Universal Service Obligation (USO)

Question

1. Has the Department undertaken research on the number of landline customers impacted by modernisation of the Universal Service Obligation (USO)? a. Has the Department investigated the impact - positive or negative - on vulnerable cohorts of modernisation of the USO? b. If so, can the Department provide this research to the Committee? 2. Telstra is paid a fixed annual amount under the USO contract, regardless of changes in technology or demand-how does the Department ensure this continues to represent value for money? 3. Has the Department undertaken any recent cost-benefit analysis of the USO arrangements in their current form? 4. The USO continues to focus on standard telephone services and payphones, despite widespread adoption of mobile services, broadband-based voice, and satellite technologies. a. Why has the delivery model remained largely unchanged when the underlying communications ecosystem has fundamentally shifted? b. What proportion of USO services are still delivered over legacy copper infrastructure versus modern technologies such as NBN, mobile or satellite?

Answer

Please see the attached answer.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000873.pdf (opens in a new tab)