Registers

Under the agreement, Telstra has contractual obligations to:

• supply standard telephone services (STS) nationwide in fulfilment of the STS Universal Service Obligation (USO), including on behalf of TUSMA in areas where the regulatory obligation has transferred to TUSMA
• supply, install and maintain payphones in fulfilment of the Payphone USO,
• supply the emergency call service in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

Universal Service Obligation—standard telephone service

Current contract value: $230 million p.a.

Telstra has a contractual obligation to supply the standard telephone service (STS) so that voice services are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis. This includes Telstra being the retail provider of last resort for customers who wish to take only a voice STS over the NBN. Telstra receives funding to operate and maintain its existing copper network to provide STS in areas where the NBN fibre network will not be deployed.

Universal Service Obligation—payphones

Current contract value: $40 million p.a.

Telstra has a contractual obligation to supply, install and maintain public payphones and supply payphone carriage services so that payphones are reasonably accessible to all people in Australia on an equitable basis. TUSMA will meet costs if payphones need to be migrated to fibre. TUSMA can elect to either fund the migration of a payphone in the fibre footprint to an alternative technology (other than NBN fibre), or can provide an alternative payphone.

Emergency Call Service

Current contract value: Up to $20 million p.a.

Telstra has a contractual obligation to supply the emergency call service in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements for up to 20 years, subject to a tender to be run by 23 June 2016. Telstra or any future emergency call provider will remain regulated.

In addition to annual payment for ongoing supply of the emergency call service, TUSMA will also meet the reasonable costs of any major upgrades to Telstra’s emergency call service platforms and systems.

Voice-only customer migration

During the fibre rollout, TUSMA will make available assistance to Telstra to migrate voice-only customers that want to retain a fixed-line voice-only service over the NBN fibre network. This will include assistance so that Telstra can advise voice-only customers of the need to migrate to the NBN, and to meet the costs of any in-house wiring that is required to connect voice-only customers to the NBN fibre network. Similar arrangements may be offered to other service providers.

Migration of public interest services

Telstra may notify TUSMA that a technological solution does not exist for the carriage of public interest services (defined as 'traffic light' and 'public alarm' services) over fibre. If TUSMA is reasonably satisfied that a solution does not exist, TUSMA will either request Telstra or a third party for proposals to develop the solution. Any solution that is funded by TUSMA will be owned by TUSMA (unless agreed otherwise) and made available to all service providers on an equivalent basis.

The relay service provider must provide comparable access for users to a STS, as defined in the Telecommunications Consumer Protection and Service Standards Act 1999. Comparable access must be provided through any of the following services, for which the provider is required to do everything within its reasonable control and capability to ensure it is operated 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

1. Text-to-voice relay—to enable a user to communicate via text while a relay officer uses text to communicate to the user and voice to communicate with the other party.
2. Voice-to-text relay—to enable a user to communicate via voice while a relay officer uses text to communicate with the other party.
3. Voice carryover—to enable a user with a hearing impairment to communicate directly with another party using natural speech and receive communication from the other party via text through a relay officer.
4. Voice carryover to voice carryover—to enable two users with hearing impairments to converse with each other through a relay officer by reading the conversation on a TDD and using natural speech to respond.
5. Hearing carryover—to enable a user with a speech impairment to receive communication directly from the other party and to type their side of the conversation on a TDD, while a relay officer uses voice to communicate to the other party.
6. Speech-to-speech relay service—to enable two people with speech impairment to converse over the telephone with the assistance of a relay officer. The relay officer clarifies those parts of the conversation that may not be understood by either party.
7. Internet relay service—to enable a user to communicate in text via the internet while a relay officer uses voice or text to communicate with the other party.
8. Emergency call service.

The outreach service includes:

1. promotion and awareness raising of the relay service to its users and potential users, through cost-effective communication covering all targeted audiences
2. provision of training to relay service users, mainly in the use of equipment
3. handling of enquiries (including about technical matters) from relay service users, potential relay service users and organisations establishing or providing relay service access to employees or customers
4. handling of complaints, feedback and enquiries from relay service users and potential users in consultation with the provider.