Internode and co. want ACCC to force Telstra to wholesale ADSL2+

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Monday, 25 February 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! The predicted action by Telstra’s competitors seeking wholesale access to their ADSL2+ infrastructure has begun in earnest, with Internode and nine other ISPs filling a nine page letter with Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission. The battle to gain wholesale access to Telstra’s ADSL2+ broadband network, recently expanded by over 900 exchanges, has just ramped up a notch through the actions of iinet, Internode, TSN Communications, Westnet and others who believe that, under current arrangement, “Telstra will not be obliged to offer equivalent services wholesale”. So these 10 ISPs have written a to ACCC chairman Graham Samuel, asking the ACCC to “issue an urgent Competition Notice under Part XIB of the Trade Practices Act 1974”. They also urges the commission “to re-examine declaring regulatory access to all DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband services, especially in areas where competition through alternative broadband platforms is unviable”. Telstra’s competitors have indicated their willingness to meet with the ACCC to “explain their concerns in detail”, with Internode managing director Simon Hackett saying that: "This is a serious problem, both for the broadband sector and for Australian consumers and businesses”. Hackett continued that: "Telstra clearly has a substantial amount of power in the market for wholesale broadband services. We believe that Telstra's decision not to offer wholesale access to ADSL2+ services will lead to a substantial lessening of competition." Explaining why the 10 ISPs believe the situation is untenable, Hackett then said that: "Telstra has aggressively marketed ADSL2+ broadband as superior to ADSL1 technology. By excluding competitors from wholesale access to its ADSL2+ services, Telstra can lure customers of other ISPs into two or three-year contracts. This substantial lessening of competition will clearly have an adverse impact on consumers, both in terms of price and the range of services available to them in the long term." He concluded that: "For this reason, 10 erstwhile competitors have put their differences aside to urge the ACCC to start an investigation about issuing a Competition Notice." Internode’s letter says that if the ACCC has “reason to believe that a telecommunications carrier or carriage service provider has engaged or is engaging in anti-competitive conduct, it may issue a Competition Notice under section 151AKA of the Trade Practices Act”. Reminding Telstra of the seriousness and potential cost of such a Notice, the statement warns that “this threatens penalties of as much as $10 million for each offence and a further $1 million for each day that a company is found to breach the anti-competition rules”. So, what are some of the other specific issues the 10 ISPs are raising with the ACCC? Please read onto page 2. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

< Next story in category		Previous story in the category >

Visitors last 30 days Suscribers

904,266 13,751