calls to emergency service number 286 17,305 44,591

To avert a threat to a person’s life or health 287 17,014 18,842

Communications for maritime purposes 288 1 2

With the knowledge or consent of the person concerned 289 1,353,545 1,802,706

In circumstances prescribed in the Telecommunications Regulations 2001 292 0 0

Subtotal 1,705,126 2,120,373

Under the TIA Act

Voluntary disclosures 177 327 101

Authorisations for access to existing information or documents

Enforcement of the criminal law 178 482,800 508,386

Locating missing persons

178A

178Aa2,602 2,269

Enforcement of a law imposing pecuniary penalty or protection of the public revenue

179 1,005 1,321

Authorisations for access to prospective information or documents 180 75,794 143,466

Enforcement of the criminal law of a foreign country

Existing information 180AA 138 35

Prospective information

180B

180Bb4 10

Subtotal 563,670 655,588

Total 2,268,796 2,775,961

*The ACMA notes a significant reduction in disclosures made under section 284(1) ‘assistance to the ACMA’ during 2018–19. The 2017–18 figures were unusually high due to a single provider making a large number of disclosures in the course of a single investigation.

Source: Carriers.

Details about enforcement agency use of powers under the TIA Act to obtain information from carriers and CSPs are contained in annual reports prepared by the Department of Home Affairs under subsection 186(2) of the TIA Act.

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107

Interception


For disclosures made under sections 177, 178, 178A, 179, 180, 180A and 180B of the TIA Act, law enforcement agencies (civil and criminal) must be satisfied that the information they request is reasonably necessary to perform their law enforcement functions. An authorised officer must also consider whether any interference with the privacy of any person that may result from the disclosure is justifiable, considering the likely relevance and usefulness of the information or documents, and the reason the disclosure was authorised.

3.3 Interception

The content of communications between users of telecommunications services is protected in Australia as a crucial area of telecommunications privacy. Interception may only be authorised by law enforcement and national security agencies in accordance with a warrant under the TIA Act. Interception for other purposes is prohibited, with criminal penalties applicable for breaches of the TIA Act.

Interception capability plan complianceUnder sections 196 and 197 of the TIA Act, carriers and nominated CSPs4 must lodge an interception capability plan (ICP) by 1 July each year with the CAC in the Department of Home Affairs.

During the reporting period, the CAC referred 30 carriers to the ACMA for enforcement of this obligation. Of these referrals:

> 23 failed to submit an ICP by 1 July 2019, as required by subsection 196(1) of the TIA Act

> six failed to submit an ICP within 90 days of receiving a carrier licence, as required by subsection 196(3)

> one failed to respond to a request to amend an ICP within the response period of 30 days, as required by subsection 198(4).

The ACMA engaged with these carriers to facilitate compliance with their obligation to submit an ICP. As at 30 June 2019:

> 26 carriers had submitted their ICP to the CAC

> two carriers were under administration, with their ongoing status being monitored by the ACMA

> one carrier is no longer operating and is registered overseas

> one carrier surrendered their carrier licence

In addition, the ACMA’s engagement with one carrier about its compliance will continue into 2019–20.

3.4 Identity-checking requirements for prepaid mobile carriage services

The ACMA enforces compliance with the Telecommunications (Service Provider – Identity Checks for Prepaid Mobile Carriage Services) Determination 2017 (the Prepaid Determination), which sets out the identity-checking requirements that mobile providers must fulfil before activating prepaid mobile services.

During the reporting period, the ACMA approved one compliance plan under Part 5 of the Prepaid Determination.

The ACMA approved three activation extensions for prepaid mobile services supplied to family violence-affected individuals under section 3.2 of the Prepaid Determination.


3.5 Role of the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND)

The Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) is an industry-wide telecommunications database of all listed and unlisted public numbers and their associated customer data. It is an important source of information used to assist the emergency call service (Triple Zero), the emergency alert system and law enforcement and national security agencies. The IPND is managed by Telstra.

Telstra reported that the IPND contained 71.1 million connected services at 30 June 2019, compared to 70.9 million in 2017–18.

CSP compliance with IPND requirementsCSPs have regulatory obligations to ensure the quality, accuracy, and completeness of IPND data.

The ACMA compliance program seeks to improve CSP compliance with these obligations. In 2018–19, the ACMA conducted investigations into 11 CSPs. The investigations found all 11 CSPs failed to provide data, or provided inaccurate data, to the IPND, in breach of:

> clauses 4.2.1, 4.2.11 and 4.2.25 of the Industry Code C555:2017 Integrated Public Number Database (the IPND Code)

> the service provider rule in subclause 10(2) of Part 4 schedule 2 to the Telecommunications Act.

The CSPs were:

> AAPT Limited

> Agile Pty Ltd

> Chime Communications Pty Ltd

> PowerTel Limited

> Primus Telecommunications Pty Ltd

> Singtel Optus Pty Limited

> Symbio Networks Pty Ltd

> Telstra Corporation Limited

> TransACT Communications Pty Limited

> TransACT Capital Communications Pty Ltd

> Vodafone Australia Pty Limited.

During the investigations, the ACMA took steps to ensure that remediation of the missing and inaccurate records was prioritised.

In December 2018, the 11 CSPs were directed to comply with the IPND Code and were issued remedial directions aimed at ensuring future compliance with the IPND service provider rule. This included directions to undertake independent audits of their processes and conduct data reconciliations. The ACMA has closely monitored compliance with the directions since they were issued last year.

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109

Role of the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND)


IPND Scheme The Telecommunications Integrated Public Number Database Scheme 2017 (IPND Scheme) allows the ACMA to authorise public number directory publishers to access information associated with listed numbers in the IPND to publish and maintain a telephone number directory.

The ACMA can also authorise researchers under the IPND Scheme to access customer information in the IPND relating to listed numbers, including name, directory address and telephone number, for a permitted research purpose. This means research that is not primarily commercial and is:

> relevant to public health

> related to electoral matters and conducted by or for a registered political party, a political representative, or a candidate in an election for an Australian parliament or local government authority

> public policy research by or for the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth entity.

Authorisations can be granted for a specified period or on an ongoing basis.

At 30 June 2019, eight authorisations under the IPND Scheme were in operation (Table 3.3).

Table 3.3: Authorisations under the IPND Scheme

Person/entity Date granted

The Local Phone Book Company Pty Ltd November 2008

Local Directories Pty Ltd August 2009

Geoffrey Mark Harris September 2009

Veda Advantage Limited* February 2010

Perceptive Communications Pty Ltd August 2010

Acceleon Pty Ltd April 2011

Notable Imprint Pty Ltd October 2016

ABS October 2017

*Veda Advantage was purchased by Equifax Pty Ltd in 2016.

Source: ACMA.

IPND regulations Division 5.2 of the Telecommunications Regulations 2001 allows the ACMA to authorise researchers to access unlisted mobile phone numbers and related postcodes from the IPND for the same permitted research purposes listed above.

Authorisations can cover more than one researcher and can be for a period of up to 12 months.

At 30 June 2019, two authorisations under the regulations had been granted by the ACMA, both in May 2019:

> Crosby Textor Research Strategies Results Pty Ltd

> Enterprise Marketing & Research Services Pty Ltd.


3.6 Handling of life-threatening and unwelcome communications

The Industry Code C525: 2017 Handling of Life Threatening and Unwelcome Communications Code sets out obligations on carriers, CSPs and the NRS provider in responding to requests from customers and police to resolve life-threatening situations and unwelcome communications.

During the reporting period, the TIO received 592 new complaint issues relating to life-threatening or unwelcome communications, a nine per cent decrease on the 651 complaints received in the previous year.

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Notes

Notes

1 On 28 November 2019, the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) 2009 was superseded by the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019.

2 The total of emergency call percentages does not equal 100 per cent. Public payphones are a subset of fixed calls.

3 On 18 November 2019, the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Persons) Determination 2009 was replaced by the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Persons) Determination 2019, with Concentrix Pty Ltd contracted as the ECP. All data regarding the provision of the NRS in this report pertains to ACE.

4 Nominated CSPs are CSPs covered by a declaration in force under subsection 197(4) of the TIA Act.

This chapter reports on the efficiency of the supply, adequacy and quality of telecommunications services, as well as carrier and CSP obligations for codes and standards.

It also presents analysis and information about the telecommunications industry’s performance in meeting key regulatory obligations, including the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard, the Network Reliability Framework (NRF), provision of priority assistance to customers, number portability, telemarketing investigations, industry compliance with telecommunications codes, and trends in TIO complaints.

This chapter addresses the statutory requirements under paragraphs 105(3)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (ea), and subsection 105(4) of the Telecommunications Act as in force at the end of 30 June 2019.

Telecommunications consumer safeguards and quality of service

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At a glance—our telco safeguards

Payphones

Number of public payphones continued to fall—20,963 in operation at June 2019

Payphones operated by Telstra decreased by 2% to 15,892. Telstra met the mandatory minimum repair benchmarks.

CSG Standard

Services under the CSG Standard: 5.32 million at 30 June 2019 vs. 5.78 million at 30 June 2018—8% decrease

Compensation payments made by CSPs to customers for failing to meet CSG Standard time frames: $7.85 million in 2018–19 vs. $14.66 million in 2017–18—46.5% decrease

Complaints

Complaints to the TIO: 132,387 new complaints—down 21.1% on 2017–18

NBN-specific complaints to the TIO: Complaints about quality of service increased from 2.1 per 1,000 premises in 2017–18 to 2.5 in 2018–19

Complaints about changing providers or establishing a connection for services delivered on the NBN decreased from 14,589 in 2017–18 to 11,635 in 2018–19

Telemarketing complaints to the ACMA: 36,583 received, down from 40,134 in 2017–18


4.1 Telecommunications Industry Levy and public policy outcomes

The Telecommunications Industry Levy (TIL) funds the residual costs (after government funding) of contractors, grant recipient payments and eligible administrative costs to ensure continuity of key telecommunications safeguards. In particular, the Telecommunications Industry Levy (TIL) provides funding for:

> reasonably accessible standard telephone services and payphone services to all Australians on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or execute business (the Universal Service Obligation or USO)

> a national telephone service to enable people who are deaf or have a hearing- and/or speech impairment to make and receive phone calls (the National Relay Service or NRS) wherever they reside or execute business

> end-users of standard telephone services in Australia to have free-of-charge access to an emergency call service

> the delivery of other public policy telecommunications outcomes, for example, untimed local calls.

The ACMA is responsible for the assessment, billing and collection of the TIL, and the Department of Communications and the Arts (DoCA, now the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications) manages the contractual arrangements and payments to service providers.

Industry levies and paymentsCarriers with eligible revenue of $25 million or more (‘participating persons’) are required to pay the TIL. Contributions are, in general, proportionate to the participating person’s share of the industry’s total eligible revenue for the relevant eligible revenue period.

TIL assessmentIn 2018–19, the ACMA completed the billing and collection of the 2017–18 TIL and commenced the process for the 2018–19 eligible levy period (ELP).

Assessment of the eligible revenue returns (ERRs) for the 2018–19 ELP are complete. The assessment revealed that there were 302 carriers in the industry (an increase of 20 in the year to June 2018), with 51 identified as participating persons (an increase of three) that will be contributing to the 2018–19 ELP TIL.

The number of carriers who failed to lodge their ERRs by the due date doubled, from two in the 2017–18 ELP to four in the 2018–19 ELP. The ACMA notified the carriers of their obligations under section 43 of the TCPSS Act to lodge a return within the period specified, and that non-compliance is an offence that may attract penalties under section 69 of the TCPSS Act. Table 4.1 sets out the recent statistics on the TIL process.

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Public payphones


Table 4.1: Compliance statistics for industry levies and payments—eligible revenue submissions

Eligible levy period

Number of carriers

Number of participating

persons

ERRs received late*

Overall levy target amount†

2018–19 tba 51 4 $253,863,000‡

2017–18 302 48 2 $253,887,000

2016–17 282 43 1 $227,220,389

2015–16 256 44 0 $217,744,000

2014–15 235 52 0 $215,488,000

*The number of late submissions was incorrectly reported in previous years. Figure provided refers to late ERR submissions where no extensions were granted. †Under section 42 of the TCPSS Act, within four months from the end of every financial year, the Secretary of the Department must prepare a written statement setting out the Overall Levy Target Amount that includes the total costs of contracts and grants incurred for that period.‡2018–19 ELP payments are due in December 2019. For further information refer to acma.gov.au/telecommunications-funding-arrangements.

Source: ACMA.

4.2 Public payphones

Payphone services in Australia are provided on either a commercial basis or as part of the USO. Telstra, as the current primary universal service provider for payphones, must comply with payphone performance standards and benchmarks made by the Minister under the TCPSS Act.

The ACMA monitors Telstra’s payphone performance and receives information about the number of payphones supplied or operated on a commercial basis by other providers.

Numbers of payphones and payphone sitesDuring 2018–19, the total number of payphones (both Telstra-operated and privately operated) in Australia fell by 7.7 per cent, from 22,716 to 20,963 (Figure 4.4). This comprised a:

> net decrease of 2.0 per cent for Telstra-operated payphones, from 16,220 to 15,892

> net decrease of 21.9 per cent for privately-operated payphones, from 6,633 to 5,071.

