TAG | Internode and co. want ACCC to force Telstra to wholesale ADSL2+ |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Monday, 25 February 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 Internode’s statement says that the nine-page ISPs' letter to the ACCC “outlines various impediments to effective competition that arise from Telstra's monopoly control of the copper telephone line network”. On the topic of high wholesale transmission pricing, Internode’s statement says that this “describes the ‘backhaul’ cost of moving data from a regional telephone exchange to a capital city”. Internode itself reports that “charges from SA's second-largest town, Mt Gambier, where Telstra is the only backhaul provider, makes providing ADSL2+ services commercially unviable. However, Internode does provide ADSL2+ services in Whyalla, SA's third largest town, where a competitor provides backhaul services for one tenth the cost of a similar Telstra service”. In the case of capped exchanges, Internode notes that Telstra has announced a steadily increasing list of full - or "capped" - exchanges where it claims there is no space for other companies to install their own broadband equipment. The 10 ISPs allege that Telstra “will not consider solutions to this issue. They also state they have examples of exchanges that were not ‘full’, despite Telstra's claims to the contrary”. The final concern outlined in the statement revolves around delays for approval to access exchanges to install DSLAMs. According to Internode, “Telstra's ‘serial queuing system’ means companies can only access exchanges one at a time to construct or expand DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) equipment”. Alarmingly, Internode claims that “it can take as long as two years for a competitor to access or upgrade ADSL2+ services in an exchange, whereas Telstra BigPond can upgrade its own ADSL2+ services in as little as 48 hours”. Internode’s Hackett said the “joint action by ISPs demonstrated the seriousness of the threat posed by Telstra's ADSL2+ access ban”. He concluded his statement saying that: “By retarding competition in the broadband sector, it would mean higher prices and a poorer choice of services for Australian consumers and businesses”.
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