A telecommunications carrier, and we have over 30 in Australia, is free to enter any part of the market justified by its own business plan. For example, a process of spectrum licensing and auctioning has been devised to ensure that this resource is accessible through transparent processes and allocated to the most efficient use. There is industry specific competition regulation, administered within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. This is centred around the problem of the substantial market power of the incumbents, particularly Telstra. One of the most important issues which must be addressed in order to have a truly competitive telecommunications sector is terms of access to the network of the dominant carrier.
Access is a most central issue in telecommunications reform.
In Australia, access to Telstra's local loop has been a contentious issue for some years, and local competition is not as strong as in international, long distance and mobile services In Australia, we have found a need for anti-competitive conduct legislation and an access regime which supplements general trade practices law. This need arises from the potential power of an incumbent to frustrate and delay access to its network. The access regime provides for regulated access rights to be established for specific carriage services and related services, and it provides a framework within which the terms and conditions of access can be determined. Fundamental to the Australian access regime is striking the right balance between incentives for both access providers and access seekers, with a view to promoting the efficient use of and investment in infrastructure and developing a robust, competitive environment. We have also found a need to foster competitiveness of alternative carriers by allowing preselection by those carriers' customers and number portability to ensure that customers will not have to change numbers if they change carriers.