ABC Channel 2 - Report on Telstra's court action against the Federal Government

EMMA ALBERICI: In the midst of its court action against the federal Communications Minister, Telstra's outspoken head of public policy has fired yet another broadside at Senator Coonan over the future of high speed broadband in Australia.

Phil Burgess has told a conference in Sydney that Telstra is frustrated with the Government's refusal to engage with it on its concerns about telecommunications policy.

PHIL BURGESS: The future prosperity of this country is at stake. If we don't find a way to break the logjam of meddling regulation and rear view mirror policy-making for this sector, which is depressing investment and making impossible the deployment of the technologies and infrastructure that are required for the future.

EMMA ALBERICI: Mr Burgess accused Senator Helen Coonan and the ACCC of not understanding the issues which are preventing Australia having a world standard broadband network. Well, I put Telstra's allegations to Senator Helen Coonan when she joined me from the ABC's Canberra studio just a short time ago.

Senator Coonan, welcome to the programme.

HELEN COONAN: Good evening, Emma.

EMMA ALBERICI: How would you now categorise your relationship with Telstra?

HELEN COONAN: Oh, well, look, Telstra does what Telstra usually does, which is complain and beat their chest but I'm getting on with the important investment that is needed in Australia in telecommunications and it's in three main areas.

First of all, we're rolling out a new independent wholesale network that will reach 99 per cent of Australians and provide fast broadband at affordable prices by 2009 and we certainly also have dozens of wireless operators who are rolling out broadband with the Australian broadband guarantee.

And tomorrow I'll be actually releasing the final draft guidelines, the final guidelines for the new fibre investment, calling for competitive interest.

EMMA ALBERICI: Can you tell us a little bit more about what we can expect from that?

HELEN COONAN: Well, we've had interest from Deutsche Telecom and from a consortium of nine operators, G9, and, of course, from Telstra. They've expressed some interest. So the claim that there's no one interested in investing in telecommunications in Australia simply isn't borne out by the evidence.

EMMA ALBERICI: And, of course, today Phil Burgess of Telstra has accused you and the ACCC of not understanding the issues which are preventing Australia having what he says is a world standard broadband policy.

HELEN COONAN: Well, it's very interesting that Mr Burgess says that because Telstra could have, of course, had it not gone on a capital strike, have been right on the front foot in rolling out fast broadband in Australia. They've refused to turn on up to 480 exchanges with fast broadband with ADSL2 Plus and they weren't prepared to proceed with a fibre to the node investment unless they go their own way on very high prices for wholesale access to the new network that would have made competition in this country very difficult and would have stranded existing investment.

So Telstra really only has itself to blame. If they've been on a capital strike, others then step in to fill the gap and Telstra, I don't think, can really make out the claim that Australia doesn't have first class services because of the regime. I mean, Telstra fights with everyone. They fight with the ACCC, they've fought with my department, they fight with competitors, they fight with me, but basically they have to understand that they have to obey the rules like everyone else. We have to have a reasonably level playing field as far as it can be, given different sizes and different investment, different technology, and Telstra really can't have it all their own way.

EMMA ALBERICI: This must be quite damaging for you and your party, so close to an election.

HELEN COONAN: Well, look, I think that Telstra's behaviour is seen for what it is, which is spoiling and aggressive. I think as long as consumers are getting the services they need and want, that's precisely what I'm interested in doing. Telstra's antics are a bit of a sideshow but we're getting on with the fibre to the node investment, rolling out a new wholesale network and, of course, Telstra also tried to stop us putting in a safeguard for consumers to ensure that the old CDMA network wasn't shut down until the new network, the Next G network, was up and running.

So we just continue to ensure that consumers get the services they need and want.

EMMA ALBERICI: Now, your court action - or I should say Telstra's court action against you at the moment in the Federal Court, is all around the rural broadband services. Now, Telstra has said it's committed to turning off the CDMA network on January 28 or thereabouts. You own backbenchers and farmers are now concerned that the new service provided by Next G will be inferior. Can you assure them otherwise?

HELEN COONAN: Well, that's precisely what one of the actions was about. What I had proposed to do, given that Telstra had said that we can't test the adequacy of the new network, which they've promised would give equivalent or better coverage by 28 January, we couldn't test that until October, it would take about 12 weeks for the audit to be done which would mean that there would be no time to stop the shutting down of the network if we didn't put in a safeguard licence condition now. So that's what I proposed to do. Telstra tried to stop that.

It's an extraordinary move on Telstra's part because all we're really requiring is that Telstra makes good its public commitment which is that the new network will be - will provide equivalent or better services to the old CDMA network. If they do that there won't be any problem at all in the network being shut off.

EMMA ALBERICI: So you say it's got nothing to do with yourself or regulation but consumers sitting at home contemplating all of this simply know that we don't have the broadband speeds that they have elsewhere in the world. Telstra's the one that could be providing it and won't. So what is - where is the impasse here?

HELEN COONAN: There's no impasse now because we've been able to proceed with a new wholesale broadband network that's being rolled out to 99 per cent of the population, providing very fast broadband and consumers will have that regardless of where they live, 99 per cent will. We've got a safety net for those who might live in very, very remote locations, with the Australian broadband guarantee. All Australians will have fast broadband regardless of where they live.

Now, if Telstra wants to contribute and roll out their own broadband services, well, of course, that's fine but consumers are not going to be held to ransom by Telstra going on a capital strike and not delivering those services. We have alternatives.

EMMA ALBERICI: Senator Coonan, thank you very much for your time this evening.