During the reporting period, there was a decrease of 3.5 per cent in the number of Telstra-operated payphone sites, from 15,728 to 15,172 (noting some sites have more than one payphone). At 30 June 2018, 75.8 per cent of payphones were operated by Telstra. The remaining payphones were provided by other companies, such as hotels, clubs and convenience stores.


Figure 4.1: Number of payphones in operation at 30 June 2019

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

Non-Telstra operatedpayphones

Jun 15 Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 18 Jun 19

16,220

6,496

16,59317,093

17,511

6,6337,480

8,365

15,892

5,071

Telstra-operated payphones

*Includes payphones provided via Telstra access lines.

Source: Telstra.

Table 4.2 and 4.3 provide the geographic distribution of Telstra payphones and payphones provided via Telstra access lines as at 30 June 2019.

Table 4.2: Distribution of Telstra payphones by geographical category, 30 June 2019

Urban Rural Remote* RICs†

Telstra-operated payphones

(per cent of total)

11,120

(70.0)

3,941

(24.8)

831

(5.2)

571

(3.6)

Other payphones (provided via Telstra access lines) 3,824 953 294 246

*Includes remote Indigenous communities.†RICs=remote Indigenous communities

Note: ‘Urban’ is defined as communities with 10,000 or more people, ‘rural’ is defined as communities with between 200 and 10,000 people, ‘remote’ is defined as communities with up to 200 people.

Source: Telstra.

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Public payphones


Table 4.3: Distribution of Telstra payphones by state and territory, 30 June 2019

State Number of payphones

Australian Capital Territory 110

New South Wales 4,769

Northern Territory 653

Queensland 3,846

South Australia 1,355

Tasmania 480

Victoria 2,984

Western Australia 1,695

Total 15,892

Source: Telstra.

Payphone fault repair performanceTimely repair of payphone faults is an important component of the equitable provision of payphone services under the USO.

Telstra’s performance in remediating faults is measured against benchmarks specified in the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Payphone Performance Benchmarks) Instrument (No. 1) 2011. The benchmarks refer to time frames for remediation, which can vary according to the location of the service—one working day for urban locations, two for rural and three for remote locations (including remote Indigenous communities). Failure to meet a benchmark may result in the ACMA taking compliance action.

Table 4.4 shows that Telstra met the national payphone performance benchmarks in 2018–19.

Table 4.4: Telstra payphone fault repair performance, 2018–19

Urban Rural Remote*

Payphone fault repair benchmark (%) 90 90 80

Fault repair performance (%) 94.2 92.4 86.2

*Includes remote Indigenous communities.

Source: Telstra.

Payphones for people with disabilitiesAt 30 June 2019, Telstra had 148 teletypewriter payphones in operation in metropolitan and regional areas, compared with 151 as at 30 June 2018.


4.3 Customer Service Guarantee Standard

The Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011 (CSG Standard) sets minimum service standards for CSPs to install, repair and attend appointments for standard phone services for residential and small-business customers. The CSG Standard allows for exemptions from meeting service standards under certain circumstances. Unless an exemption applies, if a CSP fails to meet the minimum performance standards, compensation may be payable to the customer.

Four large providers that met key thresholds—Optus, Telstra, Vocus Group (Dodo and iPrimus) and iiNet—are required to meet or exceed nine annual CSG benchmarks relating to installing connections, repairing faults and meeting appointment times. All four providers exceeded the benchmarks in 2018–19 compared to the previous year. Overall, the performance reported by Optus, Dodo and iiNet was higher against the benchmarks than that reported by Telstra. Further information for each provider, compared with their previous year’s performance, is at tables 4.6 to 4.8.

The number of standard phone services that are covered by minimum service standards continued to decline. At 30 June 2019, there were 5.32 million services subject to the CSG Standard, compared with 5.78 million at 30 June 2018—a decrease of eight per cent (Table 4.5).

Table 4.5: Services subject to the CSG Standard, by provider, at 30 June (000’s)

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

iiNet 473 427* 280 174 101

Optus 808 977 1,079 1,199 1,203

iPrimus 49 57 42 19 21

Telstra 4,757 4,361 4,489 4,281 3,929

Dodo 249 283 223 111 65

Total 6,336 6,105 6,113 5,784 5,319

*TPG acquired iiNet in September 2015.

Note: Numbers may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Source: CSP data.

CSG performance benchmarks are established by the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee—Retail Performance Benchmarks) Instrument (No. 1) 2011 and apply to ‘qualifying carriage service providers’ (QCSPs). QCSPs are those that have 100,000 CSG services or more, as at the last day of the preceding financial year. For 2018–19, the QCSPs were Telstra, Optus, iiNet, and Dodo.

The national CSG performance benchmarks set minimum compliance levels with the CSG Standard time frames (Table 4.6) for:

> installing new connections in urban, major rural, minor rural and remote areas

> installing in-place connections in all areas

> fault rectifications in urban, rural and remote areas

> appointment-keeping in all areas.

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Table 4.6: CSG Standard time frames (working days)

New service connectionIn-place

connection Fault repairClose to infrastructure

Not close to infrastructure

Urban 5 20 2 1

Major rural 10 20 2 2

Minor rural 15 20 2 2

Remote 15 20 2 3

Note: ‘Urban’ is defined as communities with 10,000 or more people, ‘major rural’ are communities with between 2,500 and 10,000 people, ‘minor rural’ are communities with between 200 and 2,500 people, ‘remote’ are communities with up to 200 people.

Source: CSG Standard.

The CSG Standard time frames vary according to the location of the customer and, in the case of connections, whether infrastructure is readily available and if there is an existing in-place connection. There are nine benchmarks, each requiring QCSPs to achieve minimum service standards for at least 90 per cent of connections, fault rectifications and appointment keeping.

If a QCSP fails to meet any of the annual CSG performance benchmarks, the ACMA may take compliance action against the QCSP.

Customers of major CSPs had waived their rights under the CSG Standard for 1,847,442 services nationally at 30 June 2019, compared to 1,768,419 at 30 June 2018—an increase of 4.5 per cent. TPG accounted for 50.2 per cent of waivers, and iiNet for 29.7 per cent.

New service and in-place connectionsTable 4.7 shows QCSP performance in 2018–19 in meeting CSG Standard time frames for new service connections and in-place service connections. Except in a few instances, all four providers generally improved their performances in meeting new service and in-place connection time frames.

A ‘new service connection’ is the connection of a standard phone service to premises where there is the need for additional work to be completed (for example, cabling) before a service can be connected. This excludes in-place service connections where there has been a previous working CSG service that is available for reconnection or reactivation by the CSP.


Table 4.7: New service and in-place connections provided within CSG Standard time frames, 2017–19 (per cent)

iiNet Optus Dodo Telstra

2017–18

2018–19

2017–18

2018–19

2017–18

2018–19

2017–18

2018–19

New service*

Urban 99.7 99.9 97.7 98.7 100 100 93.0 94.7

Major rural 99.3 100 98.5 98.3 100 100 95.5 96.3

Minor rural 100 99.4 98.3 98.5 100 100 94.3 94.5

Remote 100 100 NQCSP NQCSP NQCSP NQCSP 92.9 93.5

In-place service (All areas) 94.4 99.8 n/a n/a 100 100 95.4 93.3

n/a=not applicable.

*Service connections.

Note 1: Location-specific thresholds are met if a QCSP supplied 10,000 or more CSG services in urban areas, 1,000 or more CSG services in major rural areas, 1,000 or more CSG services in minor rural areas, 500 or more CSG services in remote areas. A QCSP that does not meet a location-specific threshold is listed in the table as NQCSP (Not a qualifying CSP).

Note 2: Urban areas are those with a population equal to or greater than 10,000 people. Major rural areas are urban centres or other recognised community grouping with a population greater than 2,500 but less than 10,000. Minor rural areas are an urban centre, locality or other recognised community grouping with a population of greater than 200 but not more than 2,500. Remote areas are geographic areas that are not an urban area, major rural area or minor rural area.

Source: CSP data.

Appointments and fault repairsTable 4.8 shows CSP performance in 2018–19 in meeting the CSG Standard for fault-repair time frames and appointment keeping. In most instances, performance was stronger in 2018–19 than it was in 2017–18.

Table 4.8: Faults repaired within CSG Standard time frames and appointment-keeping performance, 2018–19 (per cent)


2017–18

2018–19

2017–18

2018–19

2017–18

2018–19

2017–18

2018–19

Fault repairs

Urban 98.7 98.1 94.3 95.7 100 100 92.8 95.0

Rural 99.1 98.7 97.2 95.3 100 100 91.7 94.3

Remote 100 100 NQCSP NQCSP NQCSP NQCSP 92.0 94.5

Appointments* (all areas) 100 100 97.6 98.3 100 100 97.0 97.0

*New service connections and fault repairs.

Note 1: Location-specific thresholds are met if a QCSP supplied 10,000 or more CSG services in urban areas, 1,000 or more CSG services in rural areas, 500 or more CSG services in remote areas. A QCSP that does not meet a location-specific threshold is listed in the table as NQCSP (Not a qualifying CSP).

Source: CSP data.

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Table 4.9 shows the number of new service and in-place connections, fault repairs and appointments for iiNet, Optus, Dodo and Telstra over the previous two financial years (2017–18 and 2018–19).

Table 4.9: Number of new service connections, in-place connections and fault repairs requested, and appointments made at the national level


2017–18 2018–19 2017–18 2018–19 2017–18 2018–19 2017–18 2018–19

New service connections 9,336 5,338 396,242 354,837 21,076 6,852 235,723 154,327

In-place connections 1,391 791 n/a n/a 42,143 17,014 183,028 75,350

Fault repairs 28,743 18,949 119,906 96,295 26,733 13,033 394,913 214,952

Appointments* 9,406 6,668 161,176 67,044 80,784 23,866 416,814 173,172

n/a=not applicable.*Appointments for new service connections or fault repair.

Source: CSP data.

CSG Standard paymentsAs a result of failing to meet CSG Standard time frames during 2018–19, CSPs made compensation payments to customers, as shown in Table 4.10.

Table 4.10: Volume and value of compensation payments made by CSPs to customers

2017–18 2018–19

Volume $ (million) Volume $ (million)

iiNet 5,462 0.34 2,453 0.14

Optus 30,307 4.64 15,532 0.88

iPrimus 524 0.04 1,418 0.07

Telstra 84,156 9.37 70,827 6.63

Dodo 5,244 0.27 2,632 0.13

Total 125,693 14.66 92,862 7.85

Source: CSP data.

Compensation payments totalled $7.85 million for 2018–19, compared to $14.66 million during 2017–18, a decrease of 46.5 per cent.

There was an overall reduction in the volume of CSG compensation payments (26 per cent) over 2018–19.


Changes to NBN Co Wholesale Broadband AgreementIn September 2018, NBN Co entered a court-enforceable undertaking relating to the automatic payment of $25 rebates if it misses appointments. NBN Co incorporated these measures into its Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA).1 The changes to the WBA include a contractual requirement that retailers take reasonable steps to ensure that affected homes and businesses receive a fair value benefit from the rebates.

Exemptions from the CSG StandardA CSP may claim an exemption during periods when circumstances beyond its control affect its ability to comply with the CSG Standard. Similarly, a CSP may also claim an exemption if there is a need to move staff or equipment to an area affected by circumstances beyond its control. Many exemptions are the result of extreme weather events or natural disasters.

In 2018–19, the major CSPs claimed a total of 156 exemptions (Table 4.11), an 11 per cent decrease on 2017–18 (177 exemptions).

Table 4.11: Numbers of CSG exemptions for the major CSPs, 2018–19

Reason for exemption iiNet Optus Telstra Vocus

Communications*

Extreme weather conditions 34 40 39 37

Natural disasters 3 1 0 1

Other 0 1 0 0

Total 37 42 39 38

*Formerly M2 Group. Exemption notifications for iPrimus, Dodo, Eftel, Commander, aaNet, engin and ClubTelco have been included in Vocus Communications notifications.

Source: CSP data.

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Network Reliability Framework


4.4 Network Reliability Framework

The ACMA monitors the reliability of Telstra’s fixed-line phone service network under the Network Reliability Framework (NRF). The NRF applies only to services that Telstra provides to its CSG Standard-eligible customers. Telstra is required to report to the ACMA on the performance of its network and to fix poorly performing cable runs and individual services.

The NRF requires monitoring and/or remedying network reliability performance at three levels:

> Level 1—national and geographical area level, based on Telstra’s field service areas (FSAs)

> Level 2—local-level cable runs

> Level 3—individual service level that includes all Telstra services covered by the CSG Standard.

Level 1 is designed to inform the public about overall network reliability performance. Under levels 2 and 3, Telstra is required to remediate poorly performing parts of its network as a priority.

Level 1—national and field service area performanceTelstra’s national performance data is presented in Figure 4.2. Level 1a shows the percentage of CSG Standard services that did not experience a fault during the month reported. Level 1b shows the percentage of time in a month that CSG Standard services, on average, are available.

Figure 4.2: Telstra’s Level 1a and 1b performance, based on monthly reports (percentage)

97.0

97.5

98.0

98.5

99.0

99.5

100.0


99.8799.82

98.49

98.18

99.73

98.35

99.82

98.52

99.89

98.54

98.25

99.86NRF Level 1b

NRF Level 1a

Jun 19

Base: Number in each category.

