International Benchmarking of Remote, Rural and Urban Telecommunications Services

Abstract

This paper looks at the extent of differences in the accessibility, quality and price of telecommunications services between remote, rural and urban areas in Australia and other comparable countries. It finds that users experience some disadvantages compared with urban users, but generally no more so than in other countries. This is despite the higher cost of providing services in more sparsely populated Australia. The prices of traditional telephone voice services are similar in rural and urban areas in Australia and in most of the countries studied (although callers' bills can be higher depending on call patterns).

Keywords: telecommunications - remote - rural - urban - Internet - mobile phones - PSTN

JEL Classification: F, R, Z