TASA arises from the ashes of Terria to savage NBN's naysayers

Stuart Corner
Monday, 14 September 2009 12:42

IT Industry - Strategy

The CEOs of a number of Australia's leading telecommunications companies and ISPs - previously members of the Terria carrier grouping formed to bid for the NBN Mark 1 - have reunited to counter what they say is the large amount of misinformation being reported about the National Broadband Network.

Going by the name TASA (Terria Access Seekers Association) they are iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Primus Telecom, Netspace and Optus. but they are keen for others to join them, saying: "we will be extending an invitation to other access seekers to join the organisation that share our goal of an open and competitive NBN." Primus Telecom CEO, Ravi Bhatia, has been appointed chairman.

TASA's stated aim is "to represent the interests of access seekers in ensuring that competition and innovation considerations underlie any decisions taken in connection with the NBN."

Bhatia said: "The group of access seekers had been in regular discussion for some time now and had recognised there was a need to get more involved in the NBN process. The collective experience of this group lends naturally to shaping the decisions concerning the NBN, be it technology, regulatory or operational considerations."

According to Internode managing director, Simon Hackett, "TASA will offer a provider-neutral forum for legitimate access seekers to discuss and define how its members believe that the necessary technical access mechanisms, service definitions, pricing principles, and business interfaces should work together to ensure the success of the NBN."

Netspace managing director, Stuart Marburg, said: "The Government has announced the construction of the NBN, but there is a lot of detail that needs to be worked through. Decisions taken today about the NBN and the structure of our industry must be properly informed. The level of debate so far demonstrates a degree of misunderstanding about the NBN."

iiNet CEO, Michael Malone added: "Our interest is in maximising competition, so that all participants in the industry get a fair go and are on a level playing field. We have an obligation to future generations of Australians to ensure the NBN delivers on its competitive potential."

Terria had its origins in the G9 consortium that was formed, pre the NBN mark 1 RFP to put a proposal for an FTTN network to counter that from Telstra. G9 was formalised and renamed Terria in May 2008 comprisng AAPT, iiNet, Internode, Optus, Macquarie Telecom, Primus, Soul and TransACT (the ninth member of the original consortium, PowerTel, had by then become part of AAPT).

The name Terria was said to be a contraction of the name first given to Australia: Terra Australis (unknown southern land). Terria's chairman said of it: "We ...like the fact that it's phonetically the same as terrier which hints at the energy and tenacity which will be needed to win the best communication outcome. In a word it sums up both our determination and the scale of the National Broadband Network with the commitment of coverage across the land."