Telstra has left their NBN bid submission go until literally the eleventh hour before lodging a ‘non compliant’ proposal. In what seemed like an eternity, the NBN bidding deadline is now closed.
Industry analysts say that it comes as no surprise that Telstra lodged a bid, even after they continuously said they would not do so until they obtained reassurance from the government that the successful applicant would be separated (Structurally or Functionally). Funnily enough, it is believed that Telstra shares would of plummeted significantly, almost to the tune of $10 billion dollars, if Telstra didn’t commit to the NBN tender process.
Telstra now joins the likes of Terria, Optus, Axia Netmedia, Acacia and TransACT along with the Tasmanian Government who have also lodged bids as proponents for the upcoming $4.7 billion dollar tax payer funded National Broadband Network project.
The successful applicant is expected to be announced by March 2009 and will have a 5 year window to roll out the entire broadband network. With the NBN bidding process already delayed by several months, and with who knows what type of obstacles (both legal and otherwise) around the corner, the NBN might take longer to implement than we think.