Source: ACMA, Telstra.

Figure 4.2 shows the seasonal nature of the percentage of Telstra’s CSG Standard services that did not experience a fault during the month (NRF Level 1a performance). Small changes in this figure represent relatively large changes in the number of faults occurring on the network.

Level 1b measures the percentage of time in a month that services (on average) are available; that is, not awaiting repair. In 2018–19, services were available nationally on a monthly average 99.85 per cent of the time (99.83 per cent in 2017–18).


The ACMA also uses data provided under Level 1 of the NRF to calculate the average number of hours Telstra took to restore fault-affected services in the month (Figure 4.3). While Level 1b considers all services, Level 1c only considers services that experienced a fault.

In terms of elapsed time, it took an average of 69 hours to restore services that had a fault in 2018–19, compared to an average of 83 hours in 2017–18.

Figure 4.3: Level 1c—average time for Telstra to restore fault-affected services (hours)

65.1

110.5

82.5

91.6

56.9

Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 18 Jun 19

59.6

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Base: Number in each category.

Source: ACMA, Telstra.

Level 2—local cable run remediationLevel 2 of the NRF requires Telstra to report on the 40 poorest-performing cable runs each month (480 annually), and then undertake remediation work on those runs.

During 2018–19, Telstra identified 480 cable runs to be remediated and completed remediation and monitoring of 435 cable runs, some of which had been identified for remediation in the previous year. Telstra also remediated an additional 422 cable runs for operational reasons. Telstra estimated that remediation work undertaken as part of Level 2 of the NRF in 2018–19 improved the reliability of 20,675 services (21,430 in 2017–18).

Level 3—individual service performanceTelstra is required to take action to prevent an individual CSG Standard-eligible service from experiencing more than either three faults in a rolling 60-day period (NRF Level 3a) or four faults in a rolling 365-day period (NRF Level 3b) (Figure 4.4).

Telstra reports to the ACMA on any services that breach these thresholds, investigates the performance of the service, and undertakes necessary remediation.

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Figure 4.4: Telstra CSG Standard services with more than three faults in a rolling 60-day period (Level 3a) and more than four faults in a rolling 365-day period (Level 3b)

154

219

171

362018

138

15

0

100

200

300


105

16NRF Level 3a

155

29NRF Level 3a

NRF Level 3b

Jun 19

Base: Number of services.

Source: Telstra.

Telstra has reported a decrease in the number of services experiencing breaches of the 60-day threshold, with 22 breaches per month (on average) and a total of 260 for 2018–19. In 2017–18, Telstra reported an average of 19 breaches per month and a total of 231 for the year.

Telstra reported an increase in the number of services experiencing breaches of the 365-day threshold, with 140 breaches per month (on average) and a total of 1,682 for 2018–19. In 2017–18, Telstra reported an average of 119 breaches per month and a total of 1,427 for the year.

Additionally, Telstra is required to report to the ACMA quarterly any services where remediation has not been completed within the expected time frames. In 2018–19, Telstra reported 157 delays to remediation, compared to 142 delays in 2017–18.


4.5 Priority assistance

Priority assistance is a service for people diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition, which provides faster connections and fault repairs for their fixed-line phone service. Telstra is required to provide the service under its carrier licence condition.

At 30 June 2019, the number of validated priority assistance customers reported by Telstra and iPrimus was 141,803 and 48, respectively.

For priority assistance customers, providers must aim to have a service connected or a fault repaired within 24 hours in urban and rural areas, or within 48 hours in remote areas. However, Telstra is not required to meet these time frames in circumstances where the service is supplied over a local access network where it is not in a position to exercise control, such as the NBN.

Table 4.12 and Table 4.13 provide information about the performance of Telstra in meeting priority assistance time frames for connections and fault repairs on the Telstra network. These tables exclude services provided on the NBN.

Table 4.12: Priority assistance—number of connection requests and percentage completed on time (Telstra network only)

Total Urban Rural Remote

% Volume % Volume % Volume % Volume

2018–19* 92.4 1,320 93.1 979 90.2 246 60 5

2017–18† 90.9 4,091 91.2 3,088 90.2 998 80 5

Note: ‘Urban’ is defined as communities with 10,000 or more people, ‘rural’ is defined as communities with between 200 and 10,000, ‘remote’ is defined as communities with up to 200.

*Small volumes of orders may be reflected as volatility of performance. Telstra advised that the 60 per cent completed on time for Remote connections was mainly due to small volumes—two out of five Remote connections missed the time frame. †Telstra revised reporting methodology to include total volume of validated priority assistance customer requests only and to exclude NBN asset transfer areas.

Source: Telstra.

Table 4.13: Telstra network only priority assistance—number of fault restoration requests and percentage completed on time

National Urban Rural Remote

% Volume % Volume % Volume % Volume

2018–19 92.9 36,266 94.8 24,691 88.8 11,419 90.4 156

2017–18 95 34,672 97.3 22,997 90.6 11,487 88.3 188

Note 1: ‘Urban’ is defined as communities with 10,000 or more people, ‘rural’ is defined as communities with between 200 and 10,000, ‘remote’ is defined as communities with up to 200.

Note 2: Telstra revised its reporting methodology to include total volume of validated priority assistance customer requests only.

Source: Telstra

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Telstra’s compliance with its priority assistance obligationsIn 2018, the ACMA completed an investigation into two incidents in which customers with serious, chronic health conditions were unable to use their Telstra landline service. In the incidents investigated, the ACMA found that Telstra did not:

> provide information about priority assistance on eight occasions to customers who enquired

> implement the emergency medical request procedures specified in its priority assistance policy on nine occasions during enquiries made about the two services.

As result of the investigation, in July 2018, the ACMA directed Telstra to commission an independent audit of compliance with its priority assistance obligations and implement a range of systems, processes and reporting to assure future reliability and effectiveness.

The independent audit concluded that Telstra’s systems, processes and practices are directed toward ensuring compliance with its priority assistance obligations. The audit report contained 20 recommendations for improvements to the way Telstra delivers on its priority assistance obligations. Telstra agreed to implement all 20 recommendations.

Telstra has been reporting quarterly to the ACMA on its compliance with the direction as required.

Information requirements on CSPs that do not offer priority assistanceThe Telecommunications Act requires CSPs that do not offer priority assistance to inform any prospective residential customers enquiring about a standard telephone service that it is not offered, and to advise the prospective customer of a provider that does offer priority assistance.

In 2018–19, the ACMA completed 15 investigations into non-compliance with this information-provisioning requirement. As a result of these investigations, the ACMA formally warned 11 CSPs for failing to tell potential new customers that they do not provide priority assistance or failing to name a CSP that does provide it:

> Australian Private Networks trading as Activ8me

> Aussie Broadband Pty Ltd

> Dodo Services Pty Ltd

> Exetel Pty Ltd

> Foxtel Management Pty Ltd

> MyRepublic Pty Ltd

> Skymesh Pty Ltd

> Spintel Pty Ltd

> Southern Phone Company Ltd

> TPG Internet Pty Ltd

> V4 Telecom Pty Ltd.

https://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Telco/Carriers-and-service-providers/Universal-service-obligation/priority-assistance-carriers-service-providers-acma


4.6 Number portability

Number portability allows customers to retain their existing phone number when changing from one service provider to another. Number portability is available for:

> mobile numbers

> local numbers (beginning with the area codes 02, 03, 07 and 08)

> freephone (1800) and local rate numbers (13 and 1300).

Mobile number portabilityDuring 2018–19, there were 2.55 million mobile numbers ported, an increase of 12 per cent on the 2.27 million mobile numbers ported in 2017–18. Most mobile ports are completed within a few hours, and 99 per cent within two days.

Local number portabilityDuring 2018–19, 1.29 million local numbers were ported, a three per cent increase on the 1.25 million local numbers ported in 2017–18.

Freephone and local rate number portabilityThe portability of freephone and local rate numbers (FLRNs) is referred to as inbound number portability. Industry Number Management Services facilitates FLRN portability on behalf of industry. There were 9,535 FLRNs ported during 2018–19, a 14 per cent decrease on the 11,082 FLRNs ported during 2017–18.

Table 4.14: Number portability—local, freephone and local rate, and mobile numbers ported, by financial year

Numbers ported 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19

Mobile 1,721,284 1,733,834 1,871,233 2,271,593 2,550,345

Local 1,223,599 991,011 1,320,313 1,249,142 1,285,983

Freephone and local rate 12,495 11,991 10,710 11,082 9,535

Source: ACMA.

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Telecommunications policy—development and review


4.7 Telecommunications policy—development and review

Under Part 6 of the Telecommunications Act, the ACMA may register codes developed by industry bodies. During 2018–19, two codes were revised and one introduced by Communications Alliance (CA), which were then registered by the ACMA2:

> C628:2019 Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code—revision registered in June 2018. The revisions include a range of increased consumer protections, including in selling practices, credit assessment, financial hardship, and assistance for vulnerable consumers, in addition to revisions for clarity and updating provisions to accurately reflect the marketplace.

> C658:2019 Next-Generation Broadband Systems Deployment in Customer Cabling—registered in February 2019. This code is designed to prevent performance-degrading interference within legacy system customer cabling (for example, ADSL2+ technology) and/or next generation broadband systems (such as VDSL2 technology).

> C564:2018 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment—revision registered in June 2018. The revised code strengthens consumer safeguards, especially for the inclusion of small-scale infrastructure and replaces the C564:2011 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Industry Code.

New NBN consumer rules In response to a ministerial direction, between July and September 2018, the ACMA made five new regulatory instruments primarily aimed at improving the experience of consumers migrating to the NBN:

> Telecommunications (NBN Consumer Information) Industry Standard 2018 (the Consumer Information Standard)—requires CSPs to provide minimum information for services delivered over the NBN, including information about typical busy period speeds, the level of online usage a plan will support, and technical limitations.

> Telecommunications (NBN Continuity of Service) Industry Standard 2018 (the Service Continuity Standard)—requires CSPs to act where an NBN migration is unsuccessful by reconnecting customers to their old service, providing an interim service or another agreed outcome.

> Telecommunications Service Provider (NBN Service Migration) Determination 2018 (the Service Migration Determination)—requires CSPs to test that a new NBN service is working, provide an interim service or other agreed outcome if the service is not working and test the line to ensure it can deliver the maximum attainable speed.

> Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 (the Complaints Handling Standard)—sets out the processes service providers must follow in handling complaints from their customers, not limited to NBN services.

> Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018—requires service providers with 30,000 or more services in operation to report data about complaints to the ACMA, not limited to NBN services.


Compliance with NBN consumer regulationsDuring 2018–19, the ACMA audited 73 providers and concluded 50 investigations into compliance with the new regulations:

> Complaints Handling Standard—the ACMA investigated 41 providers for compliance with the written complaints-handling process requirements, and one CSP for failure to comply with requirements for receiving and managing complaints.

> Consumer Information Standard—the ACMA investigated eight CSPs for compliance with obligations to provide consumers with a one-page summary sheet called a Key Facts Sheet (KFS) containing information to help them choose an NBN plan suited to their needs, and in relation to advertising plans for NBN services.

> The Service Continuity Standard and Service Migration Determination—the ACMA commenced audits into seven CSPs for compliance with the obligations to supply interim services and take specified action where there were delays in connecting a service of more than 20 days.

Enforcement action

In 2018–19, the ACMA issued 28 formal warnings, four remedial directions and seven infringement notices to providers for failing to comply with the new regulations (Table 4.15).

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Telecommunications policy—development and review


Table 4.15: ACMA NBN rules compliance

Regulation Requirement Outcome Entity

Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018

Section 7 of the Complaints Standard requires CSPs to have a process that includes the minimum requirements for consumer complaints-handling.

Formal warning

ACN Pacific Pty Ltd

Amnet Broadband Pty Ltd

Astron Communication & Information Services Pty Ltd

Aussie Broadband Pty Ltd

Australian Phone and Internet Pty Ltd

Australian Private Networks Pty Ltd

Bvivid Pty Ltd

Engin Pty Ltd

Exetel Pty Ltd

Foxtel Management Pty Ltd

Fuzenet Pty Ltd

Intelico Pty Ltd

Internode Pty Ltd

My Net Fone Pty Ltd

Spintel Pty Ltd

Tangerine Telecom Pty Limited

Vividwireless Pty Ltd

Westnet Pty Ltd

Dodo Services Pty Ltd

iiNet Ltd

M2 Commander Pty Ltd

MyRepublic Pty Ltd

Singtel Optus Pty Ltd

Primus Telecommunications Pty Limited

Telstra Corporation Limited

TPG Internet Pty Ltd

Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited

Remedial direction

Australia Broadband Pty Ltd

Simply NBN Pty Ltd

Oz Talk Communications Pty Ltd

Flip TV Pty Ltd


Regulation Requirement Outcome Entity

Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018

C628:2015 Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (TCP Code)

Sections 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20 and 21 of the Complaints Standard, requires CSPs to meet requirements related to complaints handling.

Clause 7.10.1 of the TCP Code concerns the transfer of services between different wholesale network providers.

Formal warning under the Complaints Standard

Direction requiring compliance with Chapter 7 of the TCP Code

V4 Telecom Pty Ltd

Telecommunications (Consumer Information) Industry Standard 2018

Section 7—KFS that meet minimum requirements must be made available for NBN consumer plans.

