Welcome mat out for NBN from Telstra and CCC

Peter Dinham
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 09:25

IT Industry - Strategy

Telstra and its old adversary, the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition have both ‘welcomed’ the government’s decision on the national broadband network (NBN) – but, it’s probably just the start of the next round of sniping between these two muscled up fighters.

In one corner, Telstra says it’s immediately reviewing the government’s proposal to build the network in a partnership with the private sector and looks forward to “constructive discussions” with the government at the earliest opportunity.

And, Telstra chairman, Donald McGauchie, says “Telstra has publicly advanced the need for high-speed broadband for a number of years” and, just in case you reckon structural separation might be on the government’s mind with this decision, McGauchie reminds us that “Senator Conroy has said today that the Government does not have a pre-determined view on regulatory matters.”

Meanwhile, the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition - harsh critics of Telstra and pretty much everything it does in business - enthusiastically welcomes the “historic economic reform”,  but takes the opportunity to again side-swipe Telstra, commenting that “the reforms are long overdue, as evidenced by the internationally high prices and poor services Australians have suffered for more than a decade.”

The CCC’s executive director, David Forman, says the government’s decision has the potential to turbo-charge competition in Australian communications and leap-frog Australia to the forefront of broadband technology in the world, adding that consumers and businesses across the country should see “significant and rapid improvements in prices and services for communications services.”

According to Forman, “where ever competitors have been able to gain a foothold in Australia, prices and services have immediately been transformed and consumers have been the winners.”

But, Forman is quick to remind us that “competition in the Australian market has been slowly suffocated during the past five years, while other countries have leapt ahead. The regulatory reform agenda, with legislation this year, can reverse that trend.”
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