30 November 2006

Minister joins call for Telstra to ‘flick the switch’ on fast broadband

The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, today backed calls by ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel for Telstra to ‘flick the switch’ on ADSL 2+ broadband in its remaining exchanges across Australia.

“I note comments made by Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo this week about the importance of broadband to Australian consumers and urge him to take immediate action to increase the spread of fast broadband to more Australians,” Senator Coonan said.

“I encourage debate about broadband services in Australia – it is healthy in a democracy. However, there desperately needs to be a dose of reality injected and an end to the Government blame game.

“Like the Government, Mr Trujillo as CEO of Australia’s largest telecommunications company has a pivotal role to play in delivering Australians the services they want and need. For the Government’s part, we are keeping up our end and investing $3.1 billion in delivering better telecommunications services – including broadband – to all Australians.

“But for Telstra’s part, for too long they have capped broadband speeds at 1.5 mbps, artificially constraining consumers from getting the speeds they deserve. And while they have switched on their faster ADSL 2+ broadband service in recent weeks, they have only done so in exchanges where competitors are already offering fast broadband speeds.

“Telstra cannot continue to falsely claim Government regulation stands in the way of giving consumers faster broadband. Mr Samuel made his position plain today showing there are no regulatory impediments to giving more Australians access to ADSL 2+.

“There are customers there for the taking and Telstra shareholders should urge the company to get on the front foot and take advantage of this, rather than let their competitors get there first. It appears Telstra is prepared to cut off its nose to spite its face when it comes to broadband.

“Ultimately it will be competition that will force Telstra to act. There is no better example of this than Telstra’s approach with ADSL2+. And it will be competition that delivers Australian consumers more choice of broadband provider, more choice of broadband speeds at a price they can afford.

“The Government will continue to regulate to encourage competition in telecommunications in Australia. Competition has made the economy more than $15 billion larger and prices for telecommunications services lower. Targeted Government investment of $878 million through the Broadband Connect program will ensure broadband continues to be rolled out to those people who cannot access it.”