"Tell the Truth Telstra” Says Rest of the Industry

Australia’s top telecommunications and Internet companies have joined forces to counter Telstra’s campaign of misinformation on broadband, competition and regulation in Australia.

In a media conference in Canberra on 11 April, eleven companies launched an initiative titled Tell the Truth Telstra (T4) in a bid to foster better competition.

As part of the initiative, AAPT, Austar, iiNet, Internode, Macquarie Telecom, Powertel, Primus Telecom, Telarus, TransACT, WestNet and Unwired have united to send a complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) asking it to investigate whether Telstra’s conduct amounts to misleading and deceptive conduct. Recently the campaign has expanded to include Adam Internet.

The ACCC complaint details a series of Telstra’s activities, including a media release (published on the Australian Stock Exchange website and a Telstra-sponsored website), a teleconference, and an email to customers, where Telstra has simply not told the whole truth.

“Telstra is pushing the false impression that Australia’s regulatory regime somehow ignores its costs and legitimate business interests. This is not the case, and if past performance is any indicator, Telstra is on a rampage to force both sides of politics to weaken the Trade Practices Act so it can increase prices,” the group spokesman said.

The group has commenced an education program called Tell the Truth Telstra (T4) to help MPs, regulators and the public gather the facts behind the state of broadband and telecommunications regulation in Australia.

“As the nation debates the future of broadband, it is time to set the record straight about communications services in this country and the central role of competition in satisfying consumer demand.

“With an election looming, Telstra has turned up the volume and strayed a long way from the facts,” said the group behind Tell the Truth Telstra.

“Never before has such a large group representing such a diverse cross section of the industry come together. This is a clear indication of the frustration across the industry at Telstra’s campaign of misinformation.

“Since the government introduced competition, competitors have pioneered innovations such as: Internet access for home users and business, capped plans for mobile services, fast broadband over ADSL2+, 3G mobile services and many more.

“Time and again, Telstra has only introduced new services and lower prices when it was forced to match the competition.

“Now Telstra is acting as though it can hold the country to ransom – positioning itself as the only company that can deliver Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) and demanding to be allowed to increase prices before it will do so.

“The regulator has told a Senate hearing that Telstra had ‘walked away from upgrading its network to a FTTN because it could not get a green light to artificially inflate the price for existing broadband services in order to be able to justify charging higher prices for access to the new network’. ¹

“Pretty much everyone but Telstra is united in the desire to create better broadband through effective competition rather than watered-down regulation,” the group spokesman said.

Telstra’s Myths Exposed

The Tell the Truth Telstra (T4) education program documents a list of Telstra’s myths and highlights their misleading nature.

The Tell the Truth Telstra (T4) education program also includes an information kit for MPs, this 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.

“International experience has shown that when the industry is structured correctly, the nation can rely less on regulatory levers. But with Telstra dominating access networks, PayTV, Internet, voice services and many other markets, the structure is not conducive to effective competition,” the group spokesman said.

“Nowhere else in the world has one telecommunications company been allowed to retain and exert so much power in so many markets. ²

“A new network investment is a once in a generation opportunity - we can’t afford to get it wrong.

“FTTN is too important to Australia’s future to leave it in the hands of one corporation – a corporation that has a history of stifling competition and artificially inflating prices.

“This group has laid out the facts. Our politicians, regulators and the electorate deserve to hear a balanced perspective so they are not mislead into thinking Telstra is the only solution to a better broadband infrastructure.

“We urge anyone interested in broadband and a competitive telecommunications sector to visit www.tellthetruthtelstra.com.au and talk to their local MP,” the group spokesman said.

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