Section 11—minimum information requirements for advertising material about NBN consumer plans.

Infringement notice

Mate Communicate Pty Ltd

Business Service Brokers Pty Ltd

Simply NBN Pty Ltd

My Net Fone Australia Pty Ltd

Aussie Broadband Pty Ltd

Flip TV Pty Ltd

Section 7—KFS that meet minimum requirements must be made available for NBN consumer plans.

Infringement notice Australian Private Networks Pty Ltd

Source: ACMA.

Consumer safeguards review

In April 2018, DoCA announced the terms of reference for a three-part consumer safeguards review. Consultation on Part A: Consumer redress and complaints handling commenced in July 2018, with a report and recommendations released in November 2018. The consultation paper on Part B: Reliability of telecommunications services was released in November 2018 and was open until 18 January 2019. The consultation on Part C: Choice and fairness in the retail relationship between the customer and their provider is expected to follow.3

https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/consumer-safeguards-review


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The TCP Code


4.8 The TCP Code

Industry compliance with the TCP CodeThe TCP Code provides consumer safeguards in the areas of selling, customer service and contracts, billing, credit and debt management, financial hardship and changing suppliers. A framework for code compliance and monitoring by industry is also set out in the TCP Code.

During 2018–19, the ACMA undertook 34 TCP Code compliance assessments into 32 providers, and concluded 15 investigations into non-compliance with various code requirements:

> Information provision to consumers with disability—the ACMA investigated three providers’ compliance to provide information about products and services that may suit the needs of consumers with a disability.

> Customer transfer—the ACMA investigated a provider’s compliance with the requirement to ensure that customers are not transferred between providers without the customer’s consent.

> Compliance and monitoring—the ACMA investigated providers’ compliance with the requirement to register with Communications Alliance and to lodge annual compliance attestation documents with Communications Compliance Ltd (CommCom). In 2018–19, the ACMA issued one infringement notice, two directions and three formal warnings to providers who failed to lodge compliance attestations with CommCom by the due date.

> Formal warnings and directions—the ACMA issued six formal warnings and three directions to telecommunications companies requiring compliance with the TCP Code (Table 4.16).

Table 4.16: ACMA TCP Code compliance activity

TCP Code obligation TCP Code provision Outcome Telecommunications

company

Information provision about products and services for consumers with a disability

Clauses 4.1.3 and 4.1.3(d) Formal warning

Telstra Corporation Ltd

SingTel Optus Pty Ltd

Vodafone Hutchinson Australia Pty Ltd

Customer transfer practices Clause 7 Direction V4 Telecom Pty Ltd

Lodge compliance attestation Clause 9.4

Formal warning

Red Telecom Pty Ltd

MyRepublic Pty Ltd

Peak Connect Pty Ltd

DirectionDigital Technologies &Telecommunications Pty Ltd

Vocal Channels Pty Ltd

Source: ACMA.


Registration of revised TCP Code In July 2019, the ACMA registered the revised and strengthened TCP Code, which commenced on 1 August 2019.

Additional code rules now require providers to:

> ensure products are sold in a fair, transparent, responsible and accurate manner

> address all enquiries and resolve all complaints made to them regarding third-party charges that appear on a customer’s bill

> have strengthened credit assessment and financial hardship procedures

> provide consumers with enhanced information regarding billing, products, pricing, terms and conditions, and contracts.

The ACMA’s priority is to ensure compliance with code rules governing sales practices, financial hardship and credit assessment to reduce consumer harm. The ACMA will be monitoring and investigating non-compliance of these new rules in 2019–20.

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Cabling regulation


4.9 Cabling regulation

Registered cablersAnyone who works on customer cabling connected to the telecommunications network (or intended for use on the customer side of the network boundary) must either be registered with an ACMA-accredited registrar as a cabling provider or supervised by someone who is registered. The ACMA’s regulatory requirements for customer cabling work are set out in the Telecommunications Cabling Provider Rules 2014 (the Cabling Provider Rules). The Cabling Provider Rules require customer cabling work to comply with the technical requirements in AS/CA S009:2013 Installation Requirements for Customer Cabling (Wiring Rules).

In 2018–19, there were five ACMA-accredited registrars providing registration and other associated services to cablers. The total number of registered cablers in the industry rose to 74,960 at 30 June 2019, from 74,291 in June 2018.

Cabling complianceThe ACMA investigates complaints about non-compliant cabling work or work performed by unregistered cablers. Where appropriate, the ACMA conducts investigations arising from these complaints. In 2018–19, 11 complaints were received about customer cabling compliance, which resulted in one warning notice for non-compliance being issued. This is a decrease from the 21 complaints received in 2017–18.

Cabling regulatory reviewIn late 2018, the ACMA conducted a review of the customer cabling regulatory arrangements, releasing a public consultation paper in October. The review examined the overall effectiveness of the existing cabling arrangements, and whether they continue to provide the most effective approach for managing customer cabling risks, considering the current and emerging developments within the communications environment.

There was a strong response to the consultation paper with 32 submissions received from a broad range of stakeholders, which will assist in guiding the ACMA as it considers the future direction of cabling regulation.

ACMA enquiries and complaints about optical fibre deploymentIn 2018–19, the ACMA received one enquiry and two complaints under Part 20A of the Telecommunications Act about the deployment of optical fibre in a new real estate development. The ACMA completed two compliance assessments, with no breaches found.


4.10 Unsolicited communications—spam and telemarketing

The ACMA enforces Australia’s unsolicited communications—telemarketing, fax marketing and spam—safeguards. This includes providing the Do Not Call Register (DNCR) and promoting industry compliance with the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (DNCR Act), Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 (Telemarketing Industry Standard), Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011 (Fax Marketing Industry Standard) and the Spam Act 2003 (Spam Act).

Unsolicited communications compliance and enforcement The ACMA undertakes a range of compliance activities depending on the risk of harm and consumer impact. We promote responsible industry practice, alert entities about potential non-compliance, and investigate and take enforcement action where the risk of consumer harm is highest.

During the 2018–19 year, the ACMA undertook a range of key actions:

> Proceedings were commenced in the Federal Court of Australia against solar telemarketers Balaska Pty Ltd and V Marketing Pty Ltd for alleged breaches of telemarketing laws.

> Infringement notices totalling $386,400 were issued to:

> Lead My Way Pty Ltd, a lead generator, for making telemarketing calls to numbers on the DNCR without consent ($285,600).

> Sumo Power Pty Ltd, an electricity, gas and internet provider, for making telemarketing calls to numbers on the DNCR without consent ($46,200).

> Foxtel Management Pty Ltd, a subscription TV provider, for not terminating telemarketing calls after call recipients asked or otherwise indicated that they wanted the call to end, and for not having adequate contractual arrangements in place with a call centre it used ($25,200).

> Brand Link Media Pty Ltd, a business that operates several websites offering short-term business loans, for sending emails without consent ($12,600). The ACMA also accepted an enforceable undertaking from Brand Link Media.

> Primus Telecommunications Pty Ltd, a telecommunications provider, for making telemarketing calls to numbers on the DNCR after consumers had withdrawn consent ($8,400).

> iSelect Pty Ltd, an insurance, personal finance and utilities comparison service, for making telemarketing calls to numbers on the DNCR without consent ($8,400).

> Ten businesses were given formal warnings.

> 3,816 businesses were alerted to potential non-compliance (to provide an opportunity for early rectification by the business).

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Unsolicited communications—spam and telemarketing


Table 4.17: Unsolicited communications—enforcement activity

Activity 2017–18 2018–19 % change

Compliance alerts—spam 1,517 2,070 36.5

Compliance alerts—telemarketing 1,857 1,746 –6.0

Investigations commenced 19 23 21.1

Investigations finalised 18 22 22.2

No breach 4 5 25

Formal warnings 3 10 233.3

Enforceable undertakings 2 1 –50

Infringement notices 5 6 20

Federal Court action 0 2 –

Source: ACMA

Complaints and enquiries Complaints about telemarketing reduced by approximately nine per cent in 2018–19, after a 42 per cent increase from 2016–17 to 2017–18, and 23 per cent increase from 2015–16 to 2016–17. This coincides with the ACMA taking proactive, stronger and more frequent compliance and enforcement action.

Spam complaints nearly doubled in 2018–19. However, most of this increase was due to political SMS and email messages sent in the lead-up to the federal election in May 2019, rather than being indicative of a broader trend. Generally, email and SMS messages about elections are not commercial and therefore not covered under the Spam Act.

The ACMA receives enquiries from businesses and consumers about unsolicited communications compliance. This engagement is used to raise awareness and promote rights and obligations.

Table 4.18 summarises the number of complaints and enquiries the ACMA received.

Table 4.18: Telemarketing, fax marketing and spam—summary of complaints and compliance activities

Activity Breakdown 2017–18 2018–19 % change

Complaints

Spam 3,309 6,333 91.4

Telemarketing* 40,134 36,583 –8.8

Total 43,443 42,916 –1.2

Enquiries

Telemarketing* 14,019 18,750 33.7

Spam 1,414 1,347 –4.7

Total 15,433 20,097 30.2

*Includes fax marketing.

Source: ACMA.


EngagementThe ACMA is an active member of the executive of the Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network (UCENet). Recognising that unsolicited communications is a global issue, the ACMA continues to build support for collaboration, innovation and strategic approaches to prevent unsolicited communications.

During the 2018–19 year, the ACMA published two research reports on unsolicited communications to inform compliance, enforcement and education activities:

> Unsolicited calls in Australia: Consumer research, which looked at Australians’ experiences of unsolicited calls.4

> International best practice for unsolicited communications, which looked at the approaches various international jurisdictions take to regulate unsolicited communications.5

Addressing scamsThe ACMA commenced a cross-agency Scam Technology Project in late 2018 in response to consumer concerns about scam activity over telecommunications networks in Australia.

A reference group was established to guide the project’s work. Chaired by ACMA Authority Member Fiona Cameron, the group comprises representatives from the ACCC and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

A public discussion paper was released for consultation in March 2019, and the ACMA anticipates reporting to the Minister and key stakeholders in late 2019.

4.11 Online content investigations—interactive gambling

The ACMA administers the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA), which makes it an offence to provide or advertise certain gambling services to Australians. These include online casino-style games, slot machines and wagering services that accept ‘in-play’ betting or are provided without a licence issued by an Australian state or territory. The ACMA received a total of 288 complaints and enquiries during 2018–19, resulting in 114 breach findings (Table 4.19).

Table 4.19: Interactive gambling complaints and enquiries per financial year, 2018–19

Interactive gambling Number

Complaints and general enquiries 288

Investigations completed 63

Total number of breach findings 114

Formal warnings issued to providers 13

Notifications issued to international licensing authorities 5

Source: Interactive gambling complaints to the ACMA.

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Lottery Betting) Act 2018, which amended the IGA, received Royal Assent in July 2018, with the amendments coming into effect on 9 January 2019. The amendments prohibit betting on the outcome, or any aspect, of a lottery (including a keno draw).

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Complaints to the TIO


4.12 Complaints to the TIO

There were 132,387 new complaints made to the TIO during 2018–19, a decrease of 21.1 per cent from 2017–18 (167,831). Each new complaint to the TIO can involve multiple complaint issues:

> internet services: 43,164 complaints (32.6 per cent of total complaints)

> mobile phone services: 40,103 complaints (30.3 per cent of total complaints)

> landline phone services: 17,267 complaints (13 per cent of total complaints)

> multiple services: 30,678 complaints (23.2 per cent of total complaints)

> property: 1,175 complaints (0.9 per cent of total complaints).

Table 4.20 shows the top TIO new complaint issues for 2018–19.

Complaints about changing providers or establishing a connection for services delivered on the NBN decreased by 20.3 per cent, from 14,589 in 2017–18 to 11,635 in 2018–19. The level of these complaints per 1,000 premises added to the NBN increased from 6.7 in July–December 2018 to 8.6 during January–June 2019, when there was a 37 per cent increase in the number of premises added.

Complaints about the quality of services delivered over the NBN fell by 13.5 per cent, from 27,008 in 2017–18 to 23,362 in 2018–19. However, the level of these complaints per 1,000 premises on the network increased from 2.1 in July–December 2018 to 2.5 in January–June 2019, when there was a 19 per cent increase in the total number of premises.


Table 4.20: Top five TIO new complaint issues (number of complaints) by technology, 2018–19

Service Complaint issue Number of complaints

Internet

No action or delayed action by a service provider 13,976

Service and equipment fees 13,509

Slow data speed 8,668

Intermittent service/dropouts 7,915

Delay establishing a service 7,431

Landline


No phone or internet service 4,964



Number problem due to connection or transfer 1,559

Mobile



Resolution agreed but not met 4,263

Misleading conduct when making a contract 3,656

Termination fees 2,975

Multiple



No phone or internet service 6,469


Intermittent service/dropouts 3,865

Total 142,391

Source: TIO Annual Report 2018–19.

Industry compliance with TIO schemeSection 128 of the TCPSS Act requires carriers and eligible CSPs to join the TIO scheme. The scheme provides alternative dispute resolution of unresolved complaints about carriers or CSPs made by residential and small business customers about telephone and internet services. The TIO also has jurisdiction in resolving and adjudicating some land access disputes between carriers and landowners. The ACMA assists in ensuring providers comply with the scheme.

