NBN's small footprint a big opportunity for Telstra

James Riley
Friday, 16 October 2009 14:16

Opinion and Analysis

The project is so layered in complexity that the technical side of things start to look relatively easy. From the political, to the regulatory and commercial, there are still many unknowns facing the projects. But they are starting to come together and much of it will become clearer should the legislative reform bill get through.

This network is going to get built, one way or another. While NBN Co is not involved in the legislative discussion, it is understood to be keen to see the reforms passed this year – if only because it provides certainty in a sector that has been floating.

In fact, the company says it would be hard to imagine any outcome at all of talks between Telstra and Government in the absence of a legislative framework. Without the passage of the bill, the thinking goes, it would be impossible for Telstra management to make an informed decision about how to respod to the NBN world on behalf of its shareholders.

NBN Co has quietly been moving around the industry, briefing and listening. It is sorting out its technical specifications; it is investigating the useful national infrastructure that’s already in place – whether it belongs to a state government, a utility, or a potential telco partner – and its working to get the architectural model right.

The NBN will get built, and it will get built whether Telstra is directly engaged or not, and whether Telstra assets are vested in or not. That's the dispassionate view that seems to be coming from Australia’s newest telco.

There's more than one way to skin a cat. The company has been given a clear set of objectives, and it has been given rock solid political support and committed resources to get it done.

Access to Telstra ducts and the some infrastructure would be great. But it's not critical, the NBN will roll-out regardless. And Telstra will have an enormous role in the provision of broadband services in Australia, regardless.

Keeping a focus on a small footprint hasn't made the project any smaller. It's not Australia's Man on the Moon, but it's definitely Three Gorges big.

And while the Minister has set an aggressive timetable, NBN Co still reckons it'll be done and dusted in eight years.