News from AAP

Optus makes a last bid to prevent Telstra’s NBN deal

Print This Post A A A

Optus has made a last-ditch bid to prevent Telstra from reaching an agreement with regulators over its participation in the national broadband network (NBN).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is reviewing Telstra’s structural separation undertakings (SSU) and is yet to issue a ruling as part of its final considerations for the $11 billion transaction.

“We call on the ACCC to reject Telstra’s submission … on all measures,” Mr O’Sullivan told a business conference in Sydney on Friday.

He said the competition regulator should not compromise, due to the importance of the project for Australia.

The ACCC should reject Telstra’s undertaking about how it would operate once the NBN is rolled out, he said.

Telstra says it could reach an agreement with regulators before the end of the year.

Under the deal with the federal government and NBN Co, Telstra will progressively decommission its copper-based network and allow NBN Co to access its pits, manholes and exchanges, and sell some infrastructure.

In return, Telstra will receive $11 billion from the federal government, with the financial benefits to come over a 30-year period.

Mr O’Sullivan said it was important to keep the copper network and its retail business separate.

A separation would provide all industry players with a “level playing field” where they could access that network to prevent Telstra locking people into contracts ahead of the NBN rollout.

“This access regime, this undertaking will be very important to competition,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

While the NBN was a great idea, he said it needed to be delivered properly.

“It is on a knife edge. It could go either way. It could be a major success or it could be a huge failure.”

It would be judged on whether it delivers on quality, service and price.

He welcomed the coalition’s calls for structural reform to the industry but said it needed to outline more details.

“We are embarking on a huge experiment,” he said.

“We are establishing a government-owned monopoly at a time when the rest of the world is taking them apart.”