Telstra Submits Final NBN Plan to ACCC, Upbeat on Regulator’s Nod
The National Broadband Network nears its full realisation as Telstra Corporation submitted on Thursday its revised plan that will pave the way for NBN Co to assume control of the giant telco's national communication network.
The separation plan lodged before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has effectively integrated provisions that meet the demands of the regulatory agency and players in the country's telecommunication industry, Telstra said.
Initial reaction coming from the competition watchdog indicated that the Telstra submission will win approval shortly and with that should trigger the full roll out of NBN, which will deliver fast Internet access across Australia.
In a statement submitted before the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), Telstra chief executive David Thodey said the new submission will hopefully iron out the remaining issues that hobble the company's deal with NBN Co.
"I am pleased the ACCC has acknowledged that their concerns have been addressed and I note their commitment to consider the SSU (structural separation undertaking) promptly," Mr Thodey said as reported by The Australian.
The revised plan, Telstra said, has laid out the pricing terms and conditions that the company believes will be acceptable to all parties concerned, specifically Telstra's nearest competitors - iiNet, Internode and Optus.
The new plan also ensured that the country's telecommunication industry will be governed by a level playing field that all players will enjoy, Telstra said.
Mr Thodey added that the new plan will require the nod of Telstra shareholders since nothing much of material change was adopted.
He added that concerns about capital management have been duly considered by Telstra board and it will be further discussed on upcoming board meetings.
The company also did not rule out the likelihood that share buybacks will be implemented in light of the $11-billion windfall that Telstra will reap from the deal, in exchange for the telco to yield its monopoly of Australia's fixed-line network.
Also, NBN Co greeted the development with excitement as it called the impending approval of the plan as "the last substantive condition precedent," for the $36-billion federal government project to further move ahead.
"When the definitive agreement is finalised, it will be a major landmark for the project, and give us certainty that the rollout can proceed as planned," NBN Co said in a statement.
And the likelihood of the project finally getting the green light from the ACCC is big, according to ACCC commissioner Ed Willett.
Mr Willet told The Australian that Telstra has so far dealt with the problems that hampered the deal before.
"It got to the point that if Telstra's undertaking was lodged in accordance with those changes, then there shouldn't be any issues with the ACCC accepting the plan," the ACCC official said.