Australians all let us rejoice for we will soon have much better telecommunications prices. The Rudd government has announced today that it has put forward legislation to force the separation of Telstra into retail and wholesale arms, paving the way for much better competition and better pricing for all Australian consumers.
The nations 2nd and 3rd largest telco's, Optus and iiNet have welcomed the move saying it will change the entire competitive landscape in Australia and put all telco's on a level playing field. One of the key recommendations to the building of the National Broadband Network (NBN) was that the functional separation of Telstra would need to be done sooner rather than later in order for the NBN to become a reality.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said that today's announcement of major changes to the Telecommunications Act would force Telstra to separate its infrastructure and retail arms, or face tough new rules on the way it operates. The changes will allow Telstra to voluntarily separate itself, or be "functionally separated" by the Government.
Consumer groups have also welcomed the move saying that all Australian's will benefit from the forced separation and lead to more innovation and lower prices in the industry.
Telstra of course has criticised the move saying they are committed to working with the government. This of course is a load of utter nonsense and the same line the company has been regurgitating for years and still we have inadequate services compared to the rest of the developed world.
