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Telstra's rivals re-ignite structural separation debate |
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by Stuart Corner
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Monday, 18 December 2006 |
Buoyed by numerous initiatives in Europe aimed at creating greater separation between the infrastructure and services arms for former incumbent carriers, the Competitive Carriers Coalition (CCC) has made a concerted effort to re-ignite the debate in Australia with the launch of two commissioned reports and presentation of a European study detailing the claimed upsides of structural separation.
The reports were launched at a forum in Sydney on 18 December, one from the Allen Consulting Group; "Structural separation of Telstra - why it is needed and what can be done", and one from Marsden Jacob Associates "Broadband Adoption and Strategies".
The forum also heard a presentation from UK based Bear Stearns analyst, William Main, co-author of a report on the upside of wholesale-retail separation of European carriers, entitled "Wholesale Salvation".
According to Vince Fitzgerald, chairman of the Allen Consulting Group, the longer structural separation is delayed the less competitive telecommunications markets will become, particularly with Telstra fully privately owned. The Allen's report contends that opportunities were missed in 1997, 2003 and 2005 to put in place a greater separation of Telstra's operations, and the ACCC has noted that the accounting separation regime introduced in 2002 has not given it a satisfactory means of handling Telstra'sbusiness operations.{moscomment}
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