Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, in writing, on 21 March 2011:

In respect of the new arrangements that are proposed for the Universal Service Obligation,

(a) is it a fact that customers outside the 93rd percentile will continue to receive the 'standard telephone service' (their entitlement under the universal service arrangement) over Telstra's copper network; if so, does this mean that the Telstra copper network will continue to operate in many rural and remote areas of the country (the 'residual rural network'),

(b) given that today the rural and remote part of the network is cross-subsidised by the metropolitan network, what are the implications of removing this cross subsidy for the cost of operating the residual rural network, and

(c) how will the (i) per customer cost of the residual rural network compare with that of today's national copper network, and (ii) cost of operation of the residual rural network be met.

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