Satellite's role in remote communications

The federal government is taking a ‘careful and vigilant approach’ to reform of the universal service obligation in rural and remote areas.

Speaking at the Australasian Satellite Forum 2018 this week, the Minister for Regional Communications, Bridget McKenzie, outlined her thoughts about the provision of communication services to rural and remote areas.

The Minister said that “some 98% of Sky Muster installations are now complete within contractual time frames, with the average wait to connect at nine calendar days”.

She also mentioned that in October last year, nbn co increased data allowances by using spectrum more efficiently, which increased the overall capacity of the satellites.

“nbn co doubled the maximum wholesale data limits for its satellite services and increased average peak data downloads by 50%,” the Minister said.

“This additional bandwidth has enabled retailers to significantly increase data caps on Sky Muster plans. A quick market scan shows retailers passed on additional data at minimal cost to consumers.”

In addition, Optus is installing 49 satellite small cell base stations across remote and very remote Australia.

“To date, 32 of the 49 small cell base stations have already been installed and they are seeing strong traffic,” the Minister said.

She also encouraged industry members to become involved in the Regional Telecommunications Review.

“This is a statutory review which was due by the end of this year, but due to the rate of our rollout and the significant investment we have made, I brought it forward to the first half of this year,” she said.

“I, as Minister for Regional Communications, need to understand the change in landscape and I also need to understand what’s next for government investment. I don’t think it’s going to look like it has in the past.”

The Minister also spoke about the universal service obligation (USO), saying that “it’s my firm belief that the USO is no longer fit for-purpose in 21st-century Australia”.

“Last year, the Productivity Commission concluded the USO was ‘anachronistic and costly’ and recommended it be wound back following completion of the nbn in 2020,” she said.

“USO reform is complex, and a large body of work is underway within government to find reasonable, cost-effective alternatives.”

The Minister said that as a first step, the federal government has announced its intention to develop a new Universal Service Guarantee that better reflects how the marketplace has changed and is adaptable to future evolution.

“Under the new guarantee, 100% of Australian premises will have access to voice and next-generation broadband services. This includes regional, rural and remote locations,” she said.

“Many people in regional, rural and remote Australia are open to technological change but need to be assured that new options will still deliver reliable and affordable voice services,” the Minister added.

“That is why the Coalition is taking a careful and vigilant approach to USO reform. We will not change the current delivery mechanisms unless there are clear, acceptable and more cost-effective alternatives.”

The Minister said that satellite technology may appear to be the obvious solution to bridge that voice divide, “but current thinking suggests it is not fully viable due to latency and reliability during rainy weather. So there is something to work on, on the front end.”

This meant, she said, that for the time being Sky Muster cannot be seen as a platform for voice delivery under the new Guarantee.

She added, however, that even if satellite technology is not the immediate solution, “it may well prove to be the answer for tomorrow”.

“We are still keen to hear more from the satellite sector including any developments that may be able to overcome the challenge of providing affordable and reliable voice services in remote locations,” the Minister said.

“We are aiming to have the new Universal Service Guarantee in place for the completion of the nbn in 2020, so now is the time to be having those conversations.”

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