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Complaints to the TIO


Membership of the TIO schemeIn 2018–19, the TIO referred 12 companies to the ACMA for failing to join the TIO scheme. Of these, four became members, seven were not required to join, and one remained under investigation at the end of the reporting period. Two companies were directed to join the scheme.

Compliance with TIO membership rulesSection 132 of the TCPSS Act requires TIO members to comply with TIO decisions and temporary rulings. During 2018–19, the TIO referred eight TIO members to the ACMA for failing to comply with the TIO scheme. Issues relating to six of those companies have been resolved. One company was reported to the ACCC for potentially engaging in fraudulent activities. An investigation into the remaining company was in progress at the end of the reporting period.

Complaints to the TIO about facility installationsThe TIO can consider objections from landowners or occupiers relating to land access and the installation and maintenance of low-impact facilities. Most land access complaints relate to:

> no notice provided to the landowner or occupier about the activity

> damage to property

> hazardous, non-compliance or temporary infrastructure

> the location of equipment on land.

During the reporting period, the TIO received 1,402 new complaints from residents and small businesses (not including enquiries) compared to 1,483 during 2017–18 (Figure 4.5).6

Figure 4.5: Number of facility installation complaints/land access complaints received by the TIO

502

544

1,483*

624

2015–16

2014–15

2016–17

2017–18

1,4022018–19

*This figure was incorrectly reported in last year’s report as 1,189.

Source: TIO.

TIO’s land access objections and decisions

During the reporting period, 14 objections were referred by the service providers to the TIO, while three objections were carried over from 2017–18, totalling 17 objections in all. Of these:

> eight directions were given to carriers about the way in which they engage in their land access activity

> one notice was withdrawn

> eight were not finalised at 30 June 2019.


4.13 Complaints to the ACMA relating to mobile base stations

Optus, Telstra and Vodafone are the carriers that currently operate mobile phone networks in Australia. When installing mobile phone base stations, these carriers are required to comply with the Industry Code C564:2018 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code.7

Complaints about compliance with the mobile phone base station code are directed to the carriers first. The mobile phone base station code specifies mandatory processes for complaints-handling by carriers.

If a complainant is dissatisfied with a carrier’s response, they can then complain to the ACMA. The ACMA will assess whether the complaint is within the scope of the mobile phone base station code. If it is, the ACMA may investigate the complaint under Part 26 of the Telecommunications Act. If a breach of the mobile phone base station code is found, enforcement action may be taken against the carrier.

In 2018–19, the ACMA responded to 26 enquiries and received 72 complaints under the code (Figure 4.6), which resulted in 20 compliance assessments completed.

Figure 4.6: Number of enquiries and complaints received by the ACMA, relating to the mobile phone base station code

2015–16

47

2014–15

58

29

2016–17

2017–18 37

982018–19

Source: ACMA.

InvestigationsFrom those 20 compliance assessments, the ACMA completed four investigations. Two investigations resulted in the ACMA giving TPG a direction to comply with the small cell provisions of the code. One investigation was completed into Telstra’s compliance with the mobile phone base station code, which resulted in Telstra being given a formal warning.

Direct compliance actionIn two of the compliance assessments completed by the ACMA, some minor compliance issues were noted. In these cases, the ACMA contacted the carrier to suggest process improvements. Throughout the course of the year, the ACMA also identified other general process improvements that it will raise with carriers and the Mobile Carriers Forum.

Public consultationsTelstra, Optus, Vodafone, and PIPE Networks (a subsidiary of TPG) undertook 7,065 public consultations about mobile phone base station deployments during the reporting period. This figure included public consultations undertaken by carriers under the industry code process and the relevant local council’s development application/approval process (Figure 4.7).

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Complaints to the ACMA relating to mobile base stations


Figure 4.7: Number of public consultations undertaken by carriers

3,920

6,072

5,867

4,992

2015–16

2014–15

2016–17

2017–18

7,0652018–19

Source: CSP data.

Carriers’ powers and immunitiesThe ACMA can accept a complaint about carriers’ compliance with Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act and the Telecommunications Code of Practice 2018, which relates to carrier’s obligations when they enter onto land to inspect, install and maintain communications infrastructure. In 2018–19, the ACMA received 38 enquiries and 20 complaints from local councils, carriers, solicitors, landowners and members of the public (Figure 4.8).

From the 20 complaints received, the ACMA completed 14 compliance assessments, with one compliance assessment continuing into 2019–20.

While the ACMA did not find any breaches, it found that carriers’ exercise of their powers and immunities can sometimes raise concerns for some landowners.

This information assists the ACMA to provide input to the Powers and Immunities Reference Group (PIRG). Facilitated by the DoCA, the PIRG focuses on issues that may be resolved by mutual co-operation between carriers and property owners. It also aims to foster better relationships between all parties to minimise the need to legislate or undertake regulatory reform.

Figure 4.8: Number of powers and immunities complaints received by the ACMA

66

18

25

94

58

2015–16

2014–15

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

Source: ACMA.


Notes

1 NBN Co, ‘NBN commits to improved wholesale service standards’ (media release), 12 September 2018.

2 ACMA, ‘Register of industry codes’, (webpage), accessed November 2019.

3 DoCA, Consumer Safeguards Review, accessed 20 November 2018.

4 ACMA, Unsolicited calls in Australia: Consumer experience, December 2018.

5 ACMA, International best practice for unsolicited communications, October 2018.

6 A single complaint may have multiple issues and therefore may be counted more than once across the categories reported by the TIO.

7 On 29 January 2019, TPG Telecom Limited (PIPE Networks) advised the market that it ceased the rollout of its mobile network in Australia.

https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-commits-to-improved-wholesale-service-standards

https://www.acma.gov.au/register-industry-codes


https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2018-12/report/unsolicited-calls-australia-consumer-experience

https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2018-10/report/international-best-practice-unsolicited-communications

Part 3

Appendix—Research methodology

145

Appendix—Research methodology

ACMA-commissioned surveyThe 2019 ACMA-commissioned survey of consumers was conducted by the Social Research Centre. Data for the survey was collected using the probability-based Life in Australia (LinA) online panel. LinA includes people with and without internet access—those without internet access or who are not comfortable completing surveys online are able to complete surveys by phone instead.

The 2019 survey comprised a total of n=2,067 respondents (n=1,824 online interviews with Australian adults plus n=243 computer-aided phone interviews (CATI) to reach the adult population who are not regularly online). The survey was representative of the Australian population aged 18 years and over. Fieldwork was conducted from May 2019.

Weighting

To ensure that results from the consumer survey are as representative as possible of the population of Australian adults, weights were calculated for each respondent and included in the final dataset.

The approach to deriving weights consisted of the following steps:

> A base weight for each respondent as the product of two weights:

> their enrolment weight, accounting for the initial chances of selection and subsequent post-stratification to key demographic benchmarks

> their response propensity weight estimated from enrolment information available for both respondents and non-respondents to the survey.

> The base weights were then calibrated to match external population benchmarks of several demographic parameters including location, gender, phone status, home internet use and age by highest educational attainment.

Roy Morgan Single SourceRoy Morgan research data is taken from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey unless otherwise specified. This data covers changes occurring from July 2018 to June 2019 unless otherwise specified.

The Roy Morgan Single Source research sample sizes for the past five years are provided in Table A.1 below.

Changes to Roy Morgan database weighting

Roy Morgan data for 2014 and 2015 will differ to data reported in previous communications reports by one or two percentage points. This is due to changes to either weighting or whether the data was sourced from the establishment survey or product poll. Previously, Roy Morgan had weighted the data to ABS population estimates on a monthly basis. In 2015, Roy Morgan changed the frequency of weighting calculations to quarterly and included additional weighting criteria.

Australian population

For the 2019 Roy Morgan Single Source data, the total population estimate for Australian adults aged 18 and over is 19,497,000, based on ABS data table 6202.0 Labour Force, Australia.


Table A.1: Research sample subsets for Roy Morgan Single Source, Australians aged 18 and over

Year Total Mobile-only for phone

Mobile-only for internet

Jun 19 13,814 4,829 2,378

Jun 18 14,056 4,088 2,289

Jun 17 13,884 3,466 2,689

Jun 16 14,300 3,247 2,262

Jun 15 15,241 3,395 1,808

Note: 12 months to June for each year.

Other sourcesEndnotes to each chapter list other information sources used in this publication.

Data analysis Results from both data sets were analysed using descriptive analysis techniques and by socioeconomic and demographic factors, to identify areas with significant patterns or differences.

Data presented in tables and figures may not add up to 100 per cent (or the appropriate total) due to rounding. Percentage changes are calculated on non-rounded data.

Part 3

Glossary

147

Glossary

2G—second-generation mobile telecommunications

Mobile telecommunications services that use digital techniques, providing voice communications and a relatively low transmission rate for data. Denoted by the introduction of the digital encryption of phone conversations and of mobile data services with SMS text messaging. 2G networks stopped operating in Australia from 31 March 2018.

3G—third-generation mobile telecommunications

Broadband mobile telecommunications services with improved data rates over their 2G predecessors, providing for applications such as web-browsing, videoconferencing and location-based services.

4G—fourth-generation mobile telecommunications

Enhanced broadband mobile telecommunications services that are expected to provide increased bandwidth to support voice, video, data and high-quality streaming multimedia content over an all-IP network. See also LTE.

4.9G—advanced 4G

Also known as LTE-Advanced Pro, 4GX, 4G+ and 4.5G, 4.9G is an industry term that refers to a precursor technology to 5G. 4.9G implements functionality contained in 3GPP Release 13 and 14, including massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) and greatly increased spectral efficiency. This results in much faster download speeds than are available over 4G.

5G—fifth-generation mobile telecommunications

The next iteration of broadband mobile telecommunications services, 5G provides increased data rates and reduced latency to support greater connectivity and enables M2M services and the IoT. 5G became commercially available in 2019.

AI—artificial intelligence

The ability of a digital program/computer systems to perform tasks commonly associated with human intelligence, including learning, problem solving and pattern recognition.

ABC—Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Free-to-air national broadcaster of ABC radio and television channels, as well as online services, funded by the Australian Government.

ABS—Australian Bureau of Statistics

Commonwealth body responsible for collecting, analysing and publishing Australian demographic data.

ACCC—Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Commonwealth regulatory body with responsibilities derived from the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

ACE—Australian Communication Exchange

Former not-for-profit organisation that provided the relay component of the National Relay Service.


ACMA—Australian Communications and Media Authority

Commonwealth regulatory authority for broadcasting, radiocommunications, telecommunications and some online content, with responsibilities under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, the Radiocommunications Act 1992, the Telecommunications Act 1997, the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 and related Acts.

ADSL—asymmetric digital subscriber line

Transmission technology that enables high-speed data services to be delivered over a twisted-pair copper line. ADSL2+ is an enhanced ADSL technology that adds new features and functionality that may provide higher data rates.

auDA—.au Domain Administration Ltd

Independent industry self-regulatory body responsible for the ‘.au’ domain name space.

broadband

A class of high-speed internet access technologies, such as ADSL, ADSL2+, HFC cable and wi-fi, offering a data rate significantly higher than dial-up internet services.

cable—hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable

Transmission links consisting of optical fibre on main routes, supplemented by coaxial cable closer to the end user’s premises.

BVOD—broadcast video on demand

Broadcast quality, long-form content that is consumed at the viewer’s discretion after or before it airs or is released on broadcast television. BVOD content is offered on a broadcaster’s content catch up services across devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, OTT devices, mobile apps, browsers and gaming consoles.

carrier

The holder of a telecommunications carrier licence in force under the Telecommunications Act.

catch-up TV

Internet service typically provided on free-to-air and subscription broadcasters’ websites that enables users to watch a recent episode of a television program over the internet for a limited period.

CAT-M1—category M1

Cellular technology built for IoT applications that is compatible with existing LTE networks and uses low bandwidth and low power. Also referred to as LTE Cat M1 or Cat M.

CEASA—Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia

An information research company specialising in media, economic, marketing and advertising research, surveys and publications.

cloud computing

Internet-based computing where data and applications are hosted online, stored on remote servers and available to clients on demand through broadband internet-enabled devices.

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CA—Communications Alliance

Formed to provide a unified voice for the Australian communications industry, CA offers a forum for the industry to make coherent and constructive contributions to policy development and debate.

CSG Standard—Customer Service Guarantee Standard

The CSG Standard establishes performance standards that phone service providers must meet or exceed for appointments and the connection and repair of standard phone services (and certain enhanced call-handling features). Customers are provided with financial compensation when these standards are not met.

CSP—carriage service provider

Person supplying or proposing to supply certain carriage services to a customer, including a commercial entity acquiring telecommunications capacity or services from a carrier for resale to a third party. Under the Telecommunications Act, internet and subscription TV service providers fall within the definition of CSPs.

DAB/DAB+—digital audio broadcasting

A digital radio broadcasting standard. Australia is using an upgraded version of this standard called DAB+ to broadcast digital radio in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. DAB+ uses the same spectrum currently used to deliver both analog and digital television services.

digital radio broadcasting

Digital radio broadcasting is a method of assembling, transmitting and receiving audio broadcasts using digital technology.

digital television

The transmission of television (audio and video) via digital signals, serving as a replacement technology for analog services.

