T4 accuses Telstra of 'œnonsense' over NBN pricing

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 09 October 2008 10:52

IT Industry - Strategy

T4 believes that it is perhaps “coincidental that Telstra's price revision came on the same day that an alternative bidder for the National Broadband Network told a Senate inquiry that it estimated the network could be built for $10 billion or less.”
 
T4 advises “Telstra shareholders” that they are “entitled to be concerned at the company's ability to properly plan for such a big investment. Or perhaps shareholders should be more concerned about whether Telstra believes in telling the truth,” which is a clever play on T4’s name, “Tell the Truth Telstra”.
 
Back on the 27th of June, 2008, T4 said in a press release that: “The cost of investment in telecommunications appears to have entered a period of inflation comparable with Zimbabwe, based on comments from Telstra's most senior officers”.

The release covers in more detail the rise of Telstra’s estimated NBN build cost from $9 billion to $25 billion.
 
At the time, T4 noted that “the rate of increase since August equates to inflation of about 330 percent per annum. However, given the speed of the increase from $15 billion to $25 billion, the cost will be $50 billion by the end of the financial year.”
 
T4 then notes that: “Just three years ago, Telstra estimated that a full fibre to the home (FTTH) network would cost only about $20 billion. Curiously, network and construction experts, Ericsson and Baulderstone Hornibrook, estimated that to build such a network at that time would cost approximately half that amount.”
 
T4 took aim at the Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo’s salary package, noting: “The reduced spending power perhaps explains why the Telstra board found it necessary to approve such a generous salary package for Mr Trujillo last year, even after Telstra shareholders voted against it”.
 
A T4 spokesperson ended with the now familiar T4 “Tell the Truth Telstra” refrain: “Or perhaps someone in Telstra has not been telling the truth about the cost of the network.”

I wonder if T4 thinks that Telstra’s NBN is really the “naughty boy network” with what all the alleged non-truth telling?