Telstra have built a fence and padlocked the gate around the new Gungahlin exchange to limit competition in broadband services, the Senate Inquiry into the telecommunications regulatory regime heard last night.
Local ACT company Transact gave evidence of the tactics Telstra use to hamper their efforts to provide broadband (ADSL) service access to long-suffering Gungahlin residents.
Along with padlocking the gate and playing hard-to-get with the key, Telstra used a mysterious draft guideline on a technical limitation of ‘heat loading’ in ADSL equipment to reject a Transact proposal to provide ADSL services through the new Gungahlin exchange.
This disgraceful conduct is unacceptable from any carrier and is unfortunately typical of some of the anti-competitive tactics Telstra have used to soak up market share of broadband while keeping competitors at bay in broadband-starved communities like Gungahlin.
The Howard Government is responsible for this deplorable state of affairs. It is a weak regime that allows Telstra to thumb it’s nose at competition law: if they are not breaching the technical letter of the law, they are certainly breaching the spirit of the telecommunications competition laws.
If Telstra is fully privatised any hope of fixing these problems will disappear.
By way of background, Gungahlin residents, home based businesses and small businesses have long demanded affordable broadband as Telstra’s network infrastructure has previously prevented or inhibited widespread penetration of ADSL broadband services.
Through community meetings I have convened over the years with residents, Telstra was forced to build a new exchange to provide better services. Their outrageous conduct adds insult to injury for Gungahlin residents who are desperate for a choice of broadband service providers.
It is also important to note that many other areas of Canberra and the region suffer from the same poor infrastructure that prevent broadband services being delivered.
Contact: Taryn Langdon 0147 148 059 or 02 6277 3334
