EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Broadband, Communications
and the Digital Economy
Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999
Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation
(Location of Payphones) Determination 2011
Authority
Subsection 12EF(1) of the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999 (‘the Act’) provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, make a determination establishing rules to be complied with by a primary universal service regarding the places or areas in which payphones are to be located.
Subsection 12EF(3) provides that if a primary universal service provider complies with this Determination, then the provider is taken to have complied with the Universal Service Obligation (USO) under subsection 9(1)(b) and 9(2A) of the Act in relation to the supply, installation and maintenance of payphones across Australia on an equitable basis.
Purpose
Telstra, as the current primary universal service provider under the Act, is required as part of the USO to ensure that all people in Australia have reasonable access to payphone services on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on business.
The purpose of this Determination is to set out rules governing where and when a primary universal service provider can locate, relocate or remove payphones. The Determination also sets out rules for installing a new payphone, including requirements for lodging an eligible payphone request, and the decision-making process a primary universal service provider must follow in assessing requests.
Background
This instrument is one of five payphone instruments that together form a package to clarify and strengthen payphone obligations. The other instruments are:
- the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Payphone Performance Standards) Determination (No.1) 2011;
- the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Payphone Performance Benchmarks) Instrument (No.1) 2011;
- the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Public Consultation on the Location or Removal of Payphones) Determination 2011; and
- the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Payphone Complaint Rules) Determination 2011.
The instruments together respond to the long history of community dissatisfaction with the adequacy of arrangements for payphones in Australia, notably in relation to the processes for removing payphones and the time taken to repair them, especially in rural and remote areas. This particular instrument responds to community concerns by setting out clear rules for payphone locations, installations and removals. In particular, it clarifies the places and areas where a payphone is to be located and the criteria Telstra, as the current primary universal service provider, must follow in determining when it is appropriate for a payphone not to be located at a particular place or area. It also clarifies the circumstances under which Telstra may install or remove a payphone and the criteria it must follow in determining whether a removal is appropriate.
This Determination is enforceable under subsection 12EF(2) of the Act which requires a primary universal service provider to comply with a determination made under subsection 12EF(1). Therefore, a breach of any aspect of this Determination is a breach of the Act, and consequently a breach of a carrier licence condition for which the standard enforcement provisions under the Act apply.
This Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA) (see paragraph 6(a) of the LIA).
Consultation
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy issued a consultation paper on this and the four other proposed payphone instruments on 15 August 2011. Seven submissions were received, with most expressing overall support for the instruments. The Department also consulted directly with Telstra and the ACMA.
Regulatory Impact Statement
See the regulatory impact statement and financial impact statement set out in the explanatory statement on the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Payphone Performance Standards) Determination (No.1) 2011.
Details of the accompanying Determination are set out in the Attachment.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation
(Location of Payphones) Determination 2011
Part 1 Preliminary
This part is a preliminary section and includes details on when the Determination commences and a definition of the key terms used in the Determination. It also clarifies the circumstances in which the Determination will apply to a primary universal service provider.
Section 1 – Name of determination
This section provides that the name of the Determination is the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Location of Payphones) Determination 2011.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the Determination will commence on 1 January 2012.
Section 3 – Definitions
This section sets out a definition for each of the key terms used in the Determination.
The term Act is defined to mean the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999.
The ACMA is given the same meaning at that given by section 7 of the Telecommunications Act 1997, being the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
The term adequate mobile phone coverage is defined to mean a situation in which there is handheld terrestrial mobile phone coverage at street level in the relevant place or area.
The term category 1 payphone location is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 9 of the Determination.
The term category 2 payphone location is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 10 of the Determination.
The term category 3 payphone location is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 11 of the Determination.
The term eligible payphone request is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 14 of the Determination.
The term existing payphone site is defined to mean a site at which a payphone is located.
The term local government body is defined to mean a government body or agency that has primary responsibility for the provision of local government services or municipal services within the area within which the site for the proposed location or removal of a payphone is located.
The term new payphone location is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 8 of the Determination.
The term new payphone site is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 19 of the Determination.
The term payphone register is defined by reference to the meaning given by subsection 22(1) of the Determination.
The term payphone site is defined by reference to the meaning given by section 18 of the Determination.
The term site is defined to mean a place or area which is no greater than 10 square metres.
The terms TTY payphone and TTY payphone location are defined respectively to mean a telephone typewriter payphone and by reference to the definition given by section 12 of the Determination.
