An Optus spokesperson late last month confirmed that the carrier had taken steps to secure a supply of DSL modems after NetComm revealed the carrier had invited it to participate in a limited tender for tens of thousands of the devices to equip its much-anticipated residential ADSL service.
Netcomm director, Michael Boorne, supplied ZDNet Australia with a statement indicating that NetComm pursued the tender attending several briefings with Optus staff. The statement went on to claim Optus had advised NetComm early in August that its bid had not been successful.
"Optus did write to us on August 8, 2003, advising that NetComm were not the successful Tenderer," wrote Boorne in the statement adding:
"We subsequently learned that Optus had chosen D-Link model 302-G for this Tender".
Optus at the time denied it had settled on a modem supplier, claiming that the ink on the deal between the carrier and Telstra Wholesale was then still too wet for such a decision to have been made.
Nearly a month on, Optus is still reluctant to shed any further light on how its selection process has progressed.
In a very carefully worded statement, Optus spokeswoman Germaine Graham yesterday said "no announcement [on the tender] has been made at this stage".
However clinging doggedly to the wording of the response, Graham refused to comment on whether the company had decided on a supplier.
"If we want to make an announcement, you will hear about it in the usual and accepted manner," said Graham.
While the inconsistencies between Optus and NetComm's account of events surrounding the tender remain unexplained, D-Link's DSL-302G appears to have triggered tension between Telstra and modem manufactures.
Telstra said it recently moved to make its approved equipment list more transparent in response to discussions with modem manufacturers, after it was found that D-Link had been distributing the DSL-302G for four months without the carrier's official IP1149 network interoperability certification.
D-Link angrily maintained that it submitted the 302G to Telstra's testing procedures but opted not to submit the paperwork to the carrier to attain certification for commercial reasons.
D-Link altered its position and sought Telstra certification for the 302G within days of ZDNet Australia starting to investigate the matter with D-Link's customers and retail partners.
Boorne maintains that Optus' tender stipulated that submitted customer equipment required Telstra's interoperability certification.
I think optus needs to huury up and bring out there ADSL deal because the trend of the market today will soon have many customers signed up to one of the many new sub $60 p/m unlimited plans.