Telstra plays down opposition to its structural separation plan

Stuart Corner
Friday, 30 September 2011 17:15

IT Policy - Regulation

Telstra has told shareholders that it does not expect any changes required by the ACCC to its proposed structural separation plans will have a material impact. This is very surprising given the strident and almost universal opposition to the plans from Telstra's competitors.

Telstra has provided an update to shareholders telling them that, apart from their approval, only two key conditions remain to be fulfilled to enable the transaction for its participation in the rollout of the NBN to become a done deal.

These are: the receipt of the necessary tax rulings from the Australian Tax Office (ATO); and the ACCC's acceptance of Telstra's Structural Separation Undertaking (SSU) and approval of its Migration Plan.

The first is almost complete. Telstra says it has received an ATO ruling that will become binding once all other conditions precedent are satisfied or waived.

The SSU however is an entirely different matter. The ACCC is still assessing the proposed undertaking and its period for submissions on the proposal concluded on 27 September.

In the shareholder letter Telstra said: "We continue to work closely with the ACCC on the SSU and Draft Migration Plan and at this point we consider that the changes that may be required to address the issues raised by the ACCC are unlikely to have a material impact.

"In considering materiality we will take into account the costs associated with any changes and the degree to which the proposed transaction will continue to deliver greater regulatory certainty than the best available alternative."

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