Telstra has proposed again to charge for directory-assistance calls. In a proposal that went to the Government yesterday, phone users who dial directory assistance to find a number correctly listed in their local White Pages would be charged 50 cents.
The last time Telstra proposed this, it was howled down, because people looked at the proposal too superficially, rather than in detail. In doing so they got the picture wrong. They thought about the aged and infirm and other residential users being stung for a service that should come as a matter of course when renting a phone. However, it is more likely to be mobile phone users (often well off) and the lazy (as likely to be fit and young as older infirm) who use directory assistance.
When Telstra’s proposal is viewed in detail it seems more than fair.
Public phones would be exempted as would those with sight impairment.
Telstra said the trade-off would be a $5.40 reduction in line rental for all customers. This means the diligent will be rewarded. The sixty per cent of users who never use directory assistance would be better off. They would not be unfairly subsidising the lazy.
Of greater importance is the greater efficiency of the system. Hit with a 50 cent fee, many customers would think twice before opting for directory assistance. Mobile-phone users, particularly, would be more likely to carry updated contact books so they did get hit with the fee. It would cut use of the service which is now costing Telstra $210 million a year to run and for which all phone users pay. And the cost is growing.
Telstra research that 70 per cent of directory assistance were for numbers in the local book and 70 per cent of directory assistance callers admitted they had not bothered checking their White Pages first.
Moreover, these people are swamping the service to the detriment of people who genuinely need the service for out-of-area inquiries.
The case for charging is compelling.