Concerns surrounding Telecommunications in Australia

This letter expresses concern about how the shutdown of the 3G network and Emergency Call Service Determination will impact open source software development.

About us

The Perth Linux User Group is a not for profit of professionals, students, and hobbyists who are interested in Linux and Open Source Software.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is software that licensed for use and modification by everyone, free of charge. Linux is one of the most famous FOSS softwares in the world.

Because FOSS is provided to everyone without expense, the responsibility of advocating for this software falls on enthusiasts and users, which is where our group comes in.

Our Concerns

Telecommunications control three markets, not one.

There are handful companies that provide mobile network services in Australia.

These companies are also major retailers of mobile devices in Australia. This gives them unfair control over Phone hardware and software markets, as control over one alows them to dominate in the other.

A phone simply cannot be a phone if it is not given access to a telecommunications network. Not only does the telco often lock phones to their network, restricting competition in within telecommunications, they are also able to block services on devices sold outside of official Telco retailers, or that are running an operating system not officially recognised by those Telcos. This gives them de-facto power over what operating system and software the device needs to function. If it doesn't run a familiar operating system with drivers approved by that network - regardless of how functional and compatible that software is with the network - Telcos can block that device outright.

This is not how things have traditionally been

The separation of hardware and software has existed since the home PC market began. Even today, many handsets and similar devices have accessible bootloaders that allow you to install custom software like ROMs, proving that it is still possible to allow hardware and software to remain divided. Ensuring a separation of power between these markets is as important as ensuring separation between the oil extraction and distribution markets in the past. As excacerbated by the handling of the 3G network shutdown, a handful of telcos have control over telecommunications markets, Authority over Hardware distribution, and power over how you run your own device.

The 3G network and its consequences

The transition from 3G to 4G - although different to the transition from 2G to 3G - is an innevitability. What distinctly did not have to happen, was for a complete nationwide shutdown, with a move to non-standardised VoLTE technology, and unchecked power provided to the biggest phone retailers to block any devices from mobile networks. It is detrimental enough to a free market that Telco companies are allowed to do this. What is less acceptable is that the Amendment to the Emergency Call Services Determination has given them a mandate with no controls against their clear conflict of interest as phone retailers.

The Minister of Communications, in their response to constituent James Parker's concerns stated that Phone identification methodologies have been conducted based on industry practices. As discussed above the industry is highly concentrated and common practice is already deeply interwoven with conflicting interest of selling handsets. Minister Rowland also claims that there will be a variety of hansets to choose from via a mobile operator or third party vendor. This does not account for the fact that their operator sells network locked mobile devices, and as things stand nothing stops an operator from blocking devices sold by an unapproved third party retailer.

We call on you

• Do not allow the Emergency Call Service Determination to remain in place as it stands. This law gives Telecommunication companies permission to block devices of their choosing and puts the blame for their decisions at the governments feet.

• Ensure future policies remain concious that Hardware, Software, and Network markets remain distinct and separate.