Minister to discuss Telstra standards with inquiry chair

11.00am

CANBERRA - Communications Minister Helen Coonan will today meet with Telstra inquiry chairman Dick Estens to work out how Telstra services can be kept up to scratch after it is sold.

Senator Coonan said and Mr Estens would talk about the concept of future proofing, or methods which need to be put in place to stop Telstra's services deteriorating once it is sold.

"This is something that the government will legislate," Senator Coonan told ABC radio.

"That will include a requirement for regular reviews and also for a local presence plan.

"I'm interested to discuss with him how that might be fleshed out."

Mr Estens, a cotton farmer, made a series of recommendations in 2002 about the standards which need to be met before the federal government can fully privatise Telstra.

One of the key recommendations was that services in the bush had to be up to scratch before the government sold its remaining 51.05 per cent shareholding in Telstra.

Senator Coonan's talks with Mr Estens coincide with a community meeting she is hosting in the north western NSW town of Moree so country people can talk about the standard of Telstra services in the bush.

She said a direct example of the government putting future proofing measures in place was the A$108 million ($120 million) it had allocated to make broadband internet services more available across Australia.

The plan includes providing incentives to broadband providers to roll out services in areas where they would not otherwise have an commercial incentive to do so.

Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson will also attend today's meeting in Moree, which forms part of his electorate.

He has told The Australian Financial Review today that the government could demand telecommunications companies foot the bill to improve minimum service standards in the bush as a condition of Telstra's sale.

He also flagged the government could set up a trust fund to use the expected A$30 billion from the sale of its remaining shareholding in Telstra to pay for future proofing measures.

Mr Anderson also revealed the government was considering siphoning off part of the cost of phone calls cost to help pay for the upgrading rural services.

- AAP