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Note: The Telstra Social Bonus refers to the social bonus component from the sale of the second tranche (16.6 per cent) of Telstra, which is being allocated to expand many programmes delivering services to regional Australians in the areas of communications, information technology and the environment.
The Budget maintains initiatives designed to ensure that Australia's communications and information technology sectors continue to take up the opportunities offered by new technologies, to create new employment, educational, social and entertainment opportunities for all Australians - regardless of where they live. Initiatives include an extensive programme of support for regional commercial television stations to assist them in meeting the costs of rolling out digital television in non-metropolitan areas. Up to $260 million will be spent over 13 years under the Regional Equalisation Plan, including $22.6 million in 2001-02.
As a result of the Government's response to the Telecommunications Service Inquiry (the Besley Report), communities in regional, rural and remote Australia will see further improvements to their communications services. The Government has announced a package of measures totalling $163.1 million to improve mobile phone coverage, the standard telephone service and internet access.
Specific benefits to regional and rural communities will include:
New Connections: A Toolkit for New Telecommunications Network Models in Regional Australia was released by the Government in April 2001. It aims to help communities seeking to become involved in improving their communications infrastructure and services. It outlines the steps, considerations and options to assess needs and determine solutions that best suit the requirements of the telecommunications network models that have developed, both in Australia and overseas, as a result of communities taking the initiative and identifying innovative solutions to meet their specific communications challenges.
The Toolkit was developed by the Online Ministers' Council through its Regional Communications Working Group, with the collaborative efforts of the Commonwealth Government, the States and Territories, and local governments.
In the 2001-02 Budget, the Government has agreed to increase ABC funding. The ABC will receive an additional $71.2 million over four years as a result of this year's Federal Budget.
This additional $71.2 million will enable the ABC to increase local and regional programming across all ABC media. This is expected to generate jobs and stimulate growth of new media.
In addition to its triennial funding from the 2000-01 Budget and the additional $17.8 million per annum provided in this year's Budget, the ABC will also receive $46.5 million for digital distribution, transmission and equipment in 2001-02.
The Government has also provided $2.8 million to strengthen Radio Australia services, building on previous funding of $1.9 million in 2000-01 and a loan of $20 million for activities including the ABC's Sydney accommodation and digital equipment requirements. In total, the ABC will receive $745.2 million in Federal funding in 2001-02.
SBS funding will be maintained in real terms, and its digital capital, distribution and transmission costs will be paid in full. In addition, SBS also received $8.2 million from 2000-01 to 2002-03 for programme acquisition.
The Government has agreed to fund fully the costs of digital distribution and transmission for both the ABC and SBS. Digital distribution is the process of sending the digital broadcast signal from the studio to transmitters, while the transmission is the process whereby the signal is sent from the transmitters located around the country to television receivers in individual homes.
The cost of ensuring that most Australians in regional and remote areas have access to the services that metropolitan viewers take for granted is very significant. Many transmission towers are in remote areas that are expensive to service. Transmission and distribution facilities have required a significant funding commitment that will amount to several hundred million dollars over the next decade.
This funding will enable the ABC and SBS to digitalise its television production and studio equipment, and will ensure it is at the forefront of developments in digital broadcasting.
The Government introduced a Regional Equalisation Plan in 2000-01 to assist the rollout of digital television and datacasting services to Australians living in regional and remote Australia. Over 13 years, up to $260 million in financial assistance will be provided to assist commercial television broadcasters with its introduction. In 2001-02, $22.6 million will be provided.
Commonwealth assistance under the plan represents 50 per cent of the estimated capital and operating costs to regional commercial broadcasters in converting to digital. This assistance will be made available predominantly in the form of rebates on annual licence fees paid by the broadcasters. In order to ensure the timely delivery of digital broadcasting and datacasting services in different parts of regional and rural Australia, these licence fee rebates will be supplemented by a small grants programme for broadcasters in some single-service licence areas.
In December 2000, the Government and ntl Australia Pty Ltd (ntl) signed the Regional Communications Partnership Agreement. This established a $10 million Scheme to assist community-based self-help retransmission groups gain access to National Transmission Network (NTN) sites in regional and remote areas of Australia by subsidising the commercial fees payable. These self-help groups retransmit commercial and national television and radio services to communities that would not otherwise have had access to such services. The Government and ntl each contributed $5 million to the Scheme with the Government's contribution sourced from the Television Fund. To May 2001, 21 groups providing 34 services (five radio and 29 television) have taken advantage of the partnership subsidy.
The Government established the $120 million Television Fund from the proceeds of the Telstra Social Bonus, primarily to extend SBS television to transmission areas of more than 10,000 people and to fix television reception `black spots'.
Of the 78 services announced as part of the rollout of SBS television to 1.2 million Australians in 36 regional areas, 68 were scheduled to be completed by early May 2001. The remaining 10 services were due to be completed, or self-help services taken over in two cases, by the end of June 2001.
Subsequent to the original announcement, SBS negotiated the inclusion of an additional nine sites at no further cost to the Government. These extensions are due to be completed by the end of October 2001. SBS is responsible for managing this extension process
The aim of the $35 million Television Black Spots Programme is to help communities to fix between 200 and 250 analog television `black spot' areas. Funding is available to help communities establish new self-help retransmission facilities and to replace obsolete equipment at existing self-help retransmission sites.
The Second Remote Commercial Television Service Subsidy provides a two-thirds subsidy for the purchase of a transmitter and decoder necessary to access a second commercial television signal by 'self-help' groups in remote broadcast licence areas. An information kit was sent to 412 identified remote self-help groups.
