Telstra will now have more than 900 telephone exchanges active altogether, delivering ADSL2+ broadband to more than 2.4 million consumers around the country. This includes 370 new telephone exchanges to nearly 1.8 million premises after today's announcement.
While the Government may regulate such networks in the future, it said today that it does not consider there is a compelling case to regulate these services at the moment. If there was an attempt to regulate them in the future, the existence of other, competing broadband platforms would be highly relevant, said Telstra.
Telstra CEO, Sol Trujillo, made the announcement today in Canberra with the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, and the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy.
"The Government's decision means that more than a million extra Australian families, businesses, non-profit organisations and government agencies will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of high-speed broadband in education, productivity improvements, entertainment and health-care," Trujillo said.
"This simple act of the new Government unlocks the potential of high-speed broadband for households and businesses around Australia, enabling more people to fully participate in remote education, send or receive x-rays and medical files, rapidly download videos or run their business without sacrificing time with their families.
