Conroy separates from NBN Telstra reports
- 11 June, 2009 14:49
- Comments 4
Stephen Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has poured cold water on media reports that Telstra will be handed a 49 per cent stake in the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) if it cleaves off its wholesale arm.
The Australian reported last month that the government will offer Telstra a 49 per cent stake in the NBN if it is split into separate wholesale and retail arms, and 20 per cent if it sells its fibre infrastructure to the government and functionally separates.
Conroy told reporters at the Digital Technologies Summit in Sydney yesterday the government has not decided on under what conditions Telstra will be allowed a 49 per cent stake in the NBN Co.
“We are keeping an open mind about what propositions people want to put forward... we won't pre-empt discussion,” Conroy said.
The minister has not met with Optus to discuss its calls for Telstra to be structurally separated, but said Telstra chief David Thodey was “very positive” during a brief meeting.
“The [Telstra] board wants to move from where it was to a better position,” Conroy said.
The government is waiting on results of an NBN study before deciding the stakeholder cap for vertically integrated telcos, but Conroy said it will legislate to avoid both arms of a functionally separated company from buy-in.
“If a company was a vertically integrated monopoly or former monopoly and it wanted to vend in, in its current structure, then it [may] be allowed 15 to 20 per cent. If, in the future, any company changed its structure then it is possible that we could consider a changed set of circumstances,” he said in Senate Estimates.
Conroy referred to pending discussions regarding whether the NBN should be a monopoly, but said the government has “no need to cut [Telstra's] copper lines”.
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Comments
Anonymous
NBN needs to be independent
It's vital that no part of an existing carrier network be included in the NBN unless that infrastructure has been physically separated from the control of the corporation in question.
Anything less will perpetuate the monopoly mess for which we have all been paying dearly over the last twenty years.
Anonymous
Agreed
I agree. By the sounds of things, they're asking telcos to give up their fibre in exchange for giving them a certain amount of shares in the NBNco. So in a sense, telcos would be exchanging full control over only their fibre for partial control over all of it.
I believe Optus and a few others are already onboard with this idea but I hope they get telstra as well - that way the cost of implementing the NBN will be cut significantly. I just hope they don't offer a rediculous figure like 49% for it.
Anonymous
Its clear that people have no Idea of whats involved in a real large scale network and keeping it running - this sounds like typical non technical managment speak thats created the mess in the first place
Anonymous
of course optus and that are on board telstra has the biggest infrastructure out of them all optus cant really lose anything by offering up this telstra on the otherhand probably will im still hoping telstra turns around and builds there own network cos it would be a swift kick to the government and would probably be built in half the time it take the government to figure out if they can even perpetuate this. also what happens if labour lose and the libs come back in and just say pfft where not paying for that we dont do debt
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