DNCR—Do Not Call Register

Register established by the ACMA that allows individuals to register their home and mobile numbers to opt out of receiving most unsolicited telemarketing calls and faxes, with limited exemptions for public interest organisations.

DoCA—Department of Communications and the Arts

Since September 2015, Commonwealth department responsible for, among other things, communications policy and programs. From 1 February 2020, known as the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.

DOCSIS 3.1—Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification 3.1

DOCSIS 3.1 specifications are the current industry standard for providing high-quality internet access over hybrid fibre coax (HFC) networks supporting capacities of up to 10 Gbit/s downstream and 1 Gbit/s upstream.

ECP—emergency call person

Nominated organisation responsible for handling emergency calls.


ESO—emergency service organisation

Organisation providing an emergency service—police, ambulance or fire service.

eSport

Organised, competitive video gaming typically played between professional or sponsored gamers in professional or sponsored events such as league competitions and tournaments.

fixed-line phone service

Covers the delivery of voice services over a copper pair-based PSTN access network or fixed-line broadband networks. Includes fixed VoIP services.

FLRN—freephone and local rate number

Telephone numbers commencing with the digits 1800 (freephone) or 13 (local rate).

FSA—field service area

One of 44 broad geographic regions in Telstra’s fixed phone network.

FTA TV—free-to-air television

Broadcast television services where the signal is delivered without charge to the viewer.

FTTB—fibre-to-the-building

A type of broadband access network deployment where optical fibre is deployed to a communications cabinet in the basement of each building, which is typically a multi-dwelling unit. The final connection to each individual premises within the building is made by alternative technologies, typically using the building’s existing copper cabling.

FTTC—fibre-to-the-curb

A type of broadband access network deployment where optical fibre is extended close to premises, connecting to a small Distribution Point Unit (DPU), generally located inside a pit on the street. From here, the existing copper network is connected to the fibre to form the final connection.

FTTN—fibre-to-the-node

A type of broadband access network deployment where the optical fibre line runs to a node (cabinet) located in the street. From this street cabinet, individual premises are connected via existing copper cabling networks.

FTTP—fibre-to-the-premises

A type of broadband access network deployment where the optical fibre line extends directly to individual premises. Compared to other fibre-optic connections types, this type of connection results in the fibre-optic line running as close as possible to the end-user and subsequently results in the least reliance on existing copper cabling networks.

GB—gigabyte

One billion bytes. Each byte is eight bits.

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151

Gbps—gigabits per second

Data transfer rate of a billion bits per second.

geographic numbers

Numbers used to provide access to local phone services, and related voicemail and facsimile services. Also known as local numbers.

G.mgfast

An ITU-T project to address functionality beyond G.fast, including aggregate data rates of five and ten Gbit/s over single twisted pair and coaxial cable.

interception

The interception of telecommunications services for the purpose of law enforcement and national security.

IoT—Internet of Things

The interconnection of many devices and objects utilising internet protocols, with or without the active involvement of individuals. This may include laptops, routers, tablets and smartphones, which are integral to operating, reading and analysing the state of IoT devices.

IP—internet protocol

The main routing protocol used in the internet—it operates at the logical network layer and is a code used to label packets of data sent across the internet, identifying both the sending and receiving hosts. IP is also used to designate data, traffic, services and equipment supported by or used in the internet.

IPND—Integrated Public Number Database

Database of number, name and address information about customers of telecommunications services in Australia, for all carriers and CSPs.

ISDN—integrated services digital network

A high-speed network for carrying voice and data services in digital format over the PSTN. Can be considered an evolutionary step between dial-up and today’s broadband internet services.

ISP—internet service provider

A carriage service provider offering internet access to the public or another service provider.

local numbers

See geographic numbers.

LoRa

LoRa Technology is a low-power wide area network wireless data communication technology that permits inexpensive connectivity for the Internet of Things.

LoRaWAN—long-range wide area network

The LoRaWAN protocol is a network specification governed by the LoRa Alliance, characterised by its very long range, long battery life and low cost. Unlike Sigfox, can be used for bidirectional communications.


low-impact facilities

Communications facilities that are considered to have a low impact on their environment. They include underground cabling, small radiocommunications antennas and dishes, in-building subscriber connections and public payphones. The Telecommunications Act 1997 provides carriers with immunity from state and territory planning laws for the installation of low-impact facilities.

LPWAN—low-power wide area network

A wireless communications network that is used to transport non-constant, small amounts of data over a wide area using very little power. LPWAN is one of the basic protocols for the implementation of the IoT.

LTE—long term evolution

A suite of radio and core network specifications for the enhancement of mobile networks beyond 3G capabilities. Generally regarded as fourth-generation mobile telecommunications—see 4G.

LTE-B—long term evolution broadcast

A technique of efficiently distributing the same content over the LTE network to users. Rather than individual users downloading their own stream of data, the technique allows content to be provided to multiple users via a single stream of data, thus reducing data demands on networks.

M2M—machine-to-machine

M2M communications are used for automated data transmission and measurement between mechanical or electronic devices using wired and wireless networks. Much of the M2M information is delivered in the form of sparse data, which can come from sensors and other non-IT devices.

massive machine type communication (mMTC)

One of three primary 5G New Radio (NR) use cases defined by the 3GPP as part of its SMARTER (Study on New Services and Markets Technology Enablers) project. Each use case is characterised by its required performance attributes. In this instance, those use cases requiring wireless connectivity to tens of billions of machine-type terminals.

MHz—megahertz

One million hertz.

Minister—Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts

Minister responsible for the ACMA and its governing legislation, and the legislation that the ACMA administers.

NB-IoT—narrowband Internet of Things

A narrowband radio technology designed for the IoT. NB-IoT technology is intended for applications that require a large number of devices that are low cost and have a long battery life.

NBN—National Broadband Network

The national wholesale-only open access data network in Australia offering high-speed broadband to all Australian premises using a multi-technology mix.

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153

NBN Co—NBN Co Limited

Wholly-owned Australian Government company established to design, build and operate the NBN.

NCD—nominated carrier declaration

Declaration made by the owner of a telecommunications network unit (facilities or infrastructure for delivery of telecommunications services) nominating a licensed carrier that will be responsible for the specified network unit.

NRF—Network Reliability Framework

Requirement on Telstra to provide regular reports to the ACMA on the reliability of its fixed-line services, and to remediate the network in areas with particularly poor performance.

NRS—National Relay Service

Provides access to the standard phone service for people with a hearing or speech impairment through the relay of voice, modem or TTY communications. Operates as a translation service between voice and non-voice users of the standard phone service.

number portability

Arrangements allowing customers to transfer their telecommunications service from one service provider to another without changing their number. Number portability is available for local numbers, freephone and local rate numbers, and mobile numbers.

ONDC—Office of the National Data Commissioner

Established in August 2018, the Office of the National Data Commissioner is responsible for implementing a simpler data sharing and release framework to improve social and economic outcomes for Australians while safeguarding data.

OTT—over-the-top services

A general term for services delivered over a network that ride on top of the infrastructure service and are provided independently of the network operator.

pay-per-view

A television service in which viewers are required to pay a fee to watch a specific program.

pay TV

See subscription television.

payphone

A public phone where calls may be paid for with coins, phone cards, credit cards or reverse charge facilities.

portability

See number portability.

podcast

Digital audio or video files made available for online download to a computer or mobile device.


postpaid

A contract under which a user is charged on a periodic basis, depending on service usage during the previous billing period.

prepaid

A contract system by which users pay an amount upfront to buy a certain amount of usage or credit.

PSTN—public switched telecommunications network

Public telecommunications network to provide traditional analog phone services to subscribers.

QCSP—qualifying carriage service provider

CSPs that have 100,000 or more services covered by the CSG Standard as at the last day of the preceding financial year.

RVA—recorded voice announcement

A pre-recorded audio message played to listeners; for example, the message played to all callers to the Triple Zero emergency service.

SBS—Special Broadcasting Service

Free-to-air national radio and television broadcasting service providing multilingual and multicultural programs that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia’s multicultural society. The SBS Online service also provides additional multilingual content through the internet. SBS On Demand is their catch-up offering.

Sigfox

An IoT technology that uses a simple modulation scheme, low bit rate and ultra narrow band technology to send very small amounts of data, achieving a more extended range than some other IoT technologies. With a low data rate of 100 or 600 bps (depending on the region), Sigfox is suited to simple applications that need small, infrequent bursts of data, such as parking sensors, basic alarm systems or water meters.

SIO—services in operation

The number of services provided by a phone company at a particular time. The term is used in the context of both fixed-line and mobile services.

smart device

A context-aware electronic device capable of performing autonomous computing and connecting to other devices wire or wirelessly for data exchange.

smartnumbers

Specified freephone (1800) or local rate (13 or 1300) numbers that are considered desirable because they can be translated to a phoneword or they have a memorable pattern.

smartphone

A mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing capability and connectivity.

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SMS—short message service

A mobile telecommunications data transmission service that allows users to send short text messages to each other using a mobile handset.

spam

Unsolicited commercial electronic messages that are sent by email, SMS, MMS and/or instant messaging.

standard telephone service

The telecommunications service defined as a carriage service providing voice telephony or an equivalent service that meets the requirements of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 and Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

subscribers

ABS subscriber statistics measure the number of ‘subscriber lines’ rather than the number of ‘users’. Counts of subscribers are not the same as counts of people/organisations with internet access. This is because some subscribers may have accounts with more than one ISP or multiple accounts with a single ISP.

subscription television

Service providing access, for a fee, to television channels transmitted using cable, satellite or terrestrial microwave.

SVOD—subscription video on demand

An internet service that gives users unlimited access to a range of online video content at any time, for a flat monthly fee. Users can start and stop the program they are watching when they choose.

TB—terabyte

One thousand gigabytes.

TIO—Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

Industry-funded independent dispute resolution agency, established in December 1993, for consumers unable to resolve complaints with their telecommunications carrier or CSP (including ISPs).

trial certificate

A trial certificate may be issued by the ACMA to enable industry participants to trial the technical and commercial feasibility of their networks and services for a period of up to six months without the need to acquire a carrier licence. This period can be extended for a further six months on application.

TTY—teletypewriter

Telephone typewriter that allows communication to be typed after a call is connected, enabling people with a hearing or speech impairment to use voice telecommunications. Calls can be connected to another TTY user or relayed and translated to voice by the NRS.


URLLC —Ultra-reliable low latency communications

One of three categories of 5G communications, URLLC are services for devices that are sensitive to latency, such as autonomous driving, factory automation and remote surgery.

USO—universal service obligation

Obligation under the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 to ensure that standard phone services, payphones and prescribed carriage services are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on business.

VoIP—voice over internet protocol

Delivery of voice communications over the internet or some other connected network, instead of the PSTN.

voice-enabled device

An internet-connected device that uses voice recognition to assist users with tasks such as requesting information, search queries and playing music. Devices include Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s HomePod. The software that powers these devices includes Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri.

wi-fi

A type of wireless local area network (WLAN) technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed internet and network connections using specifications in the IEEE 802.11 series of standards for WLAN.

Part 3

Index

157

Index

3G networks 4, 20

3.6 GHz spectrum 1, 21, 22

4G mobile services 20

4G networks 4, 20–1, 50

5G developments 47–51

5G edge computing 54

5G mobile services 46–50

5G networks 4, 15

deployments 1, 21–2, 50–1

developments 5, 22

spectrum developments 22–3

use of 5, 48–50

7CAP 56

7Plus 90

9Now 90

26 GHz spectrum 22

28 GHz spectrum 23

60 GHz spectrum 22

106 text emergency service 103–4

112 emergency calls 8, 13, 102–3

700 MHz spectrum 20

900 MHz spectrum 22

AAAPT Limited 108

ABC iView 90

ABC Listen 87–8

Acceleon Pty Ltd 109

ACE Radio Broadcasters Pty Ltd 34

ACMA Communications report 2018–19 3

ACN Pacific Pty Ltd 131

ADSL 42

advertising

expenditure 60–3

online 1, 15, 61–2

radio 62–3

television 62–3

Agile Pty Ltd 108

AGL 59

agtech 54

airlines 6, 58

Airspan Spectrum Holdings Ltd 22

allocation of numbers 5, 27–8

Amazon Prime 43, 92

Amazon Web Services 56

Amnet Broadband Pty Ltd 131

Apple Music 87–8

Apple TV 92, 96

Apple Watch 53

appointments 120–1

apps see communications apps

artificial intelligence (AI) 6, 56

Astron Communication & Information Services Pty Ltd 131

AT&T 50

ATP Innovations 54

.au Domain Administration Ltd 44

audio content 6–7, 71, 80–1, 86–8

see also podcasts

audio streaming 71, 87–8

Aussie Broadband Pty Ltd 127, 131, 132

Australia Broadband Pty Ltd 131

Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) 102

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

commissioned surveys 145–6

disclosures of customer information to 105–7

Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005 3

Australian Community Media (ACM) 32

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) 20, 43, 45, 50, 59, 105, 106

