5 June 2007 - Sydney, Australia – As federal cabinet debates broadband, new research shows Telstra’s campaign to force the Government to cave in to its demands for regulatory change is a massive and expensive “own goal”.

The research, based on a survey of 1,100 respondents across Australia by Galaxy Research, found:

• More Australians want the G9 group of telecommunications companies – which includes AAPT, Macquarie Telecom, Optus and Primus – to build a broadband network than want Telstra to build it

• Three in ten (29 percent) Australians believe Telstra is blocking high speed broadband in Australia. This is higher than the proportion who believe it is blocked by the government (18 percent), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (6 percent) or G9 (5 percent)

• The vast majority of Australians (81 percent) believe the government should make public the details of any broadband plan or pricing before reaching an agreement with Telstra

These findings are particularly poignant as federal cabinet today reportedly is to debate a policy which would lead to the formation an independent panel of experts to consider the options for a national high speed broadband network.

“The public clearly doesn’t trust Telstra to build a next generation broadband network, despite the huge amount of shareholders’ funds it has spent on its anti-regulation campaign” said a spokesman for Tell the Truth Telstra (T4).

“What the research shows is that if the Government does decide to refer any issues to an independent review, it will need to be fully informed of Telstra’s history of abusing its market power to the detriment of consumers, and the dangers that its FTTN plan is simply a recipe to weaken competition,”

“This survey shows that Australians, informed by years of dealing with Telstra as consumers, are not buying Telstra attempts to pretend it is a victim of harsh regulation.”

People aged 16-24, generally regarded as the most savvy users of technology, were also those who felt most strongly that Telstra should not be trusted. Half of them preferred that any FTTN network should be built by the G9.

The results also show how little impact Telstra’s campaign of demonising the regulator has had despite the million-dollar campaign to convince Australians to blame the ACCC for Telstra’s own decision to refuse to play by the established rules.

“More than four in 10 people did not even have an opinion on the issue, despite Telstra’s attempts to create pre-election hysteria about broadband, and of those that did have a view, half blamed Telstra for blocking high speed broadband.

“Less than 10% blamed the ACCC.”

Research methodology
The research was conducted on the Galaxy Omnibus on the weekend of 1-3 June, 2007.

The sample was 1,100 respondents aged 16 years and older distributed throughout Australia, as follows:

• NSW/ACT 330
• Victoria/Tasmania 310
• Queensland 200
• South Australia 130
• Western Australia 130

Interviews were conducted using CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing) with telephone numbers randomly selected from electronic White Pages. All interviewers were personally trained and briefed on the requirements of the study.

Age, gender and region quotas were applied to the sample.

Following the completion of interviewing, the data was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.

- Ends -

Media Contatcts:

Rowan Lee Public Affairs Manager Primus Telecom M: 0419 133 139

David Havyatt GM Public and Regulatory Affairs AAPT Ltd M: 0414 467 271

About “Tell the Truth Telstra” (T4) - www.tellthetruthtelstra.com.au

The Tell the Truth Telstra (T4) campaign was launched in April 2007, to counter Telstra’s campaign of misinformation on telecommunications and broadband competition and regulation in Australia.

Tell the Truth Telstra is an initiative of Australia’s leading telecommunications carriers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) including AAPT, Adam Internet, Austar, iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Powertel, Primus Telecom, Telarus, TransACT, WestNet and Unwired.

TheTell the Truth Telstra (T4) initiative commenced with a united complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) asking it to investigate whether Telstra’s conduct amounts to misleading and deceptive conduct.

The Tell the Truth Telstra (T4) initiative documents a list of Telstra’s myths and highlights their misleading nature. An accompanying education program includes an information kit for MPs, a public Web site (www.tellthetruthtelstra.com.au), and a series of information sessions for MPs, exposing the truth behind Telstra’s attempt to gain relief from regulation.

PRIVACY POLICY