Telstra’s participation in the national broadband network (NBN) has cleared the final hurdle after the competition regulator said it had accepted the telco’s structural separation undertakings (SSU).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday said the SSU had been subject to extensive consultation and its acceptance marked a significant milestone in the structural reform of the telecommunications sector.

“Telstra has made substantial improvements to its interim equivalence and transparency commitments, which are intended to ensure that wholesale customers gain access to key input services on an equivalent basis to Telstra’s retail business units during the transition to the national broadband network,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

The SSU outlined how Telstra would split its retail and wholesale arms during the NBN’s rollout.

The SSU approval was the last step to Telstra beginning the migration of its customers to the federal government’s high-speed NBN, when the network could access Telstra’s pits, ducts and exchanges.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will hold a media conference on the issue in Canberra, later on Tuesday.