Let’s think about it for second. The deal in non-binding and subject to shareholder approval after the next Federal election.

If the coalition wins the NBN is dead so the deal won’t see the light of day. If Labor wins the deal may still get voted down by TLS shareholders anyway.

So I would say that Telstra are cunningly just sitting on the fence and waiting to see if Rudd gets the boot.

Wonder if TLS share holders will vote for it?

I think any Telco should be worried about a Government monopoly being set up with no business plan, no clear objectives but with access to a huge amount of public money.

How does that create competition exactly?

You know that is very different right?

But I do get what you are saying.

I just like having go at Telstra, I think they are the embodiment of evil.

If the government was to start breaking up companies with poor service than where would it end? Who decides when a company needs to be broken up and what are the rules?

I am not defending Telstra’s customer service, I am just against strong arm government intervention.

Besides if you look at the TIO statistics, there are plenty of other telco’s/ISP out there that seem to have upset their customers.

If anyone can tell me what the guidelines are the government is using to break up Telstra as opposed to it being simply an attempt to cover then NBN mess (as I have suggested) then I am happy to stand corrected.

You know ABC is a monopoly of sorts..shall we break that up? Heck it isn’t even a private company so it should be easy.

here is the number 132000 when the automated voice comes on
just say the word …. complaint …
and be prepared for the quickest service ive experinced in years with telstra

this dosent change the fakt that i will be changin my servise provider
as i with a 3 hour reserch have found providers that offer
better rates on

( based on our use )

home phone

2 buisiness mobiles halfing the monthly bill

internet 60 GB plan with 1 month contract
at the same price as bigponds 25 GB plan 24month contract

good luck to telstra share holders

the OP mentions that australia is to small for biger compertision to lover prices here in australia

wonder how come a smaller country like denmark 5.5 million people have been able to
push the prices low enough to have had 500 Dkr ( $ 99 aud ) unlimeted mobile phone plans for several years now
txt and phone calls any time :0
smaler plans avalible but the teen favorite is the $ 99 plan

land lines are just about gone as mobile prices are so cheep
there that not many people use them anymore

internet = sim with usb dongle
are the favorite again cheper that a fixed line internet conection in australia

lets face it telstra is a rip off
and until people do walk away from telstra
nothing will happen as they sit high and mighty
and rake the $$$ in without providing a suffisient service
compared to what their prices are

Doug

I had to call them four different times to change my address.

By the second time I was being extremely clear about it.

By the fourth time I was being rude about it.

ive been a customer for 10 years but the last 12 month have been a huge disapointment
from service to Billing end

7 days to have a line moved to our new residense we moved 20 meters to a new unit

to our phone being disconected while we are on overseas holiday with our 3 month old baby ( unpayd bill )
the bill never arrived guess that dosent matter to telstra

that they sent our bill to the wrong address

now again BILL arives on 26/10/2009 payment overdue fees apply disconection on 27/10/2007
sent to wrong address AGAIN !!!!
reconection fee apply

thanks telstra ( not HAPPY )
we have 2 buissiness mobiles with you 1 landline and 25 GB internet plan
at a cost of 400 + a month
give me one good reason not to change supplyer even if the cost is more

service can only get better
maby i no longer will be redirected to a NEW
customer service member 3 to 4 times every time i have to call them

Conroy has made yet another blunder. He needs to get the NBN sorted and yet Telstra can afford to drag things on…..well ..forever really. Let the games begin!

Anyway I think people forget that Telstra cannot charge what they want for other operators to use their infrastructure and the whole issue has been a bit of a PR victory for Optus and others. Even where the playing field is fairly level (i.e mobile) Telstra still does well.

Personally I would like the government to sort out the hospital system first..then worry about trying to take on the telecomms world later

Whether the underlying infrastructure is government owned or privately owned, I don’t really care. Although a government owned infrastructure company might be necessary to ensure that commercially nonviable places (i.e. way outback) get reasonable services and don’t get royally f***ed over. When it comes to cables in the ground, I guess a government monopoly would not be such a bad thing. After all, say there were 3 competing infrastructure companies, do we really want 3 parallel sets of cables running all over the place. Surely that’s redundant.

None of this “private sector price regulation” stuff. Just basic services at basic costs. The Gov could even wear some of the nastier costs (like extra costs for rural services).

But…it seems we can’t trust anyone with this kind of power. Not the Gov, not private sector…no-one. So what is the ‘least bad’ option that could have been taken?

I guess that is a matter of opinion…

But you all do make some very good points and I think that perhaps this is the wrong thing to do after all.

If the split was isolated from the NBN and any Government gain, then I could understand it. And if the split was ordered 10 years ago, that would have been more beneficial.

But it looks like Telstras gain from the copper network was fading fast anyway thanks to developments in wireless technologies and the need to upgrade to higher bandwidth infrastructure.

So this may be a positive for Telstra in that they might be able to shrug off the burden of the copper network so easily, and be forced into a new direction. Perhaps any Telstra CEO/Board would not have the courage to take on a new direction without this push?

However…as commenters here have mentioned, this is a precedent, and a nasty one at that. If they get away with this, then what is next?

As for Telstra shareholders…I have no sympathy. Own shares in a distorted company, get distorted results. The whole Sol affair should have been warning enough that Telstra is bad news. He didn’t do it all alone…

The Government’s move to breakup Telstra has created a lot of unhappy Telstra shareholders and my feeling is the Government may have overplayed it’s hand. Telstra are actually now in the box seat because of the bumbling Conroy as they have legal options to explore and can probably drag out the break-up war for a long time.

I see today in The Australian that Anton Tagliaferro from Investors Mutual (which holds 500 million Telstra shares) is suggesting it might be time for Telstra to take the fight to the Government and oppose the break-up. If this happens the Government’s NBN plans will be in a mess.

Personally I hope Telstra fights back. I don’t like to see Governments of any flavour using heavy handed tactics to cover their backs. If Rudd wants to see broadband in Australia then the first thing he should do is get rid of Conroy!

Thanks for your reply. I guess you have seen this article about the OPEL consortium

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21922708-601,00.html

Doesn’t tell one much. Guess there is a lot of sordid, or underhand, bullying of the private sector going on in government from all sides of politics, and our pollies just get away with it. Very sad and unproductive. Anyway, a Senate Enquiry should happen, not to explore the OPEL debacle in particular, but to bring the whole broadband issue out into the open. Australia just doesn’t need another monopoly called “NBN” instead of “Telstra”. You’re right though; an Enquiry won’t happen, and as you say, taxpayers and the little people will lose out again with very little choice.

Your articles on this issue are excellent. Surely there are like minded people (Terry McCrann for instance) who can reveal Conroy’s skulduggery. One thing is for sure Governments do count heads or votes and if sufficient numbers become unhappy about this NBN process, even Conroy will back off. Pipe Dream, maybe !!!

We don’t need an NBN, we need broadband solutions which vary depending on where they are deployed and the nature of the market they serve. This is what the private sector will deliver if the Government simply gets out of the way!

Everything that Conroy has touched has been a disaster…I wonder if he has actually completed anything?

OPEL was going to take legal action but I don’t think they ever did… I guess if you sue the Government you sort of ruin your chances of getting future work. I also suspect they might have realised (or been told) that Telstra was in the firing line and figured if they kept quiet they would end up bigger winners in the long run.

An independent inquiry into the cancellation of the OPEL contact, the failed tender process and the current NBN plans would be very interesting, but of course this will never happen.