Bis Shrapnel reports to ACCC on growth of investment and competition in telecommunications

"Infrastructure competition is growing across the Australian telecommunications market, with some of the highest levels of new investment occurring in the sectors where competition is bolstered by regulation", Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Acting Chairman, Mr Sitesh Bhojani, said today.

This follows issuing of a report Telecommunication Infrastructures in Australia 2001 prepared for the ACCC by BIS Shrapnel. It is the first comprehensive survey of telecommunications infrastructure deployment since deregulation in 1997.

"To date the debate about the strength of facilities based competition has been framed largely by assertions", Mr Bhojani said. "This report puts many of those assertions to the test. "Contrary to claims frequently made by Telstra, one of the key messages of the report is that increased competition in the industry has been accompanied by greater investment in telecommunications infrastructure.

"Extensive new infrastructure has been installed in CBD areas of the capital cities and the major inter-capital transmission links. In addition, several new companies are focusing on the installation of local networks and transmission links in regional Australia using a range of technologies".

The report reveals that several carriers have deployed, or are deploying, fibre optic, xDSL, microwave and advanced broadband wireless (LMDS and MMDS) local access networks (see table attached). It also reveals that carriers other than Telstra account for over 30 per cent of CBD buildings wired with fibre optic cable.

"Around the parts of Telstra's fixed network subject to access regulation, such as the local loop, both Telstra and other operators are investing billions of dollars in infrastructure. A total of 12 carriers, including Telstra, are investing in fixed broadband xDSL infrastructure, with planned investment totalling at least $1.9 billion between 2001 and 2003.

"In the mobiles market, competing carriers have made investments in current networks of around $8 billion, with further investments being committed to 3G networks. "The growing demand for telecommunications services has created many opportunities for new market participants and technologies to emerge".

Between 1997 and 2000 the number of households connected to the Internet increased from 500,000 to 2.7 million. Over the same period mobile subscribers grew from 5.2 million to 10.2 million. "Despite the growth of facilities competition, Telstra continues to be dominant in most market segments demanding a continuing role for the ACCC in ensuring competition is nurtured and sustained".

Background

The BIS Shrapnel report Telecommunication Infrastructures in Australia 2001 details telecommunication technologies, market participants, capital expenditure, stage of rollout, planned coverage and issues surrounding investment in infrastructure. Information presented in the report derives from research by BIS Shrapnel and a survey of more than 50 telecommunications carriers in Australia.

The report was commissioned by the ACCC to address the absence of reliable and up-to-date information on investment and competition in the Australian telecommunications market. It is expected to be a valuable reference for industry participants and commentators and aid the ACCC in conducting its regulatory activities in the telecommunications market.

The ACCC intends to commission regular updates of the report to keep track of ongoing infrastructure development in the telecommunications industry.

Local Access Network Operator Overview

 

 

