Telstra wholesale has just come into the ‘line of fire’ as nine of Australia’s other major Telecommunication Providers such as Optus, Internode, iiNet and Westnet lash out at Telstra and accuse them of anti competitiveness and shutting down their $2.5 billion wholesale arm.
In a letter to the ACCC drafted on behalf of the frustrated Telco’s, alleged impediments on Telstra’s monopoly and anti competitive nature have been cited for the following reasons: Capped Exchanges, Lengthy DSLAM approval and installation delays & Untenable high wholesale pricing.
Penalties as much as $10 million for each offence and a further $1 Million for each day the company remains in breach could be imposed.
The protesting ISPs, which include iinet, Internode, TCN Communications and Westnet, issued a nine-page letter to ACCC chairman Graham Samuel, requesting the ACCC to issue an urgent Competition Notice under Part XIB of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Additionally, it urges the commission to re-examine declaring regulatory access to all DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband services, especially in areas where competition through alternative broadband platforms is unviable.
“This substantial lessening of competition will clearly have an adverse impact on consumers, both in terms of price and the range of services available to them in the long term,” he said. “For this reason, 10 erstwhile competitors have put their differences aside to urge the ACCC to start an investigation about issuing a Competition Notice.”
