Public consultation on draft standards, rules and benchmarks for statutory infrastructure providers (SIPs)

Stakeholder views are sought on draft standards, rules and benchmarks for statutory infrastructure providers (SIPs).

Your feedback will help the Government decide whether to proceed with the standards, rules and benchmarks and, if so, the final form they should take.

SIPs are telecommunications carriers that are obliged to provide baseline wholesale broadband services in the areas that they service, and support voice services where they operate fixed line and fixed wireless networks. There are now 19 SIPs, including NBN Co, Telstra, OptiComm, LBN Co, Lynham Networks and RedTrain.

The standards, rules and benchmarks would further define the level of service SIPs are required to supply under Part 19 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.

The standards, rules and benchmarks cover:

• maximum timeframes for connection, repairs, and appointment keeping,
• peak speeds,
• network remediation plans,
• transparency requirements for any rebates payable, and
• associated record-keeping.

The draft standards, rules and benchmarks draw on those used by NBN Co as the default SIP for all of Australia, as well as the historical Customer Service Guarantee (CSG).

The SIP arrangements are part of a new consumer protection framework for Australian telecommunications that directs regulation at underlying wholesale networks, while leaving stronger competition to shape consumer outcomes at the retail level.

This framework was explained in our report on Part B of the Consumer Safeguards Review.

The standards, rules and benchmarks would complement NBN Co's commitment in its Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA) and proposed new ACMA rules for the pass-through of NBN Co rebates and transparency of retail commitments.

A full list of SIPs and the areas they are servicing can be found on the ACMA website.

Relevant Documentation

Consultation Paper—Telecommunications (Statutory Infrastructure Providers—Standards, Rules and Benchmarks) Determination 2021

Published 29th Jan 2021

Download PDF (1.34 MB) Download DOC (233 KB)

The paper discusses draft regulatory requirements for statutory infrastructure providers (SIPs) and the rationale for them as the basis for seeking feedback from interested parties. This document may not meet WCAG 2.0 requirements. For an accessible copy, please email USG@infrastructure.gov.au.