Turnbull: NBN won’t fix telco monopoly
- 13 October, 2010 13:54
- Comments 2
Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
The National Broadband Network (NBN) will not fix telco monopoly in the broadband market, according to Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
He made this point at the CommsDay Congress 2010 in Melbourne.
The Government has spruiked the NBN plays a vital role in relieving Telstra’s stranglehold over the wholesale broadband market.
The telco giant’s vertically integrated nature with its wholesale division is tied in with its retail division, and extensive infrastructure, means it can afford to set retail prices lower than other players in the market.
NBNCo recently signed an $11 billion non-binding agreement with Telstra to take on its customers and decommission its copper network.
Turnbull argued if the Government is serious about addressing the problems of vertical intergation, then structural or functional separation is enough.
“[The NBN] is not an end, however to monopoly. There is simply an end to vertical integration,” Turnbull said. “If vertical integration is the problem, the NBN is not the answer unless you believe in taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”
NBN will not increase competition and lower prices as the network’s huge capital investment means NBNCo will raise prices to make a return and this will be passed on to consumers, he said.
Turnbull claimed the Government should concentrate on creating a competitive market and through making “fair and predictable rules around” access of wholesale broadband service for ISPs.
Former Treasurer, Peter Costello, took a swipe at the lack of cost-benefit analysis for the NBN.
Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.
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Comments
John
Malcolm, you were in the Howard's Coalition. Kindly recall the ugly fights with Telstra, would you? Lawyers were then laughing all the way to their bank.
So, Malcolm, what did the Coalition achieved then? Separation of structure or function?
Please, Malcolm, please be honest. This nation has wasted lots of time and resources on this NBN issue. We really need to move forward as nation. Unless you have a viable plan or vision to bring the broadband into the decades ahead, please throw in your support for NBN and less politicking. Address the NBN cost constructively.
Remember, forecast consumers and businesses expectation in the coming decades. Hint - would you buy a non-HD TV when you have savour full HD TV even though non-HD picture is "good enough"? In the same vein, do you expect your kids to stop at 8Mbps or 12Mbps, say, five to ten years from now?
Be honest, that is all I ask.
Tom Brown
John is right about the previous Howard governments inability to restructure Telstra when they had the power to do so i.e. 51% ownership.
I would suggest that the Howard government and Mr Turnbull had no intention to restructure Telstra, they would have seen that as a potential hit against what they thought they could get by selling Telstra. I think they were just supplying a show to appease the voters.
The problem the coalition and Mr Turnbull have is their lack of creditability, they have not offered constructive input, they are seen as looking to find any avenue for complaint and they are acting belligerent about it. As time goes on more and more Australians will see these failings and will become more and more cynical about what the coalition and Mr Turnbull say and stand for.
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