The chiefs of most of Australia’s large telcos, including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, have taken the unusual step of writing an open letter to the Government asking for certainty on the cost of the Government’s data retention laws.

The letter was sent through industry group Communications Alliance, which was previously expressed frustration with the Government’s refusal to make public its estimates of the cost of the proposed data retention measures.

The Government is attempting to rush the Bill through both houses of Parliament. At this stage it appears it will pass, as it is supported by the Labor Opposition.

The letter is addressed to Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It is worth publishing in full:

Dear Ministers

We write as the CEOs / senior executives of a broad spectrum of Australian telecommunications carriers and carriage service providers (C/CSPs) to seek clarity as to the Government’s stated intention to provide a contribution to the upfront capital expenses that may fall on our industry sector following the anticipated debate and potential passage of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014.

We note that the Government has variously indicated it will make a “reasonable” or “substantial” contribution to these costs – which might exceed $300 million, according to estimates provided by the consultants commissioned by the Government.

We note also that a “substantial” contribution was the bipartisan recommendation of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) – a recommendation that has been accepted by the Government.

Our request to you is, we believe, relatively simple and reasonable.

It is that the Government provide to industry, the Parliament and the wider community  a degree of certainty as to the size of the Government’s planned contribution (and the planned methodology for apportioning those funds between C/CSPs of differing types and market shares) in advance of the Bill being debated and potentially passed into law.

We recognise that:

There is a considerable cost range outlined in the consultants’ estimates

There are cost implications being factored in as a result of some of the PJCIS recommendations

That the Government’s decision on this question does have budgetary considerations.

It is evident that the extent to which the Government’s contribution falls short of the total cost to industry will determine the quantum of additional costs to be absorbed by carriers and carriage service providers or passed on to Australian telecommunications users.

The methodology proposed to apportion the Government contribution will influence the extent to which the smaller CSPs might or might not be disproportionately impacted by the Government’s actions – an issue highlighted in the PJCIS recommendations. A disproportionate effect on smaller CSPs is likely to have a negative effect on their ability to compete in the market.

In light of these factors, we believe it would be a reasonable action on the part of the Government to – at the very least – provide a firm indication of the Government contribution, expressed as a percentage of the final determined cost. We will continue to discuss with the Government the issues associated with capital maintenance costs and operational costs.

We would be pleased to discuss these issues further with you to provide additional information of that would be helpful.

We look forward to the Government’s early response on this issue, particularly that the Bill is scheduled for debate this week.

Yours sincerely

Other signatories included the CEOs or senior executives of Cloud Plus, Cinenet, Duxtel, Inabox, Next Telecom, Pivotal, Truecom and Verizon.