Australian Cyber Security Centre 138

Australian Phone and Internet Pty Ltd 131

Australian Private Networks Pty Ltd 127, 131, 132

Australian Radio Network Pty Ltd 33, 34

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) 26

Austroads 53

automation technologies 56

autonomous vehicles 5, 53

BBalaska Pty Ltd 136

banking 80

Bathurst Broadcasters Pty Ltd 32

Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) 19

benches 51

A better practice guide for NBN providers 19

BigPond Movies 92–3


billing and payments, consumer satisfaction 84–5

bins 51

blockchain technology 57

Brand Link Media Pty Ltd 136

broadband internet

data downloaded 11, 78

home 12, 76

Broadcast Operations Pty Ltd 32, 33, 34

Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Act 2017 33

Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Foreign Media Ownership, Community Radio and Other Measures) Act 2018 32

broadcasting licences see licences

broadcasting services see radio; television

Broadcasting Services Act 1992 32, 34

Broadcasting Services Local Programming Determination 2018 33

browsing internet 80

Business Service Brokers Pty Ltd 132

buying online 80

Bvivid Pty Ltd 131

Ccable internet 42

cable runs 124

cablers, registered 135

cabling compliance 135

cabling regulation 135

call costs, consumer satisfaction 84–5

call quality, consumer satisfaction 84–5

call wait time 84–5

Cameron, Fiona 138

Camplin Broadcasters Pty Ltd 32

car parks 51

carriage service providers (CSPs)

allocation of numbers 27–8

disclosures of customer information 8, 13, 101, 105–7

emergency call services 102

fixed-line phone services 37

identity checking 107

Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) 108

interception 107

life-threatening calls 110

number portability 128

priority assistance 126–7

providing assistance 105

see also Customer Service Guarantee Standard

carrier licensing 15, 26–7carriers

licensed 5, 10powers and immunities 143public consultations 142–3TIO scheme compliance 140TIO scheme membership 26, 141

Chair’s foreword 1–2chat bots 56Chime Communications Pty Ltd 108China 51cinema advertising 60–1Cisco 48, 50, 54City of Adelaide 51City of Ipswich 51City of Joondalup 51–2cloud gaming 2, 6, 54–5cloud services 2, 5, 54Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia

(CEASA) 60Commercial Radio Australia 87commercial radio broadcasting licences

cross-media ownership 36local information on 35notification of changes of control 31–2numbers 12, 29–30ownership and control 33–4trigger events 35

commercial television broadcasting licencescross-media ownership 36local information on 33non-trigger-event affected licensees 33notification of changes of control 31–2numbers 12, 29ownership and control 30–2reform in regional 33trigger events 33

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) 54Communications Access Co-ordinator (CAC)

105, 107Communications Alliance 129, 133communications apps

in use 83use of 71, 72–3, 83

Communications Compliance (CommCom) 133communications industry, mergers and acquisitions

59communications services

consumer satisfaction 84–5used 72–3

Part 3

Index

159

community radio broadcasting licences 29–30

community television broadcasting licences 29

compensation payments, Customer Service Guarantee Standard 7, 10, 113, 121

complaints

handling 130, 131–2

interactive gambling 138

mobile base stations 142–3

National Broadband Network (NBN) 1, 7, 113, 139

optical fibre deployment 135

powers and immunities complaints 143

spam 13, 137

to Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman 1, 7, 13, 20, 113, 139–41

telemarketing 7, 13, 113, 136, 137

compliance

cabling 135

Customer Service Guarantee Standard 118–22


interception capability plan 107

levies and payments 114–15

NBN consumer regulations 130–2

notification of changes of control 31–2

Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code 133

computers, internet access 6, 76–7

Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technology 53

connections 119–20

priority assistance 126

consumer engagement with communications 70–97

consumer regulations, compliance with NBN 130–2

consumer safeguards 7, 112–44

review 132

consumer satisfaction 84–5

copper network switch-off 16

Coral Sea Cable System 5, 25

Crosby Textor Research Strategies Results Pty Ltd 109

cross-media ownership 36

CSIRO 54, 56

customer information disclosures 101, 105–7

customer service chat bots 56

Customer Service Guarantee Standard 113, 118


benchmark performance 7, 118–21

compensation payments 7, 10, 113, 121

compliance 118–22

connections 121

exceptions 122

fault repairs 120–1

in-place connections 119–20, 121

new service connections 119–20

qualifying carriage service providers (QCSPs) 118

services subject to 113

telephone services covered by 7, 10

time frames 118–19

waivers 119

Ddata allowances 71, 79

data analysis 146

data downloaded 1, 4, 6, 11, 71, 78

data plans 79

data privacy 45

data speeds, consumer satisfaction 85

Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 56

Dense Air Limited 22

Department of Communications and the Arts 4, 18, 132, 143

Department of Home Affairs 105, 106, 107

Department of Industry, Innovation and Science 6, 56

Department of Primary Industries, NSW 54

Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland 53

desktop computers, internet access 76–7

digital media players, internet access 77

digital platforms, inquiry into 45

digital radio 7, 86–7

Digital Technologies &Telecommunications Pty Ltd 133

disclosures of customer information 8, 13, 101, 105–7

Disney+ 43

Do Not Call Register Act 2006 136

Do Not Call Register (DNCR) 136

DOCSIS 3.1 4, 18

DOCSIS 4 18


Dodo


compensation payments 121



in-place connections 120, 121

new service connections 120, 121

as qualifying carriage service providers (QCSPs) 118

Dodo Services Pty Ltd 127, 131

domain names registrations 5, 44

Draft spectrum reallocation recommendation for the 26 GHz band in cities and regional centres 23

Ee-reader, internet access 77

earth stations in motion (ESIM) 6, 58

email 72, 80

embedded universal integrated circuit cards (eUICCs) 57

emergency call services 102–3

106 text emergency service 103–4

112 emergency calls 102–3

disclosures of customer information to 106

non-emergency calls 102

number of calls offered 8, 13, 103

percentage of calls answered 8, 13

teletypewriters (TTY) 103–4

Triple Zero calls 102–3

emergency calls

answering 102

genuine 102–3

and Global Positioning System (GPS) information 104

from mobile phones 102, 103

non-emergency 102

from payphones 102, 103

transfers 102–3

via National Relay Service (NRS) 103–4

volumes 102–3

emergency service organisations (ESO) 102

Engin Pty Ltd 131

Enterprise Ethernet product 18

Enterprise Marketing & Research Services Pty Ltd 109

Ericsson 48, 54

eSIMs 57

eSports 6, 55, 97

exceptions, Customer Service Guarantee Standard 122

executive summary 4–8

Exetel Pty Ltd 127, 131

FFacebook 45

Facebook Messenger 83

FaceTime 83

facility installation complaints 141

Fairfax Media Ltd 32, 36, 59

fault repairs



payphones 117


fax marketing 137

Fax Marketing Industry Standard 2011 136

Fetch on Optus 92

Fetch TV 92–3, 96

fibre to the curb (FTTC) 18

fibre-to-the-node/building/curb (FTTN/B/C) 17

fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) 17

Five-year spectrum outlook 2018–22 22

fixed-broadband subscriptions 43–4

fixed internet services 41

fixed internet subscribers 42

fixed-line broadband, data downloaded 11, 78

fixed-line phone services

access to 38

calls from 71, 72–3


Network Reliability Framework (NRF) 123–5

in operation 5, 9, 15, 37

reliability 123–5

replaced by NBN 16

shift away from 4, 6, 10

Telstra retail only 37

users 10

via NBN 75

fixed wireless services 17, 42

Flip TV Pty Ltd 131, 132

foodtech 54

foreign stakeholders, notifications by 32

Part 3

Index

161

Foxtel 43

devices used 97

time spent viewing 93–4

used 92–3

viewer profile 94–5

Foxtel Management Pty Ltd 127, 131, 136

Foxtel Now 43, 92

free-to-air television see television

freephone and local rate numbers (FLRNs), portability 12, 128

Future use of the 26 GHz band—planning decisions and preliminary views 23

Fuzenet Pty Ltd 131

Ggambling

interactive 138

online 80, 82

games consoles

internet access 77

streaming video content 96

games online

cloud 2, 6, 54–5

playing 11, 80, 94, 96

geographic number allocations 27–8

G.fast 18

glossary 147–56

G.mgfast 18

Google 45

Google Chromecast 96

Google Play 87–8, 92

Grant Broadcasters Pty Ltd 32, 33, 34

HHandling of Life Threatening and Unwelcome

Communications Code 110

Hans Torv, Maria Mann, Kaia Torv and Torv Nominees Pty Limited 32

Harris, Geoffrey Mark 109

health 52–3

Hivint Pty Ltd 59

home broadband connections 12, 75, 76

home, smart 52

Hot Tomato Australia Pty Ltd 32

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts 22

Huawei 50

Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) 4, 17, 18

Iidentity checking 107

iHeart Radio 88

iiNet




exceptions 122





waivers 119

iiNet Ltd 131

in-flight communication 58

in-place connections 119–20, 121

Indigo Central 5, 24

Indigo Consortium 24

Indigo West 5, 24

Industry Number Management Services 128

infrastructure

developments 4

internet of things (IoT) 51–8

mobile networks 20–4

National Broadband Network (NBN) 16–20

submarine cables 5, 24–5

infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) 5, 54

Innovation Central Sydney 54

Installation Requirements for Customer Cabling 135


compliance 108

number of connected records 101, 108

regulations 109

role of 108

scheme 109

Intelico Pty Ltd 131

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) 61

Interactive Gambling Act 2001 138

Interactive Gambling Amendment (Lottery Betting) Act 2018 138

interception 107

capability 107

capability plan compliance 107

providing assistance 105

International best practice for unsolicited communications 138


international trends

5G network developments 50–1

fixed and mobile broadband 43–4

internet, domain names registrations 44

internet access

connectivity 5, 6, 12, 75

home 12, 75

home broadband 12, 76

mobile-only for data 10, 71, 74

unlimited data plans 79

via computers 76–7

via digital media players 77

via e-reader 77

via games consoles 77

via laptop computers 6, 71, 76–7

via mobile phones 5, 9, 12, 15, 42–3, 71, 75, 76–7

via mp3 players 77

via NBN 42, 75

via tablets 71, 76–7

via television 77

via video recorders 77

via voice-enabled devices 78

internet access devices

frequency of use 76–7

number used 76–7

type used 6, 71, 76–7

Internet Activity Report 20

internet domain names registrations 5

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) 52–3

internet of things (IoT) 2, 4, 15, 23–4, 51–8

internet service providers (ISPs), numbers 41

internet services

complaints 139, 140


in-flight communication 58

in operation 41

speeds 48

type 42

internet subscribers

mobile phone 5, 9, 15, 42–3

mobile wireless internet 9, 42–3

numbers 5, 15, 41–3

by technology type 9, 42–3

internet use

activities performed online 80–2

data downloaded 1, 4, 6, 11, 71, 78

frequency of use 75

mobile-only 6, 9, 10, 71, 74

numbers 1, 71, 76

numbers offline 76

internet video see online video content

Internode Pty Ltd 131

investigations, priority assistance 127

iPrimus




iSelect Pty Ltd 136

iTunes 88, 93

iView 90

JJapan Guam Australia South Cable 5, 24

KKayo Sports 43, 92

KEB Hana Bank 57

key highlights 4

key indicators 9–13

KT and LG Uplus 57

Ku-band satellites 6, 58

LLake Macquarie City Council 51

land access objections 141

landline phone services, complaints 139, 140

laptop computers, internet access 6, 71, 76–7

law enforcement 13, 105

Lead My Way Pty Ltd 136

legislation 3

letter of transmittal iii

levies 114–15

LG 50

licences

broadcasting 12, 29–30

cablers 135

carriers 5, 10, 15, 26–7

commercial broadcasting 29–30

commercial radio broadcasting 12, 29, 33–4

commercial television broadcasting 12, 29

community radio broadcasting 29–30

community television broadcasting licences 29

Part 3

Index

163


local presence obligation 35

non-trigger-event affected licensees 33


spectrum 1

subscription television 12

temporary community radio broadcasting 29

trigger events 33, 35

life-threatening calls 110

line rental costs, consumer satisfaction 84–5

Local Directories Pty Ltd 109

local number portability 12, 128

Local Phone Book Company Pty Ltd 109

LoRa Technology 24

LoRaWAN (long-range wide area network) 23, 24, 51

lottery activities 80, 82

LPWAN (low-power wide area network) 23

LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) technology 24

LTE Cat-M1 23–4

MM2 Commander Pty Ltd 131

machine-to-machine (M2M) communications 39

Macquarie Media Limited 32, 33, 34, 36, 59

market convergence 46

market developments 5–6, 46–59

Mate Communicate Pty Ltd 132

Measuring Broadband Australia 20

media ownership 36

legislation amendments 32

mergers and acquisitions 50, 59

messages, using communications apps 72, 83

messaging/calling apps 72

Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts 3, 23, 115, 138

mobile base stations 1, 4

complaints 142–3

Mobile Black Spot Program 1, 4, 20–1

mobile-broadband subscriptions 39, 43–4

Mobile Carriers Forum 142

mobile data allowances 79

mobile internet subscribers 5, 9, 15, 42–3

Mobile JV 22

Mobile Nation 2019 50

mobile network codes 28

mobile networks 20–4

mobile numbers

allocation 28

portability 12, 128

Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code 21, 129, 142

mobile phone base stations 7, 15, 21

mobile phone internet

access 12, 71, 75, 76–7

average download per subscriber 11

data allowances 71, 79

data downloaded 11, 78

only use 6, 9, 10, 74

speeds 48

subscribers 5, 9, 15, 42–3

use of 6, 76–7

mobile phone services

complaints 139, 140

consumer satisfaction 84

identity checking for prepaid 107

mobile phones

blockchain technology 57

calls from 72

communications apps 71, 72

consumer satisfaction 84

coverage 20–1

emergency calls from 102, 103

and no fixed-line phone 4, 6, 10

only use for data 10, 71, 74

only use for voice 4, 10, 71, 74

payment plans 40

smartphones 5, 10, 15, 39–40

text messages from 72

use of 15, 39–40

see also mobile phone internet

mobile services

4G 20–1

access to 39

carrier market share 38

number in operation 9, 39

postpaid 39, 40

prepaid 39, 40, 107

product category 39

mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) 39

mobile wireless internet 9, 42, 43

motorways 53

mp3 players, internet access 77

multi-access edge computing (mec) 54

Murdoch, Lachlan 36


music streaming services 71, 87–8

My Net Fone Pty Ltd 131, 132

MyRepublic Pty Ltd 127, 131, 133

NNational Broadband Network (NBN)