As of April 2001, 68 organisations have received funding, representing 103 sites.
In June 2000, the ABC was provided with a one-off capital injection of $3.2 million to:
Up to $50,000 is available per service for site establishment and the purchase of equipment. Up to $25,000 is available per service for the replacement of obsolete equipment on sites that existed prior to 1 January 2001.
The ABC receives an annual appropriation from the Government for planning and minor analog service extensions. The ABC has used some of these funds to establish a capital works programme and budget. The first project funded under this programme was the uplinking of Kalgoorlie's Local Radio service on the satellite in November 2000. This is providing access to greater local news and weather information for surrounding communities. The ABC anticipates announcing a number of new radio and television service extensions during 2001 following confirmation of spectrum availability and finalisation of transmission service provider contracts.
SBS has established its Self-Help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme from an annual appropriation of $500,000 which it receives from the Government to assist the establishment of self-help SBS services. SBS provides communities with 50 per cent of the actual costs (up to a limit of $25,000) associated with purchasing the equipment required to locally retransmit its television or radio services. SBS has advised that 39 communities have received or were approved to receive subsidies for radio or television services in the first three rounds of the Scheme.
The Universal Service Obligation (USO) underpins the delivery of over 400,000 residential and business telephone services, as well as payphones, in regional and remote Australia. The USO subsidy is funded by a levy on telecommunications carriers in proportion to their total revenue, which is calculated at the end of the financial year. The levy for 2000-01, to be collected and paid out in 2001-02 will be around $69 million.
From 1 July 2001, USO subsidies will be contestable in two pilot areas on the New South Wales - Queensland and Victoria - South Australia borders, with a view to improving service levels.
The Universal Service Obligation is complemented by the Digital Data Service Obligation (DDSO), which guarantees access on request to a 64 kbps data service. A rebate of up to 50 per cent of the cost of special reception equipment and installation, capped at $765, is available in some circumstances. The DDSO rebate is also funded in arrears by an industry levy.
Small and medium-sized businesses are being encouraged to gain commercial business benefits across industry. The Information Technology Online (ITOL) Programme is a competitive grant programme providing catalytic support to innovative business-to-business e-commerce projects. Projects are industry based and collaborative in nature, with participation from universities, industry associations and commercial organisations.
Grants are available for up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs, capped at $150,000. They have been awarded for projects in areas as diverse as building and construction, agriculture, rural portals, social welfare and the health sector. The ITOL Programme has been extended to 2005-06, with $13 million allocated to the Programme as part of Backing Australia's Ability - An Innovation Action Plan for the Future (see page 51). The sixth round of grants is expected to open in June 2001 with approximately $1.5 million available for funding new projects.
A range of Social Bonus initiatives, funded in 1999-2000, are continuing to provide benefits to Australians in regional, rural and remote areas.
The Networking the Nation Board is responsible for allocating funding under several of these initiatives, as outlined below.
Seventy million dollars is being provided over five years from 1999-2000 to support the development of new regional networks and new networks services and products, with an emphasis on the adoption of innovative solutions and leading-edge technologies. Building Additional Rural Networks (BARN) will benefit regional and rural communities by supporting improvements in the cost and quality of telecommunications services in those areas. Funds are available for eligible not-for-profit organisations through the Networking the Nation grants programme.
Forty-five million dollars over five years, from 1999-2000, is being provided for the Local Government Fund. The fund will assist local government authorities in regional, rural and remote Australia to provide online access to information and services, including the internet. Funds are available for local government authorities through the Networking the Nation grants programme.
Thirty-six million dollars over three years has been allocated for this programme from 1999-2000. The aim is to provide internet access (at least equivalent to untimed local call access) for regional and rural Australia.
The Remote and Isolated Island Communities Fund is receiving $20 million over three years from 1999-2000. The Fund will assist in meeting the telecommunications needs of people in remote and isolated island communities, such as the Torres Strait; the Cocos (Keeling) Group; Christmas, Norfolk, King, Flinders, Kangaroo and other islands; and the Australian Antarctic Territories.
Three million dollars is being provided to improve mobile phone coverage in regional and rural Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. This builds on the funding of $25 million for mobile phones on designated highways, with funds being allocated in consultation with the State Governments.
This $150 million initiative will fund the telecommunications infrastructure upgrade needed to enable all customers within the `extended zones' in remote Australia to have access to untimed local calls within their extended zone. There are about 40,000 services in operation in the extended zones.
The aim of this $25 million programme is to provide continuous phone service along the 9,425 kilometres of nominated Australian highways. This will facilitate the use of mobile phones along these highways for social, economic and safety reasons. The contract has been awarded to Vodaphone.
The Intelligent Island Programme was announced in June 1999, with funding of $40 million over five years from the Telstra Social Bonus. The Programme will further develop an internationally competitive information technology and telecommunications sector in Tasmania. It builds on existing Tasmanian Government initiatives and the research capacity of Tasmania's tertiary education infrastructure. Seven key initiatives are to be funded under the programme.
This is a $30 million joint initiative between Telstra (providing $15 million) and the Federal Government (providing $15 million) to develop information technology and telecommunications skills in Tasmania. The Project has three elements:
Trials in Innovative Government Electronic Regional Services (TIGERS) was launched in April 2000. Ten million dollars will be provided over three years to trial a range of innovative means of delivering government services over the internet, through call centres and over-the-counter facilities. The TIGERS programme is being undertaken in Tasmania.