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Telecommunications Optus backed G9 puts its FTTN cards on the table
Telecommunications Optus backed G9 puts its FTTN cards on the table | Optus backed G9 puts its FTTN cards on the table |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Wednesday, 30 May 2007 | |
  
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G9 says the proposed network will reach more than four million households and businesses and then progressively roll out to more densely populated regional centres. The network would be financed through domestic and international debt and equity markets and would not require Government funding. Optus CEO, Paul O'Sullivan, said: "The lodgement of the final SAU is the culmination of 14 months of intense work between G9 members, financiers, policy makers and the ACCC. It demonstrates the G9's unwavering commitment to competitive and open access broadband." G9 says that, initially, access prices (ie the price charged to other carriers to use the network, per customer per month) will be in a range between $15 and $25 for basic telephone access service; $19 and $29 for the basic service plus a 1.5Mbps broadband service; and between $40 and $50 for the basic service plus a broadband service of up to 24Mbps. The network could be upgraded to higher speed (VDSL) over time as consumer demand dictates but this would render investment in ADSL2+ equipment in the same area useless because of interference between ADSL and VDSL signals. The ACCC, which has already seen and commented on draft versions, must now decide whether to accept or reject the undertaking but must first hold a public enquiry. It will issue a discussion paper in the next few days. The undertaking is available here where the discussion paper will also be available when issued. A key stumbling block is that the proposal requires that all Telstra copper pairs in an area served by one of its nodes be cut over to its network and that Telstra then gains access to these on the same terms as other carriers. Telstra has vowed to fight the proposal in court. Today, ,as it was being submitted to the ACCC, Telstra's COO Greg Winn was addressing a business lunch in Melbourne where he said: " If you think are going to roll over and play dead, we won't. We will fight it - if it comes out the way it looks like - every step of the way." He also suggested that G9 would fail to deliver on its proposal. " You're falling behind and you will fall farther behind because it won't get built the way they are planning on building it. Plain and simple."{moscomment} |
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