Communications Update July 2005
03 August 2005- Crimes Legislation Amendment Act
- Hutchison 3G carrier—access denied
- Former WorldCom chief executive jailed for fraud
- ACMA releases experimental radio frequency licence
- ACMA proposes array of new phone number ranges
- Coonan responds to telecommunications situation in bush
- ACIF considers single consumer code
- New regulation of premium mobile services
- Macquarie Bank to remedy breach of radio licence controls
- Package of initiatives to address phone tower installation concerns
- Increased coverage for Optus Wireless Connect customers
- Vodafone suspends mobile chat rooms
- Telstra 3GSM network up and running for trial
Legislation
Crimes Legislation Amendment Act
On 6 July 2005, the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Telecommunications Interception and Other Measures) Act 2005 (Act) was passed.
The Act extends the circumstances in which communications may be intercepted without a warrant by establishing a regime for the lawful interception of telecommunications by law enforcement agencies.
A copy of the Act is available at the Parliament of Australia website.
Cases
Hutchison 3G carrier—access denied
On 5 July 2005, the Supreme Court of South Australia Full Court (court) passed judgment in Hutchison 3G Australia Pty Ltd v City of Mitcham [2005] SASC 249.
Hutchison 3G Australia Pty Ltd (Hutchinson) applied to the City of Mitcham (council) to gain provisional development plan consent to enable the construction of a mobile tower upon a parcel of land owned by the University of Adelaide.
The Telecommunications Act 1997 (Act) does not require development consent to install a low-impact facility provided certain conditions are met. Whether or not a facility is considered low-impact is determined under the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 1997.
The Environment Resources and Development Court (ERD) dismissed Hutchinson’s application.
On appeal to the Supreme Court, Hutchinson submitted that the ERD had found a need for a telecommunications facility in the Mitcham area.
Hutchinson also argued that while the ERD defined the locality with reference to the visual impact of the tower, such an approach would make it ‘very difficult’ to obtain development consent anywhere due to the inevitable adverse aesthetic impact of the tower.
The court dismissed the appeal on the grounds that it had been proper for the ERD to ‘consider if there were alternative locations or sites’ and ‘consider if the need could be met by low-impact facilities’. In addition, Hutchinson had not taken adequate steps to minimise the visual impact of the tower upon the locality.
A copy of the decision is available from the court’s website.
Former WorldCom chief executive jailed for fraud
On 14 July 2005, former WorldCom chief executive Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in jail for his part in the US$11 billion fraud at the telecommunications provider.
Being the largest United States corporate fraud, US District Judge Barbara Jones stated, ‘A sentence of anything less would not reflect the seriousness of the crime’.
WorldCom, which failed for bankruptcy in 2002, now operates under MCI Inc.
Further detail is available at the US District Courts website.
Regulatory developments
ACMA releases experimental radio frequency licence
On 15 July 2005, the Australian Communications and Media Authority announced that it had issued an experimental apparatus licence (licence) to radio frequency identification standards body GSI.
The licence has been issued for the frequency range 920-926 MHz, in the 900 MHz industrial, scientific and medical band.
The licence will allow GSI to monitor potential interference and provide an original spectrum management method.
Further detail is available at the ACMA website.
ACMA proposes array of new phone number ranges
On 12 July 2005, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released for comment a draft variation to the Telecommunications Numbering Plan (Draft Variation).
The Draft Variation contains proposed new phone numbers that would supplement numbers that are near exhaustion in Hobart, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.
The Draft Variation is a joint initiative of the ACMA and its Numbering Advisory Committee.
Written submissions are being accepted until 13 October 2005.
Further details and a copy of the proposed variations are available at the ACMA website.
Coonan responds to telecommunications situation in bush
On 13 July 2005, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, replied to a recent survey released by the New South Wales Farmers’ Federation, stating that the government had invested more than $1 billion in rural and regional telecommunications.
The $1 billion figure includes an additional $50 million spent towards the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HiBIS Scheme) announced by Senator Coonan on 7 July 2005.
The HiBIS Scheme ensures internet service providers receive incentive payments for each HiBIS service connected.
Further details and an outline of the Regional Telecommunications Program Funding 1997–2005 are available at the DCITA website.
ACIF considers single consumer code
On 29 June 2005, the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) released an issues paper titled, A Single Consumer Code for Telecommunications (issues paper).
The issues paper considers the feasibility of a single code instead of the current eight codes.
The issues paper proposes seven options for a single consumer code.
Further details and a copy of the issues paper are available at the ACIF website.
New regulation of premium mobile services
On 29 June 2005, the Australian Communications Authority (now the Australian Communications and Media Authority) registered the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No 1) (Determination).
The Determination applies to content service providers and mobile carriage services providers in relation to the supply of premium SMS or MMS and proprietary network services. Accordingly, the Determination will regulate premium services available through mobile phones.
The purpose of the Determination is to provide a framework within which:
- community safeguards relating to mobile premium services are established, and
- public interest considerations may be addressed, by imposing rules promoting the greatest use of industry self-regulation.
Further details and a copy of the Determination are available from the ComLaw website.
Competition
Macquarie Bank to remedy breach of radio licence controls
On 26 July 2005, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) issued a notice to Macquarie Bank Ltd (Macquarie Bank) to remedy a breach of commercial radio licence controls under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Act).
Under radio licence controls, persons can control no more than two commercial radio licences within any licence area.
The ACMA claims that Macquarie Bank controls three licences in the neighbouring Gympie and Nambour areas. The breach resulted after AMI Radio Pty Ltd, in whom Macquarie Bank has a controlling interest, acquired commercial radio station 4NNN Gympie.
The ACMA has given Macquarie Bank six months to rectify the breach.
Further detail is available at the ACMA website.
Industry developments
Package of initiatives to address phone tower installation concerns
On 27 July 2005, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, announced a package of initiatives (Initiatives) to address and improve the installation of mobile phone towers.
The Initiatives follow community and individual concern over the deployment of mobile phone towers, particularly the erection of towers on single residential dwellings.
Senator Coonan claims that the Initiatives will ensure the following:
- improved community notification requirements
- increased public education
- an improved look and design of towers
- independent audits of electromagnetic emissions (EME) from towers, and
- a new EME reporting framework.
Under the Telecommunications Act 1997, carriers are exempt from state and territory legislation to install certain facilities, although they must meet requirements existing under the Australian Communications Industry Forum code.
Further detail is available at the DCITA website.
Increased coverage for Optus Wireless Connect customers
On 13 July 2005, Optus announced its alliance with Azure Wireless in a bid to increase mobile hotspots and hotzones available to Optus Wireless Connect customers by an additional 450.
The additional coverage will come at no extra cost to Wireless Connect customers.
Further detail is available at the Optus website.
Vodafone suspends mobile chat rooms
On 7 July 2005, Vodafone Australia announced that it had suspended its mobile chat room services following an internal review.
The move comes after a customer alerted Vodafone that personal contact details had been accessed through the chat room service.
Vodafone has temporarily suspended the service citing customer safety and security as a priority.
Reinstatement of the service is not yet certain.
Further detail is available at the Vodafone website.
Telstra 3GSM network up and running for trial
On 28 June 2005, Telstra announced that its 3GSM network and customer service platforms were operational in six of Australia’s capital cities, with a trial of the services expected to commence in July.
Customer services including voice calling, video calling and new content applications will be subjected to the trial.
Further detail is available at the Telstra website.
For more information please contact
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