The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is reviewing the price control arrangements that apply to Telstra and which are due to expire on 30 June 2005.
"The current price control arrangements specify maximum prices Telstra can charge, on average, for fixed line telephony services, including line rental and local calls," an ACCC Commissioner, Mr Ed Willett, said today. "Within these maximum average prices Telstra is free to set its own charges for certain consumers – such as business, residential, metropolitan, rural communities or pensioners".
The ACCC will review:
- the price cap that allows Telstra to increase line rentals each year
- the price cap requiring price reductions in a basket of local, fixed-to-mobile and domestic and international long-distance calls
- the requirement on Telstra to cap calls at 22 cents per call (40c from a public payphone) and
- the local call parity requirement which means Telstra must ensure its customers in non-metropolitan areas pay broadly the same price for untimed local calls as those in metropolitan areas.
The ACCC is holding a public hearing for the review in Darwin on Thursday 2 September at 2.30 pm The meeting will be held at the Mirambeena Tourist Resort in the Bilioara Room, 64 Cavenagh Street, Darwin.
"I encourage you to come along and have your say on this important issue".