The Australian government has put forward the draft regulation for a structural separation of the incumbent Telstra as a part of the country’s National Broadband Network (NBN) plan.
In a statement yesterday, the government said that it had sent draft…
The Australian government has put forward the draft regulation for a structural separation of the incumbent Telstra as a part of the country’s National Broadband Network (NBN) plan.
In a statement yesterday, the government said that it had sent draft regulatory instruments on the separation for public consultation. Interested parties have until the June 15 to respond to these regulatory instruments.
After the instruments have been finalised, then Telstra can proceed with putting forward its separation proposal to the telecoms regulator, the ACCC.
As part of the separation plan, customer services on Telstra’s copper network and television network will be taken over by NBN Co, the wholesale company created by the government to implement the NBN programme.
Telstra signed a A$$11bn (US$11.7bn) non-binding agreement with NBN last year to take part in the NBN project. This agreement required it to complete this structural separation.
As part of the NBN plan, the government aims to expand high-speed broadband internet access to all Australians within three years. It aims to provide services to 93% of the population through fibre, while a further 7% will be served by either wireless or satellite technology.
The government has invested A$27bn (US$28.8bn) in equity in NBN Co. The expectation is that this sum will be repaid over the time of the investment and will ultimately produce a return for Australian taxpayers.
Stephen Conroy, the Australian minister for broadband, communications and digital economy said: “Telstra’s structural separation is a critical reform that will enable the telecommunications sector to provide competitive and innovative services to Australian consumers.”
Conroy also said that negotiations were continuing between NBN and Telstra on two key issues: the migration of Telstra’s customer services to NBN Co and to enable NBN Co to get access to Telstra’s infrastructure.
