Carrier powers must not be increased 

The Property Council of Australia recently made a submission to the Federal Government’s Consultation on Possible Amendments to Telecommunications Carrier Powers and Immunities.

In the submission, The Property Council objected to any amendments that would see any increase in telecommunications carrier powers and immunities and consequently, could not support any of the proposed changes to carrier powers.

The aggressive, dominant behaviour displayed by telecommunications carriers (carriers) in their dealings with building owners sees owners bearing unreasonable health and safety risks and costs due to carrier activities on their premises.

The proposed changes would only see an escalation in this behaviour and result in further inefficient and unfair use of Australia’s commercial buildings.

Over the last decade, carriers have taken an increasingly aggressive interpretation of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act) and the Telecommunications Code of Practice 1997 with building owners in what many consider to be an abuse of market power.

Building owners are concerned that licensed carriers:

• do not provide sufficient notice or information before undertaking work within a building
• fail to observe critical safety standards, creating Work Health and Safety (WHS) and fire hazards
• impede building maintenance by inappropriately installing cables and other equipment within common areas such as ceiling spaces
• use space inefficiently and rarely remove redundant equipment from buildings, leading to clogged risers and tenant areas
• do not properly label equipment or document work making it difficult for owners to manage their buildings and rectify issues
• do not supervise or audit contractors who install equipment in buildings,
• do not compensate building owners for costs associated with:

• providing space for installing equipment within their buildings
• managing carrier equipment installed within their buildings.

The Property Council is continuing to collect information from the industry on carrier behaviour to inform future advocacy on this issue and would welcome any feedback form members.