Overview
The sector is one of the fastest growing and dynamic sectors of the
economy.
New technologies are sweeping the globe, led in large part by the
widespread take up of
the internet. As the
first Government monopoly market in
competition, it has been the testing ground for much of
successive Government’s
competition reform proposals.
Key issues for the sector include regulation and the application,
compatibility and
utilization of new technologies.
The
infrastructure for fixed and wireless telecommunications services is among the
newest and most rapidly expanding of all of the sectors in
The introduction of digital television has seen a significant upgrade
and replacement of
broadcast television transmission equipment and associated
links for program content.
Continued investment and the deployment of digital technology can be
expected.
The impact of the introduction of recent and future waves of technology
is uncertain and
carries significant commercial risk. There is potential for
the earlier investment in
2001 Report Card Telecommunications 91
technologies to be wasted through redundancy. Additionally,
there is the risk that services
and technologies will be introduced that are industry not
market driven, with no economic
market for them.
Environmental
issues related to telecommunications play a vital role .They include
Sifting of radio communication facilities, namely mobile telephone and
microwave
towers. These are often required to be placed in prominent
positions to provide
adequate radio coverage and/or line of sight to the antenna.
This is a problem in both
the public and non-public telecommunication sectors;
Radiation from mobile telephones and base stations, which is the subject
of ongoing
research and debate;
The visible presence of cabling. Pay television cabling in
particular is often run on
overhead power distribution poles; and
The majority of telecommunications cable plant is installed underground
and therefore
has a low environmental impact.
Some
socio economic factors include
Telecommunications
access to
for some time (Time Running Out, May 2001).
These issues are being addressed by the Federal Government and require
subsidization
of carriers to provide services such as reasonable bandwidth
access to the internet, and
satisfactory mobile telephone coverage.
Another issue that needs to be resolved, is the appropriate and cost
effective sharing of
the Customer Access Network.
The majority of this network is copper cable plant owned by Telstra.
Access by other
carriers is subjected to negotiations and determination by
the ACCC.
The Systems
The Public System
Telecommunications infrastructure consists of several different forms of
communications
network as well as the equipment and structures needed to
provide telecommunications
services. The main infrastructure is illustrated and summarized
below.
Wired Systems
These consist of:
These consist of:
orbiting system such
as Globalstar.
Switching systems comprise equipment and facilities for switching and
connection of
voice and data services between customers. The
infrastructure varies in size from rural
telephone exchanges for a few lines to major city exchange
sites.
The transmission network provides the interconnection between the
switching systems
and connections to facilities such as data centers and
mobile telephone base stations.
The network infrastructure includes the transmission equipment and
interconnecting
cable and radio systems, and provides the backbone
communication links to mobile
telephone base stations.
The transmission network also
includes the infrastructure to connect
of the world.
Five major fiber optic cables which provide the majority of the
bandwidth; and
Five satellite systems that have coverage footprints over
The Non-Public System
Wide
area data network services have been implemented by agencies such
as health services and educational institutions on the basis
of providing services at a
lower cost than can be provided by the public
telecommunication carriers.
The systems range from current “state of the art” Asynchronous
Transmission Mode
digital networks such as ATM to rural telephone systems
using open wire (overhead) pole
lines.
The infrastructure includes:
2001 Report Card Telecommunications 88
Examples
of systems implemented are those operated by electricity transmission
authorities throughout
telecommunications network.
Key Statistics
The telecommunications industry is a significant contributor to the
national economy. The
annual revenue is in the order of $36 billion, which
represents 5.5% of
Domestic Product.
Annual investment in telecommunication infrastructure is approximately
$5 billion.
Industry growth is approximately 13% per annum.
2001 Report Card Telecommunications 89
|
Carriers/Services |
Numbers |
|
Number of Licensed Carriers |
71 |
|
Major Information Service Providers |
47 |
|
Number of major owner/operators of
carrier infrastructure |
6 |
|
Basic telephone lines in service |
10.7 million |
|
ISDN lines in service |
> 1 million |
|
mobile telephones |
> 9 million |
|
pay telephones |
80000 |
|
Number of internet connected households |
2.2 million |
|
Number of customers connected to pay
television cable |
900000 |
|
Infrastructure |
|
|
Fiber optic cable (Telstra) |
3.1 million Km |
|
Exchanges local connections
(Telstra)· |
> 1300 |
|
Mobile telephone base stations |
> 9000 |
Sources: (ATUG, Telstra, Optus, Vodafone)