OPTUS COMMENT ON TLS ENDING FTTN TALKS WITH ACCC

Paul Fletcher, Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Optus said:

"Competition in the broadband market today is fierce and will remain so. The competition that Optus and others have brought has been critical to driving broadband take-up. Optus is well advanced in delivering ADSL2+ over a network that now reaches nearly 150 exchanges.

"Today's announcement confirms suspicions that Telstra's FTTN plans were simply a regulatory leverage technique. The suspicion is reinforced by Telstra's refusal to publicly disclose its regulatory terms for building the network.

"Regardless of Telstra's game playing - the G9 is continuing to work on its detailed plans and recently met with the ACCC.

"If our discussions with the ACCC and other parties progress well, we will have more to say. However, we anticipate the process will take a number of months. This is natural given the complex nature of the issues.

"We welcome Telstra's statement that if the G9 network is built it would seek access. Our model is predicated upon providing open access to all who are willing to pay an access charge approved by the ACCC."

Media contact:
Melissa Favero
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 9342 5030