A note is provided at the end of the definitions to clarify that a number of expressions used in the Determination are given the same meanings as are given to those terms under the Act.
Section 4 – Application of this determination
This section clarifies that the rules provided for under this determination will apply:
- to a universal service area for which the provider is the designated primary universal service provider;
- to a payphone that is:
- situated (or is proposed to be situated) at a payphone site specified in the payphone register that is in force from time to time in accordance with Part 5 of this Determination; and
- provided, or proposed to be provided in accordance with paragraph 9(1)(b) and subsection 9(2A) of the Act.
A universal service area is defined at section 9G of the Act. Under sections 9G and 12E of the Act, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (the Minister) has determined, or is taken to have determined, universal service areas as follows:
- the contestable area, which is an area (determined under the Universal Service Areas Determination (No. 1) 2001) where the provision of the universal services referred to in paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act (dealing with the standard telephone service) is open to competition under the Contestable Service Obligation Determination (No. 1) 2001;
- the Extended Zones area, which is an area (notified in the Notice of the Primary Universal Service Provider for the Extended Zones of Australia) where the provision of the universal services referred to in paragraph 9(1)(a) and (b) of the Act is provided by Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) as the primary universal service provider; and
- the default area, which pursuant to subsection 9G(3) of the Act, is the residual areas of Australia which are not covered by a determination made under subsection 9G(1) of the Act.
Telstra is the primary universal service provider for the whole of Australia in respect of the service obligations referred to in paragraphs 9(1)(a), (b) and (c) of the Act. There are currently no competing universal service providers.
Part 5 of this Determination sets out the obligation to keep a payphone register. Section 4 clarifies that, once a payphone is listed on the register, it becomes subject to all of the rules set out in this Determination.
As Telstra has been determined to be the primary universal service provider under section 12A of the Act, the benchmark standards outlined at Part 2 and the overall obligations under the determination will only apply to payphones supplied by Telstra in fulfilment of the USO. Consequently, this determination does not apply to payphones that are operated by other providers, such as the payphones operated by Tritel or blue phones in hotels, or the payphone carriage services that supply such phones.
The determination will also not apply to community phones in Indigenous communities which are supplied under separate government funding programs. Many of those phones are provided by providers other than Telstra. Where the phones are provided by Telstra, they are subject to contractual agreements in relation to supply, installation and maintenance, and it would therefore not be appropriate for this determination to apply.
A note is included at the end of section 4 to clarify that the Determination is enforceable by virtue of subsection 12EF(2) of the Act, which places a positive obligation on a primary universal service provider to comply with the Determination.
Part 2 – Rules regarding payphone locations
Division 1 Introduction
Section 5 – Objects
This section specifies that the object of Part 2 is to establish rules regarding the places and areas at which a payphone must be located.
Division 2 Payphone locations
Section 6 – Places and areas at which payphones must be located
This section requires a primary universal service provider to ensure a payphone is located at particular sites. The requirements include ensuring a payphone is located, and continues to be located, at each site at which a payphone supplied by the current primary universal service provider was located immediately prior to the date of the commencement of the Determination; at a site within a new payphone location; and at a new payphone site if a payphone is relocated from an existing payphone site.
The phrases ‘new payphone location’ and ‘new payphone site’ are defined in sections 8 and 18 (see below). This section also specifies that a primary universal service provider must also ensure that a teletypewriter payphone must be located at a teletypewriter payphone location.
This section also places an obligation on a primary universal service provider to maintain all the existing payphones and teletypewriter payphones, as set out in the payphone register, which it must provide to the ACMA. A primary universal service provider may also install new payphones at new locations, and may relocate existing payphones to new sites. As a result, the section is intended to act as a safeguard to ensure that existing payphones are maintained.
Subsection 6(3) offers an important additional safeguard in relation to the primary universal service provider’s obligations under the Determination to locate payphones at particular places and areas at which a payphone is required to be located. It provides that, if a primary universal service provider enters into an arrangement with another provider for the supply, management, operation or maintenance of a payphone to be undertaken by that other provider, the primary universal service provider does not thereby avoid the rules under the Determination in relation to the places and areas at which a payphone is required to be located.
Subsection 6(4) sets out exceptions to the requirement to install a payphone at a new location. These exceptions ensure that a primary universal service provider will consider a request for a new payphone against specific criteria. Subsection 6(4) specifies that a primary universal provider does not have to install a payphone if it has complied with the consultation rules set out in the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Public Consultation on the Location or Removal of Payphones) Determination 2011 (see section 8 below) and:
- doing so would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community, or
- a primary universal service provider cannot reasonably install and operate a payphone at a new payphone location.
