Telstra, NBN Co near final deal for full national broadband roll out
Giant telecommunication firm Telstra Corporation and National Broadband Network Company finally agreed on the details that would facilitate for the actual roll out of the federal-sponsored National Broadband Network project.
Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said on Thursday that the commercial aspects of the agreement between Telstra and NBN Co have been ironed out, which would prompt the former to gradually retire its existing copper network while allowing the latter to utilise Telstra's in-place communication infrastructures.
As earlier agreed, Telstra stands to collect come $11 billion dollars from the deal that also called for the partition of its wholesale and retail division.
Senator Conroy described the finalised deal as a significant milestone that effectively embodies the measures to be used as guidelines in the whole process of the NBN roll out and its attending transitions periods.
Part of the measures, according to Senator Conroy, "include a public information campaign, providing $100 million to retrain Telstra's workforce to deploy the NBN, and implementing the Government's reforms to deliver the universal services obligation and other public interest services."
The virtually sealed agreement, he added, marks the initial but giant leap towards the deployment of high-speed broadband access to Australian communities while the "commercial terms pave the way for a final agreement for the NBN Co to use Telstra's assets to roll out the NBN and for Telstra to decommission its copper network."
However, Senator Conroy clarified that finer details about the agreement need to be discussed further but he expects no major glitches to arise in finalising the definitive contract that would bind the two parties..
This deal between Telstra and NBN Co should overhaul the ageing telecommunication industry, specifically the broadband segment, Senator Conroy said, and pave the way for a faster and more affordable NBN roll out.