The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ordered on Tuesday giant telco Telstra Corporation to reduce the wholesale pricing of its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service.

The directive, tech experts said, would lead to long-term benefits for Australian broadband subscribers as local internet service providers like iiNet would start enjoying cheaper access to Telstra's nationwide broadband network.

In a statement, the consumer watchdog said that the interim ADSL pricing will hopefully lead to considerable broadband service discounts that Australian consumers can avail of over the next 12 months.

"The ACCC considers that this will promote the long-term interests of end-users of fixed-line broadband internet services throughout Australia," the government regulator said.

"As a result of these decisions, end-users can expect to have access to a greater range of competitive fixed-line broadband internet service offerings," the ACCC added.

Basing its decision on the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the ACCC said that Telstra will have to set its interim ADSL wholesale prices at $25.40 a month in cities and $30.80 a month in regional and rural areas.

The watchdog also allowed the company to affix a capacity charge on the interim pricing, the level of which will be finalised after further review.

For the time being, the terms and conditions of Telstra's ADSL services will be governed by ACCC's interim ruling, which is expected to last for at least a year pending the completion of the agency's ongoing inquiry on the matter.

Its decision, the ACCC said, should also address concerns of the non-existence of competition in the broadband, which at present is largely dominated by Telstra.

"Despite the deployment of competitive broadband infrastructure in some areas over the past decade, competition in the supply of ADSL services is not effective," the regulator said.

Tech experts noted that the latest ACCC intervention will negatively impact Telstra's earnings by up to $55 million but broadband subscribers will in turn enjoy monthly charge reductions of 10 percent.

"The money won't simply go into the pockets of the ISPs but will flow through to the customer, through better prices because of the competitive nature of the market at the moment," tech expert Paul Budde told the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

In a statement, a Telstra spokesman has admitted that the ACCC ruling came as surprise to the company, stressing too that it "does not believe that market conditions justify increased regulation of Telstra's copper network at this time."

"The company was assessing the implications of this decision for our business," the Telstra statement added.