Subsection 6(5) sets out the criteria which must be considered in determining whether installing and maintaining a payphone at a new payphone location would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community. The criteria attempt to balance commercial factors (such as the payphone revenue and funding, including Commonwealth funding) with the benefit to the society from installing the payphone. The criteria also refer to guidelines that may be issued by the ACMA that detail the format and methodology for assessing whether the installation of a payphone would deliver a net social benefit to the community. The ACMA issued draft Payphone (Assessment of Net Social Benefit) Guidelines on 17 October 2011.
Subsection 6(6) clarifies that in relation to assessing the extent to which installing and maintaining a payphone at a new payphone location would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community, a primary universal service provider may only have regard to the criteria outlined in subsection 6(5).
However, it is important to note that paragraph 6(5)(d) does not limit what may be considered in assessing ‘the circumstances relating to the installation’ as part of an overall assessment of the extent to which the installation and maintenance of a payphone at a new payphone location would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community. The examples given provide guidance on, but do not limit, the factors that may be considered and include the benefit to the local community arising from the installation of the payphone, the extent to which there is adequate mobile phone coverage in the relevant area and, in the event mobile phone coverage in the relevant area is inadequate, and the extent to which a payphone is needed for the purposes of assisting with responding to an emergency at a place in the relevant area.
The obligation to consider whether a proposed installation will deliver a net social benefit to the local community requires a primary universal service provider to follow a clear process for determining whether a payphone location proposal should be accepted. The effect of this provision is to increase the level of transparency taken in relation to decisions made by a primary universal service provider on the installation of a payphone, and also to provide objective criteria which must be considered by the provider.
Subsection 6(7) sets out criteria for determining whether a payphone can reasonably be installed and operated at a new payphone location. These criteria cover matters that would, effectively, prevent a new installation from going ahead. They cover whether the provider is able to obtain relevant approvals; the extent to which it is reasonably practicable to provide power to the new payphone location; and the safety of the public, users of the payphone and the provider’s employees and agents. Subsection 6(8) clarifies that a primary universal service provider must have regard to only these criteria.
Subsection 6(9) requires a primary universal service provider to take all reasonable steps to obtain relevant approvals (such as planning approval from a local government body or owner of premises in which a payphone is proposed to be sited) required in order to install a payphone.
Subsection 6(10) establishes that the obligation on a primary universal service provider to locate a payphone at a site commences immediately after it has provided written notification of its final decision and finalised any complaints in relation to that final decision.
Part 3 New payphone locations
Division 1 Introduction
Section 7 – Objects
This section specifies that the object of Part 3 of the Determination is to outline which locations are to be considered eligible places and areas in which a new payphone can be located, including in response to a request for a payphone to be located at a particular place or area.
Section 8 – Meaning of new payphone location
This section defines a new payphone location as being either a category 1, category 2 or category 3 payphone location. Each of these categories is then separately defined in sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Determination.
The section also sets out that a ‘new payphone location’ ceases to meet the definition if, in accordance with other provisions of the Determination, a primary universal service provider is not required to locate a payphone at a location or is allowed to remove a payphone (or payphones) from a location at which no payphone will remain.
Section 9 – Category 1 payphone location criteria
This section defines what is meant by a ‘category 1 payphone location’ in terms of certain criteria regarding community support, commercial viability and distance within which a payphone must be located in a place or area. Furthermore, this section specifies that a category 1 payphone location extends to places and areas identified in Schedule 1 to the Determination and also to locations where there is no existing payphone at that location.
Subsection 9(2) further specifies that a primary universal service provider has 60 working days from receipt of an eligible payphone request (being a request that satisfies the requirements set out in section 14, see below) in which to make an assessment as to the commercial viability of a place or area where it is proposed that a payphone be installed. A note following this subsection clarifies that such an assessment can be undertaken even where an eligible payphone request has not been made.
In relation to establishing existing community support for a proposed payphone location, subsection 9(3) provides that this can be demonstrated where the place or area is the subject of an eligible payphone request which has been made on behalf of 100 or more adults who reside in Australia. However, subsection 9(4) has been included to make it clear that community support can also be taken to have been demonstrated through means other than the type of support outlined in subsection 9(3).