Technology	Operator	Launch	Coverage
PSTN Copper	Telstra	Since 1900	Nationwide (99.5% of population covered)
PSTN Copper	TransACT	1999	A local network in Canberra
DSL	AAPT	2001	CBDs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane(c), Adelaide(c), Perth(c) and Hobart(c) 60 Metro cities (2002/3)
DSL	Agile	2001	CBD areas in Adelaide
DSL	C&W Optus (XYZed)	2000	6 CBDs (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth)
DSL	Davnet	Late 2000	CBDs in Melbourne and Sydney
DSL	Ecom	2001	CBD and metro areas in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (constructing)
DSL	Flowcom	2001/02	Metro areas in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth (planning)
DSL	IiNet	Reseller	iiNet is currently reselling Telstra’s ADSL service
DSL	Macquarie	2001	CBD areas in Melbourne and Sydney
DSL	Netcomm	2002	Metro areas in Melbourne and Sydney (Planning)
DSL	One.Tel	2001	Metro areas in Sydney and Melbourne (planning for Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane)
DSL	Pacnet	Reseller	Pacnet is currently reselling Telstra’s ADSL service
DSL	Pahth	2002	Perth CBD (2001/2)
DSL	Primus	Early 2001	CBDs in Melbourne and Sydney
DSL	Qala	2002	CBD areas in Sydney and Melbourne (planning)
DSL	RequestDSL	Late 2000	Metro areas in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide
DSL	Telstra	1999	Urban areas in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Hobart, Toowoomba, Launceston and Bunbury (40 regional towns)
DSL	TransACT	Early 2001	Canberra Metro and Urban areas
Optic Fibre	AAPT		6 CBDs (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) 3 rural cities in Victoria (2002)
Optic Fibre	Agile	2000	Adelaide CBD
Optic Fibre	Amcom (Fibertel)	1998	4 CBDs (Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Hobart) 30 cities excluding Melbourne & Sydney in 2003
Optic Fibre	C&W Optus	1993	9 CBDs (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Hobart and Launceston)
Optic Fibre	Davnet	1999	4 CBDs (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth) Others CBDs (Hobart and Adelaide) in 2003
Optic Fibre	Ipera	2000	Newcastle Metro
Optic Fibre	PowerTel	1999	CBDs (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Canberra(p) and Newcastle(p))
Optic Fibre	Primus	2000	CBDs in Melbourne and Sydney
Optic Fibre	Smart Radio System	2000	Cooma
Optic Fibre	Swiftel	2000	Perth CBD
Optic Fibre	Telstra	1990	CBD in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart
Optic Fibre	TransACT	1999	Canberra Metro
Optic Fibre	Ue Comm	1999	CBDs (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth)
Optic Fibre	WorldCom	2000	Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD
HFC	Austar (Windytide)	1999	Darwin
HFC	C&W Optus	1995	Metro and Urban areas in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
HFC	Neighbourhood Cable	1999	Mildura, Ballarat, Bendigo(c) and Albury-Wodonga(c)
HFC	Telstra	1995	6 Metro and Urban areas (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth)
HFC	West Coast Radio (iiNet)	2000	Perth (Ellenbrook area)
Cellular	AAPT	2001 (terminated)	Network deployment was terminated in 2001
Cellular	Hutchison	2000	Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide
Cellular	One.Tel	2001 (terminated)	Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide
Cellular	C&W Optus	1993	Nationwide (94% of population covered)
Cellular	Telstra	1987	Nationwide (96% of population covered)
Cellular	Vodafone	1993	Nationwide (93% of population covered and 100% coverage with Globastar Satellites)
LMDS	AAPT	Early 2001	6 CBDs (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) 3 rural cities in Victoria (2002)
LMDS/MMDS	AUSTAR	2001	Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth (planning)
LMDS	C&W Optus (XYZed formerly Agility)	2001	CBD areas (where complimentary to its DSL and fibre coverage) in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart
LMDS/MMDS	Akal	2001	Metro areas and regional Australia (planning)
Microwave	AAPT	1998	CBD and metro areas in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra
Microwave	Airnet	1999	A small network in Adelaide
Microwave	Agile	2000	Adelaide and regional areas in SA
Microwave	BushTel	2000	Rural and remote areas
Microwave	Datafast	2000	Melbourne CBD
Microwave	Davnet	1999	CBD and metro areas in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane
Microwave	Netcare (Paladin Resources)	2000	Perth
Microwave	ntl Telecom	2000	Providing regional access in country VIC and NSW
Microwave	OMNI connect		Melbourne CBD
Microwave	Pulsat	2000	Metro areas in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane
Microwave	Third Rail (AMX Resources)	2001	Tamworth
Satellite	C&W Optus	Since 1992	Rural and remote areas in Australia
Satellite	Austar	1999	Regional areas in Australia
Satellite	Bincom		Rural areas in Perth
Satellite	Heartland	2000	Rural and remote areas

c = constructing p = planning

Note:

Not all of the operators listed above have succeeded in rolling out their networks. Some operators like Heartland, Cellular One/AAPT and One.Tel have delayed or terminated their network rollouts.