Telstra has admiited that it can roll out a fibre optic broadband network in two weeks if it gets Government approval.
The rival Optus-led G9 consortium has lodged a high-speed network proposal with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) but Telstra says the plan gives the ACCC too much power over access and pricing decisions.Telstra’s managing director of public policy Phil Burgess says while its charges would be higher than G9’s, Telstra has the infrastructure and finances in place for a very fast roll-out.
“I think if the G9 wins, it’ll be like the dog who caught the car,” he said. “I don’t think they would know what to do. “I don’t think they have any of the engineering plans or financing plans or deployment schedules or even a management plan ready to go.”
“We’ve got all that ready to go and we unveiled that for the press last week,” he said.
Mr Burgess says the Federal Government should not let the competition watchdog be involved in any new tender process to build a national broadband optical fibre network.He says the ACCC has shown a clear preference for the G9 deal, and the regulator’s position in any decision-making process would see Telstra unfairly disadvantaged.
“The ACCC has embraced the G9 plan and that’s why I think it would be unbecoming for the ACCC to sit on this expert panel,” he said.