Section 10 – Category 2 payphone location criteria
This section defines what is meant by a ‘category 2 payphone location’ in terms of certain criteria regarding: community support, revenue generated and the extent to which it covers depreciation and maintenance costs of providing and maintaining a payphone on an annual basis; and distance within which a payphone must be located in a place or area. Furthermore, this section specifies that a category 2 payphone location extends to places and areas identified in Division 2 of Schedule 1 to the Determination or to places and areas falling within the radius specified in the schedule or, where no radius is specified, to places and areas where there are no pre-existing payphones.
Similar to section 9, subsection 10(2) specifies that a primary universal service provider has 60 working days from receipt of an eligible payphone request (being a request that satisfies the requirements set out in section 14, see below) in which to make an assessment as to the extent to which the revenue generated from a phone being located at a particular location will cover the depreciation and maintenance costs of providing and maintaining a payphone on an annual basis. A note following this subsection also clarifies that such an assessment can be undertaken even where an eligible payphone request has not been made.
As with subsections 9(3) and (4), subsections 10(3) and (4) provide that community support can be established through an eligible payphone request having been made on behalf of 100 or more adults who reside in Australia, but that its establishment is not limited by this measure alone.
Section 11 – Category 3 payphone location criteria
This section sets out a definition for ‘category 3 payphone location’. As with sections 9 and 10, the term is defined by reference to certain criteria including the extent to which the proposed payphone location falls within places and areas identified in Schedule 3 to the Determination; the level of community support; and the extent to which the payphone is proposed to be located within a place or area falling within a specified radius or is a place where there is not an existing payphone.
As with subsections 9(3) and (4) and 10(3) and (4), subsections 11(2) and (3) provides that community support can be established through an eligible payphone request having been made on behalf of 100 or more adults who reside in Australia, but that its establishment is not limited by this measure alone.
Section 12 – Meaning of TTY payphone location
This section outlines that for the purposes of the Determination a place or area will constitute a telephone typewriter payphone (TTY) payphone location if a TTY payphone was supplied by the primary universal service provider at the place or area immediately prior to the commencement of the Determination or where certain other conditions are met.
These conditions extend to the place or area being a new Category 1, 2 or 3 location where an eligible request has been submitted to the provider, the place or area is a place or area where there is likely to be high usage of a TTY payphone, and the place or area is not at a high risk of vandalism or misuse of a TTY payphone.
Division 2 Eligible payphone request
Section 13 – Information about making an eligible payphone request
This section sets out the matters that a primary universal service provider must provide on its website so that a person may make an ‘eligible payphone request’, including a mechanism for making the request, the requirements applying to such requests and contact details by which a person may make a request.
Section 14 – Meaning of eligible payphone request
This section defines the term ‘eligible payphone request’ and sets out conditions and requirements that must be met.
Section 14 defines an eligible payphone request as a specific request for a payphone to be located at a particular area or place that is a place or area falling within the scope of a place or area under subsection 9(1)(a), subsections 10(1)(a) and (b), and subsections 11(1)(a) and (b) of the Determination (i.e, being a place or area falling within a category 1, category 2 or category 3 payphone location).
Subsection 14(2) requires that an eligible payphone request be made by a duly authorised person on behalf of:
(a) five or more individuals who would be directly affected by the operation of a payphone at the place or area that is the subject of the request; or
(b) 100 or more individuals who reside in the vicinity of the proposed new payphone site or otherwise have a demonstrated interest in the location of the payphone at the place or area that is the subject of the request; or
(c) the local government body with responsibility for the place or area that is the subject of the request; or
(d) an authority or institution of the State or Territory in which the place of area that is the subject of the request is located.
The first type of request (a) reflects a request from people who live or work near the proposed new payphone site and, in effect, make a request on their own behalf. The second type (b) permits requests from people in the broader vicinity of a proposed new payphone site, but also allows for situations where a body of people can show that they have a demonstrated interest in the location of a payphone at the proposed new payphone site. An example could be members of a bushwalking club who can demonstrate that they have an interest in the location of a payphone in a National Park. A ‘demonstrated interest’ in this context would need to include evidence that the people regularly visit, reside or work at the location, and that the payphone would be important to their activity at the location. For example, the bushwalking club may argue that a payphone would provide improved access to emergency services.
The provision for requests from local government bodies (c) or State or Territory bodies (d) reflects the existence of public interest grounds for making an eligible payphone request.
