In another delay tactic move, Telstra has chosen to play a personal card against the Minister for Communications herself, the intelligent Senator Helen Coonan.
Telstra’s move is basically legal action to sue the Minister herself for alledgedly agreeing to the OPEL proposal and changing the terms midway.
What actually seems to have happened here is when the announcement of Australia Connected happened, the terms of the proposals was for $600 million, with the oppourtunity for more.
The oppourtunity for more funding was always an option from the word go.
The companies could all make their proposals and try and fetch the $600m (as they all do, go straight for the maximum), with the possibility for more to be added afterwards.
There is nothing at all stopping companies bidding for more, or stating they would include funds of their own (more or less), and so forth.
Telstra’s proposal was a snatch and run for the $600m without giving anything of their own to enhance it.
In the words of Coonan herself, the better proposal won. She, like me, also seems to believe that its just sour grapes from Telstra, however, it seems to stem past sour grapes.
The tactic here by Telstra seems to extend more to the let’s just mount OPEL in legal action to delay them and therefore keep our PSTN revenue on the increase.
Telstra are in a very threatened state right now, and they know it. Why else would you spend MINDLESS amounts in legal action that you will definitely LOSE, if you don’t have anything to gain?
Telstra don’t have anything to gain from the OPEL proposal, but they have a lot to lose, when OPEL visit many areas with their infrastructure rollout, Telstra will be losing customers by the bucket load, because many customers are sick of Telstra’s overpriced services.
OPEL will at the very least force prices down, at the most, bring on more investment (which is likely).
If you are a shareholder of TLS, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, get out now, you’ll be supporting a company that is going to see a decline, no matter which way you look at it.
Virgin are going in with Optus infrastructure with a $60 unlimited calls and 4GB 512k broadband connection, which is available all over metro areas to the majority of the population.
OPEL will have ADSL2+ and WiMAX services at prices up to around $60 wholesale max, so about $80 retail, and be bringing faster speeds.
iiNet and Internode will be escalating their rollouts after market certainty increases around FTTN, and if FTTN does go to the G9, we’ll see the consortium investing in the rollout.
If it goes to Telstra, well Australians aren’t fully doomed, as Telstra won’t be chasing a competition blockout, and so can simply build beside Telstra in every street just as Telstra did with Optus HFC.
If it goes to the G9. Well, we get to see a new Telstra as well, who will simply be a provider of aged, mutilated copper wire, and they’ll be using their HFC network to provide services to customers, as well as their outdated NextG network, when OPEL get WiMAX running!
So, the marketplace is all shaping up to give Telstra a royal kick in the behind, and Telstra’s legal action is all just a response to this to try and keep things going for a while longer while it is strung up in court cases, wasting shareholder dollars.
Sol, when you grow a brain and use it, you should then take the top of Telstra and start working with industry.
Again, I say, look at BT in the UK, who has done structural seperation, not by force, but to work with industry, and they’ve said they’ve been very, very profitable.
Why doesn’t Telstra listen to BT?
Well, they are ignorant, they proved that by not bothering to sign a letter the ACCC drafted that would mandate them rights to retail ADSL2+ at alledged loss making prices (Telstra claim competitiors are buying services at a price that leaves them at a loss, well, why do they retail ADSL2+ at the same price as 8Mb, if they are making a loss?).
One thing is certain when it comes to telecommunications and Telstra: There is certainly more inconsistent childish games, misleading information, threats of terrorism, and wastes of shareholder funds to come from the idiots over at Telstra.
Enjoy!