Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has strongly defended his criticism of sections of the agreement between Telstra and NBN Co and says they all are capable of being resolved and should not delay rollout of the NBN – despite conjecture along those lines in some sections of the press yesterday.Concerns over the ACCC’s criticism of the agreement saw Telstra’s shares drop 8 cents (2.6 per cent) to $2.99 on Tuesday. But yesterday they grabbed back four cents to close at $3.03.
Sims told ABC Radio the ACCC’s concerns centred on the possibility that undertakings by Telstra on its planned structural separation might not address legislative requirements.
“This is something that is capable of resolution – it should not, need not, hold things up,” he said.
But he added that if the ACCC didn’t accept Telstra’s plan, the telco might have to go back to the drawing board. “The key focus should be getting what’s in front of us right rather than contemplating new directions,” he said.