activations 15

complaints 1, 7, 113, 139

compliance with consumer regulations 130–2

connections 1, 4, 5, 76

consumer rules 129

data downloaded 78

deployment progress 19

developments 18

infrastructure 16–20

policy developments 129

premises activated 4, 15, 19

premises ready to connect 19

reports on 19–20

research 19

technologies 16–18

underserved areas 18

National Data Advisory Council 45

National Digital Health Agency (NDHA) 52

National Farmers’ Federation 54

national interest issues 8, 13, 100–11

National Relay Service (NRS) 103–4

106 TTY (teletypewriter) text service 103–4

app services 104

national security 105

NB-IoT 23–4

NBN Co Limited 4, 16, 18, 19, 20

Wholesale Broadband Agreement 122

NBN Ltd 33

Netflix 43, 92–3

network access 26–8



news

accessing online 82

on social media 82

sources for 82

via television 82

news sites, accessed 11

newspapers


notification of changes of control 32

Next-Generation Broadband Systems Deployment in Customer Cabling code 129

Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited 30–1, 32, 36, 59

nominated carrier declarations (NCDs) 26–7

Notable Imprint Pty Ltd 109

notification of changes of control 30–2, 33–4

Nova Entertainment Pty Ltd 33, 34, 36

NSW Farmers Association 54

NSW Government 53

number allocations 5, 27–8

number portability 12, 128

freephone and local-rate number (FLRN) 12, 128

local numbers 12, 128

mobile numbers 12, 128

Numbering System 27

OOfcom 57

Office of the National Data Commissioner (ONDC) 45

Office of the eSafety Commissioner 105, 106

offline Australians 76

O’Loughlin, Nerida 1–2

online activities 80–2

online advertising 1, 15, 61–2

online audio 71, 80–1, 87–8

online gambling 80, 82

online music services 71, 87–8

online news services 11

online radio 87

online shopping 80

online usage see internet use

online video content 6–7

access to 6–7, 95–6

accessing 11

catch-up services 90, 93–5

devices used 96–7

pay-per-view 91–-3, 95–7


user-generated 11


viewing 96–7

see also subscription video on demand (SVOD)

online video services

devices used 96–7

use of 95–6

Part 3

Index

165

Oppo 50

optical fibre deployment 135

Optus

3G networks 20

4G networks 20–1

5G networks 21, 50





eSIMs 57

exceptions 122



in-place connections 121

mobile base stations 142

Mobile Black Spot Program 20–1

NB-IoT 24


public consultations 142–3


Optus TV 92

outdoor advertising 60–1

over-the-top (OTT) content 5, 54

Oz Talk Communications Pty Ltd 131

Pparking 51

pay-per-view online video content 91–-3, 95–7

pay TV see subscription television

payphones 10, 25, 113, 115–17

emergency calls from 102

fault repairs 117

numbers 113, 115

for people with disability 117

sites 115–17

teletypewriters 117

Peak Connect Pty Ltd 133

people with disability, payphones for 117

Perceptive Communications Pty Ltd 109

performance, Network Reliability Framework (NRF) 123–5

PIPE Networks, public consultations 142–3

playing games 11, 80, 94, 96

podcasts 1, 6–7, 88

police 110

powers and immunities complaints 143

Powers and Immunities Reference Group (PIRG) 143

PowerTel Limited 108

predictive maintenance 56

prepaid mobile carriage services 107

Prime Media Group Ltd 30–1

Prime Television 33

Primus Telecommunications Pty Ltd 108, 131, 136

print media, advertising 60–1


privacy 45


public–private partnerships 54

QQantas 58

RRacing Internet Services Pty Ltd 31

radio

advertising 62–3

digital 7, 86–7

listening to 6–7, 86–7

local information on 35

for news 82

online usage 71, 86–7

ownership and control of commercial 33–4

trigger events 35

see also audio streaming

radio licences

commercial broadcasting 12, 29, 33–4

community broadcasting 29–30

local presence obligation 35


temporary community broadcasting 29

trigger events 35

Radiocommunications (Intelligent Transport Systems) Standard 2018 5, 53

Radiocommunications (Spectrum Re-allocation—26 GHz Band) Declaration 2019 23

Red Telecom Pty Ltd 133

Redwave Media Ltd 34

reform in regional 33

Regional Telecommunications Review 2018 21

Register of Foreign Owners of Media Assets 32

registered cablers 135

reliability, fixed-line hone services network 123–5


remote areas

Customer Service Guarantee Standard 120

fault repairs 120


payphones 116


research methodology 145–6

Resonate Broadcasters Pty Ltd 34

Resonate Regional Radio Pty Limited 34

revenue 1

Roy Morgan Single Source survey 145–6

rural areas


fault repairs 120


payphones 116


SSamsung 50

Samsung Electronics 57

satellite internet 39, 42

satellites 6, 58

SBS on-Demand 90

Scam Technology Project 138

security 45

Sennaar 56

service costs, consumer satisfaction 84–5

service reliability, consumer satisfaction 84–5

services, supply of 37–45

Seven Group Holdings Ltd 30–1, 34, 36

Seven Qld 33

Seven West Media 56

shopping online 80

Sigfox 23, 24

SIM cards 57

Simply NBN Pty Ltd 131, 132

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd 59

Singtel Optus Pty Ltd 108, 131, 133

SK Telecom 57

Sky Muster Satellite 17

Skymesh Pty Ltd 127

Skype 83

smart cities 24, 51–2

Smart Cities Plan 51

smart devices 78

smart-home products 78

smart homes 52

smart motorways 53

smart technologies 51–8

smart televisions 77, 78, 96

smartnumbers 27

smartphones

ownership 5, 10, 15, 39–40

see also mobile phone internet

social media 72

as source of news 82

Social Research Centre 145

software-as-a-service (SaaS) 54

South Korea 50

Southern Cross Media Group Limited 30–1, 33, 34, 36

Southern Phone Company Limited 59, 127

spam 13, 137

Spam Act 2003 136

spectrum auctions 1, 22

Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) 56

spectrum developments 22–3

spectrum management 56

speech and voice services 56

Spintel Pty Ltd 127, 131

Spotify 87–8

Sprint 50

Stan 92–3

streaming devices 96–7

streaming music services see audio streaming

streaming radio services 71, 87–8

streaming video on demand (SVOD) 43, 91–3

submarine cables 5, 24–5

subscription television

number of services 43, 91

streaming video on demand (SVOD) 91–3


used 7, 91, 93–5


subscription television licences, numbers 12, 29

subscription video on demand (SVOD) 7, 43, 91–3

Sumo Power Pty Ltd 136

Sunshine Coast Council 51

supply of services 37–45

surveys, ACMA-commissioned 145–6

Symbio Networks Pty Ltd 108

Part 3

Index

167

TT-Mobile 50

tablets, internet access 71, 76–7

Tangerine Telecom Pty Limited 131

Tasmanian State Government 51

technical support, consumer satisfaction 85

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) 57

telecommunication services 9–12

Telecommunications Act 1997 3, 8, 14, 70, 84, 101, 103, 105, 106, 108, 112, 127, 129, 135, 142, 143

Telecommunications Cabling Provider Rules 2014 135

Telecommunications Code of Practice 2018 143

telecommunications codes

development and review 129

see also specific codes such as Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code

Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 129, 130, 131–2

Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018 129, 130

Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 114, 115, 141

Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code

industry compliance 133

revision 128, 133

Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee–Retail Performance Benchmarks) Instrument (No. 1) 2011 118

Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011 118

see also Customer Service Guarantee Standard

Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2009 102

Telecommunications in Australia: Report on interception and disclosures 2018–19 3

telecommunications industry levy (TIL) 114–15

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)

complaints to 1, 7, 13, 113, 139–41

disclosures of customer information to 105–6

facility installation 141

handling of life-threatening and unwelcome calls 110

land access objections 141

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme

compliance 140

members 10

membership 26, 141

Telecommunications Integrated Public Number Database Scheme 2017 109

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 100, 101, 106, 107

telecommunications licences, cablers 135

Telecommunications (NBN Consumer Information) Industry Standard 2018 129, 130, 132

Telecommunications (NBN Continuity of Service) Industry Standard 2018 129, 130

Telecommunications (Service Provider – Identity Checks for Prepaid Mobile Carriage Services) Determination 2017 107

Telecommunications Service Provider (NBN Service Migration) Determination 2018 129, 130

telecommunications services see communications services

Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017 136

Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Payphone Performance Benchmarks) Instrument (No. 1) 2011 116

telemarketing, complaints 7, 13, 113, 136, 137

telephone number allocations 5, 27–8

teletypewriters

emergency call service numbers 103–4

payphones 117

television

advertising 62–3

broadcast video on demand (BVOD) 90

catch-up services 90

free-to-air viewing 7, 89, 93–4, 97

local information on 33

for news 82

non-trigger-event affected licensees 33

online usage 96–7

ownership and control 30–2

reform in regional 33

streaming services 43, 91–3


trigger events 33


viewing 1, 4, 7, 71, 95–7

see also online video content; smart televisions; subscription television; subscription video on demand (SVOD)


television licences

commercial broadcasting 12, 36

community broadcasting 29


television streaming devices 96–7

Telstra 22

3G networks 4, 20

4G networks 20–1

5G edge computing 54

5G networks 21, 50


cable runs 124



copper network 16


emergency call services 8, 102–3

emergency calls 101, 102–3

eSIMs 57

exceptions 122



fixed-line phone services 37


internet of things (IoT) 23–4, 51




NB-IoT 23–4

NBN consumer regulations 131



payphones 10, 25, 113, 115–17




Smart City partnership 51

Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code 133

universal service obligation (USO) 25

Telstra TV 92, 96

Telsyte 23

temporary community radio broadcasting licences 29

Ten Network Holdings Ltd 30–1

TenPlay 90

Think TV 90

Thinxtra 24

time frames 118–19

TIO see Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)

Tom Simpson Park, Mullaloo 51–2

TPG

4G networks 50

5G networks 21–2



waivers 119

TPG Internet Pty Ltd 127, 131

TPG Telecom Ltd 59

TransACT Capital Communications Pty Ltd 108

TransACT Communications Pty Limited 108

transport technology 5, 53

Triple Zero calls 8, 13, 101, 102–3

non-emergency calls 102

service disruption 103

via National Relay Service (NRS) 103–4

Tunein 88

Uunified-communications-as-aservice (UCaaS)

54

United Kingdom 51

United States 50

universal service obligation (USO)

levies and payments 114–15

payphones 25

University of NSW 54

University of Tasmania 51

Unsolicited calls in Australia: Consumer research 138

unsolicited communications 136–8

Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network (UCENet) 138

unwelcome calls 110

urban areas


fault repairs 120


payphones 116


user-generated content 11

Part 3

Index

169

VV Marketing Pty Ltd 136

V4 Telecom Pty Ltd 127, 132, 133

Veda Advantage Limited 109

vehicles 5, 53

Verizon 50

vertical integration 46

Victorian Government 53

video calls, using communications apps 83

video content 80–1

access and engagement 6–7, 89–97

devices used 96–7

engagement 71

see also online video content

video on demand see subscription video on demand (SVOD)

video recorders, internet access 77

video streaming services see online video content; subscription video on demand (SVOD)

Virgin Australia 58

Vividwireless Pty Ltd 131

Vocal Channels Pty Ltd 133

Vocus Communications 41, 122

Vodafone

3G networks 20

4G networks 20–1

5G networks 21–2, 50


eSIMs 57



NB-IoT 24


Vodafone Australia Pty Ltd 108

Vodafone Hutchinson Australia Pty Ltd 50, 59, 131, 133

voice calls

fixed-line phones 72–3

mobile only 10, 71, 74

quality of 84–5

using communications apps 72, 83

voice-enabled devices 78

voice services 56

Wwaivers, Customer Service Guarantee

Standard 119

wearable devices 52–3, 78

Westnet Pty Ltd 131

WhatsApp 83

Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA) 122

WIN Corporation Pty Ltd 30–1, 36

WIN TV 33

wireless broadband, data downloaded 11, 78

wireless internet 16, 42–3

Woori Bank 57

working from home 80

YYouTube 92–3

YouTube Premium 43, 92

acma.gov.au