Clash of the Titans: Telstra takes on ACCC - News

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Clash of the Titans: Telstra takes on ACCC

By Rachel Lebihan, ZDNet Australia News
November 03, 2000
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/soa/Clash-of-the-Titans-Telstra-takes-on-ACCC/0,139023165,120106697,00.htm

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Telstra have clashed with renewed fervor over comments the telco giant made about the competition watchdog stifling investment in telecommunications infrastructure.

The industry heavyweights have again pulled out their talons and attacked one another, dredging up old ground concerning interconnection to the public switched telecommunication network (PSTN), without covering any new.

"Claims by Telstra that the terms and conditions of access arbitrated by the Commission are based on a 'hypothetical' network configuration and do not enable it to recover its infrastructure costs are misleading," ACCC acting chairman, Allan Asher, said in a statement blatantly attacking Telstra.

"The processes used by the Commission to identify network costs for the purpose of arbitrating access prices are well-known to the industry and were developed in consultation with it," Asher added.

Telstra responded to the assault, saying that the ACCC's modeling structure was inadequate.

"Telstra is well and truly on the record as saying this type of hypothetical modelling doesn't reflect the correct methodology," a Telstra spokesperson told ZDNet."[The modelling] should be forward-looking, best-in-use costs in the real world," he added.

Furthermore, Telstra disputed the fact that its comments about infrastructure costs are misleading.

"Currently the ACCC's modeling requires Telstra to grant access to its network below the cost of the building and maintenance of the infrastructure - this cannot be in the interest of consumers," the spokesperson said.

Telstra went on to slam the Commission for three-years of delays in finalising a determination of conditions of access.

"The whole process has taken the ACCC three years," the spokesperson said.

"Everyone in the industry has been roundly critical of delays - this shouldn't be seen [just] as Telstra criticism."

Telstra claims the Commission's delay in bringing down a final determination has prevented scrutiny by the industry umpire - the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT).

Since the ACCC's final determination Telstra has appealed to the ACT.

"The ACCC's [recent] criticism ignores the growth of competition - it's as if the last 10 years didn't happen", the spokesperson said.