Stuart Corner
Sunday, 13 April 2008 14:35
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
Telstra has threatened all sorts of legal action to protect its network from what is sees as downright theft. Unless the government can somehow guarantee that Telstra will be unable to initiate legal action once the contract has been awarded, the successful bidder could face delays of months as disputes are dragged through the courts.
Then there is the as yet unanswered question as to exactly what terms and conditions a successful bidder will face in gaining access to Telstra infrastructure. Simultaneous with the release of the NBN RFP, the Government has invited in a separate process, industry and public interest groups to provide submissions on regulatory issues, including consumer safeguards, "relevant to the outcome of the NBN process."
The closing date for these submissions is one month prior to the closing time for proposals on the NBN RFP. These submissions "will be available to proponents so that they may have regard to them in preparing their proposals."
Any proposal will have to stipulate what regulatory changes the proponent requires. Then, in the assessment process, the government will assess "the extent to which proposed legislative and/or regulatory changes may be required to implement the Proposal and the acceptability of those changes to the Commonwealth."
So, let's assume G9 or somebody else submits an attractive bid demanding certain regulatory changes to give it access to the Telstra network. The Government must know that Telstra will pursue every legal avenue available, including if possible a challenge in the High Court under the constitution, to delay, disrupt and if possible defeat outright any such plan.
On the other hand, an acceptable proposal from Telstra carries none of these risks. Telstra's technical ability to rollout any network to which it commits has been amply demonstrated by its 10 month rollout of Next G.
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