Telstra defiant in face of 'keep CDMA going' order

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 20 September 2007 17:06

IT Policy - Regulation

Telstra has come out fighting in response to the Government-imposed requirement to keep its CDMA network operating until the Government is satisfied that the Next G network provides equivalent coverage.

Telstra has produced a three page brochure headed "Say goodbye to CDMA. Say hello to Next G wireless broadband" in which it says the  requirement, in the form of a licence condition, is "another example of the Government showing disregard for sound, pro-consumer and pro-investment public policy" and promising to "explore legal options to reduce these new Government-imposed burdens on consumers and Telstra shareholders."

Telstra says its commitment to the same or better guaranteed coverage by the scheduled closure date of 28 January 2008 "is a firm commitment that has been accepted on face value by more than one million consumers who are already Next G network users. However...the Federal Government has decided to impose a licence condition that requires Telstra to do what it has already promised – to guarantee that consumers have the same or better coverage than CDMA."

Because she is involved in a court case with Telstra, communications minister Helen Coonan last week delegated responsibility for imposing the licence condition to Attorney General, Philip Ruddock, who took just 24 hours to do so