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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Tuesday, 25 May 2004) . . Page.. 2207 ..

ActewAGL
(Question No 1426)

Mr Cornwell asked the Treasurer, upon notice, on 30 March 2004:

(1) In relation to the recent Transact merger with ActewAGL and further to an interview on ABC Radio Canberra on Thursday, 18 March between presenter Chris Uhlmann and Chief Executive of ActewAGL, John Mackay, which services has Transact been forced to trim in its latest roll-out and why;

(2) Will Transact be able to offer to new subscribers the full range of services including the broadband component of internet, telephone, TV and video services enjoyed by current Transact subscribers; if not, why not.

(3) In regards to the fibre optic technology used in previous roll-outs, (a) why is it now not to be used by Transact and (b) will its use discontinue; if so, when;

(4) Is the fibre optic technology now deemed obsolete by industry standards and has it been superseded by other technologies; if so, will this affect existing Transact subscribers, for example, will they lose some of the services available to them currently; if so, how and when will this happen;

(5) Will existing Transact subscribers be able to access all four services listed part (2) in both the short and long term; if not, why not;

(6) Will new Transact subscribers be charged at a lesser rate for the provision of Transact services if they are not to receive the full range of services enjoyed by current Transact subscribers; if so, what will the cost difference be;

(7) If new subscribers will not be charged at a lesser rate if the full range of services are not offered, why not;

(8) Will the full range of services be offered by Transact to new subscribers in the future even if it is unable to do so currently;

(9) In what A.C.T. suburbs has Transact fibre optic cabling been installed to date;

(10) What (a) A.C.T. suburbs will be guaranteed to receive fibre optic cabling in the future before Transact ceases to install this technology and (b) A.C.T. suburbs will miss out on fibre optic cabling altogether;

(11) Does the current roll-out in Tuggeranong, to be completed at the end of April, include the fibre optic technology offering the four services listed in part (2);

(12) If the decision to cease TransACT’s fibre optic cable rollout to A.C.T. suburbs has been made for financial reasons, what assurances can be given to ensure that Transact remains a viable entity in the future;

(13) Are there any plans for Transact to cease operations completely, or for those operations to be completely assimilated into ActewAGL’s services; if so, why and how.

Mr Quinlan: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

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