Subsections 14(3) and (4) also set out specific criteria in relation to who can make the request, the circumstances regarding the making of the request, and the content of the request. The eligibility and content requirements in relation to a request must be met in order for the request to be considered to be an eligible request under the Determination, whereas it is optional as to whether details as to the type of payphone requested are included as part of the request.
Subsection 14(5) sets out the circumstances in which a request will not be considered to be an eligible payphone request: where a request was made within the last two years of the request being made in relation to the same place or where a payphone was removed from that place or area within this period; a payphone was previously removed within two years prior to the request being made; or where the request is frivolous or vexatious. The effect of this provision is that it will reduce the risk that persons will revive requests for payphones that have previously been determined not to be reasonable or not to confer a net social benefit on the local community.
Section 15 – Notification of response to an eligible payphone request
This section sets out the actions a primary universal service provider must undertake if it receives an eligible payphone request for a particular payphone location. This includes determining the payphone location category and notifying the person who made the request if the request is eligible or not, including reasons. The section also states the timeframe in which a primary universal service provider must send a notification, being 42 days before it makes its final decision on an eligible payphone request for a payphone to be located in a particular place or area.
Section 16 – Notification of response to a payphone request that is not an eligible payphone request
This section provides that, when a person makes a request for a payphone to be installed and the primary universal service provider considers it is not an eligible payphone request, the provider must notify the person in writing of its reasons why it does not consider the request to be an eligible request. This requirement does not apply in relation to vexatious or frivolous requests.
The section also specifies that the provider must also include a statement in its notification informing the person that, if the request is not considered to be an eligible payphone request, the provider is not obliged to consider installing the payphone in response to the request.
Part 4 Installation and removal of payphones
Part 4 sets out rules regarding the installation of payphones at new payphone sites and the removal of payphones from existing payphone sites.
Division 1 Introduction
Section 17 – Objects
This section specifies that the object of Part 4 of the Determination is to establish rules regarding the installation of payphones at new payphone sites and the removal of payphones from existing payphone sites.
Section 18 – Meaning of payphone site
This section provides that a payphone site is an existing payphone site or a new payphone site, and that this can include a site at which two or more payphones are located.
Division 2 – Rules regarding the installation of a payphone
Section 19 – Location of a payphone at a new payphone site
This section clarifies that a primary universal service provider may only install a payphone at a site which is a new payphone site if the provider has complied with public consultation rules set out in the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Public Consultation on the Location or Removal of Payphones) Determination 2011.
Division 3 – Rules regarding the removal of a payphone
Section 20 – Removal of a payphone from a site
This section sets out the criteria which must apply before a payphone can be removed from a site, in the circumstance where the primary universal service provider is required (in order to comply with section 6) that at least one payphone is located at a site.
Subsection 20(8) sets out a range of situations where these requirements do not apply in relation to payphones temporarily removed from a site.
Subsection 20(1)(a) specifies that the provider must comply with the consultation rules set out in the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (Public Consultation on the Location or Removal of Payphones) Determination 2011. The effect of this section is that it will enable the public to be appropriately informed of, and given a chance to comment on, a proposed payphone removal.
Furthermore, subsection 20(1)(b) specifies that one or more of the listed criteria must apply.
It is important to note that new subsection 20(9) provides that the criterion at subparagraph 20(1)(b)(i) (by which the maintenance of the payphone at the payphone site would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community), has no application in instances where a primary universal service provider removes a payphone from a site at which there would be at least one payphone remaining after the removal.
Subsection 20(2) sets out the criteria for assessing whether maintaining a payphone at the payphone site would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community. These criteria are similar to those set out in section 6 of the Determination in relation to assessing whether the installation and maintenance of the payphone at a new payphone location would not deliver a net social benefit to the local community, but include the additional consideration of call usage patterns for the payphone. Together, the criteria would require a primary universal service provider to consider the costs of maintaining the payphone in context with the revenues from the payphone (including any funding), along with the benefits to the local community from the payphone, and requirements in relation to assisting or responding to an emergency.
The effect of this provision is that it provides clarity over the matters a primary universal service provider must consider when it wishes to remove a payphone, and also provides that it cannot take account of any other matters. The ACMA will be able to review final decisions by a primary universal service provider to remove a payphone. If the ACMA considers that the criteria under this Determination have not been properly applied, it may decide that there has been a breach of the Determination, allowing it, under section 12EI of the Act, to require a primary universal service provider to reinstall the payphone or halt a removal.
