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No pressure from govt on NBN deal: ACCC

There was no compulsory timetable for when the ACCC's review and assessment of Telstra's undertakings needed to be completed

The competition regulator says no pressure has been applied from the government to expedite the deal on the national broadband network (NBN) between the Commonwealth, NBN Co and Telstra.

The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims told a Senate estimates hearing that the watchdog had no timetable to complete its review of Telstra's plan to split its retail and wholesale networks.

In August, the ACCC said it had serious concerns about some of Telstra's undertakings such as providing equivalent services to its competitors as those of the telco's retail arm and that Telstra was forbidden from promoting wireless services in competition to the NBN.

"There has been no pressure in any meeting I have been in, and I very much doubt that will occur," he told a Senate Economic committee hearing on Wednesday.

"We will make our assessment on the appropriate basis."

Sims said there was no compulsory timetable for when the ACCC's review and assessment of Telstra's undertakings needed to be completed.

"We are working on it as fast as we can," he said.

On Tuesday, Telstra shareholders voted in favour for the deal between the parties.

Under the plan with the federal government and NBN Co, Telstra will progressively decommission its copper-based network and allow NBN Co to access its pits, manholes and exchanges, and sell some infrastructure.

In return, Telstra will receive $11 billion from the federal government over the next 30 years.

The government created NBN Co to build the fibre-optic cable network to 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and business, with the rest provided by fixed-wireless and satellite technology.

The $36 billion NBN project is scheduled for completion in 2021.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: ACCC, etwork, Telstra

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