[AusNOG] Telstra flicks switch on high speed broadband network

[Mark Newton]

On 06/02/2008, at 1:47 PM, Paul Brooks wrote:

> So the ACCC has 'assured' the Minister, and the Minister 'has  
> assured' Telstra, that such a decision to declare the ADSL service  
> (including ADSL2+) will not happen, as the ACCC's past public  
> statements are that they see no compelling reason to declare ADSL.

Interesting to look at the language the Minister used.  If you parse  
it out
in the way he actually said it, you don't get assurances like that.

Rather, you get an ACCC chairman who has said:

>  the ACCC has made a number of consistent public statements relating  
> to the regulation of wholesale access to ADSL services

and the Minister using that to decide that:

> there is a high degree of regulatory certainty in relation to the  
> ACCC's approach to wholesale ADSL2+ services

Note that the Minister didn't say that the ACCC chairman told him  
anything
about regulatory certainty.  The Minister reported that the ACCC  
chairman
said something totally orthogonal to the matter of whether or not  
Telstra
would get the regulatory certainty it was looking for.

It's often interesting to examine these kinds of statements by looking  
at
what wasn't said, as well as what was.

Because the way it looks to me is that the Communications Minister and
Telstra have ganged-up on the ACCC, trying to force their will as a
fait accomplis.  At the end of the day, the Communications Minister can
say whatever he likes about regulatory certainty, but the Trade  
Practices
Act doesn't give him (or any other Minister) the authority to promulgate
determinations like this.

It'll be very interesting to see what the ACCC has to say about that  
in the
next few days.  In particular, if the ACCC has made a decision, why  
wasn't
it announced under their letterhead by Graeme Samuels?  Are they likely
to be just as surprised about this outcome as we have been?

   - mark


--
Mark Newton                               Email:  newton at internode.com.au 
  (W)
Network Engineer                          Email:   
newton at atdot.dotat.org  (H)
Internode Systems Pty Ltd                 Desk:   +61-8-82282999
"Network Man" - Anagram of "Mark Newton"  Mobile: +61-416-202-223





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