Subsection 20(2)(f) also requires a primary universal service provider to have regard to any guidelines prepared by the ACMA that detail the format and methodology for assessing whether the removal of a payphone at the payphone site would deliver a net social benefit to the local community. The ACMA issued its draft Payphone (Assessment of Net Social Benefit) Guidelines on 17 October 2011.
Subsection 20(4) sets out criteria for assessing whether a primary universal service provider can continue to reasonably operate a payphone at a payphone site. These criteria are similar to those set out in subsection 6(7) (see above), but with the difference that the provision of power to the payphone is not included. As with section 6, the criteria cover matters which would prevent a payphone from continuing to be operated at the site.
Subsection 20(8) clarifies that payphones temporarily removed from a site for the purposes of either upgrading the payphone; repairing or replacing the connecting line; connecting the payphone to another network; installing an equivalent or enhanced line; or undertaking significant off-site repairs to the payphone will not be required to comply with the criteria under subsection 20(1)(b) applicable to payphones which are proposed to be removed.
Part 5 Payphone register
Division 1 Introduction
Section 21 – Object
Section 21 specifies that the objective of Part 5 of the Determination is to set out the rules a primary universal service provider must comply with in relation to keeping a register that describes the location of payphones provided (or proposed to be provided) in accordance with paragraph 9(1)(b) and subsection 9(2A) of the Act..
Section 22 – Meaning of payphone register
This section sets out that a payphone register is a record (which may be in electronic format), containing a description of the location of existing payphone sites in a universal service area.
Subsection 22(2) also specifies what details a primary universal service provider must include in any description it provides in the payphone register of the location of an existing payphone site.
Division 2 Rules regarding the keeping of a payphone register
Section 23 – Primary universal service provider must keep and make available payphone register
This section provides that a primary universal service provider must maintain a payphone register in relation to the payphone sites located in each universal service area for which the provider is the primary universal service provider. It also requires a primary universal service provider to make the register available to the public on the primary universal service provider’s website.
Section 24 – Primary universal service provider must provide payphone register to the ACMA
This section requires a primary universal service provider to give a copy of its payphone register to the ACMA within three months of the commencement of the Determination and every three months thereafter. Each of these ‘subsequent payphone registers’ must contain a description of the location of existing payphone sites.
The effect of this provision is to provide a mechanism by which detailed information on all of the payphones that are subject to the payphone determinations under sections 12ED, 12EE, 12EF, 12EG and 12EH of the Act can be obtained for the purposes of use by the regulator (the ACMA) and the public. The payphone standards and benchmarks apply to payphones on the register and, similarly, the location and removal requirements and consultation and complaints handling requirements apply to payphones on the register.
Schedule 1 Places and areas
Schedule 1 defines the places and areas that constitute ‘category 1 payphone locations’. It also states the distances from the places and areas within which a payphone must be located for the purpose of defining ‘category 2 payphone locations’ and ‘category 3 payphone locations’.
Part 1 - New payphone locations and relocation of payphones
Division 1 - Category 1 payphone locations and relocation of payphones
This part defines the places and areas that constitute ‘category 1 payphone locations’. This includes places and areas such as retail centres; entertainment venues; residential communities in cities and towns with an average or high level of home telephone connection; industrial or commercial areas and small villages and towns (including holiday areas) with a permanent population of 200 or more persons.
Division 2 - Category 2 payphone locations – eligible places and areas
This part lists places and areas that constitute ‘category 2 payphone locations’ and distances from the places and areas within which a payphone must be located.
While these places and areas are identical to a category 1 payphone location, they differ in that the eligible area extends to cover all places and areas located within a specified radius of the original place or area.
For example, a category 2 payphone location includes places and areas located within one kilometre of retail centres; within two kilometres of industrial and commercial areas, and within 100 kilometres of small service centres on highways and major roads in rural and remote areas where there is inadequate mobile phone coverage.
Division 3 - Category 3 payphone locations – eligible places and areas
This part lists places and areas that constitute ‘category 3 payphone locations’ and distances from the places and areas within which a payphone must be located. These places and areas are collectively referred to throughout the Schedule and the Determination as a category 3 payphone location.
While these places and areas replicate some of the category 1 and category 2 payphone locations, they differ in that the eligible area extends to cover places and areas located within a larger radius to the original location than with a category 1 or 2 payphone location. For example, a category 3 payphone location extends to places and areas within a 250 kilometre radius of small service centres on highways and major roads in rural and remote areas where there is adequate mobile service.