SYDNEY (AAP)

The competition watchdog has rejected suggestions from Telstra that the country is in a 'broadband drought' and says regulatory certainty can be provided if the telco is willing to provide broadband at more exchanges.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Graeme Samuel also said the broadband network was continuing to grow, despite "noise and bluster" about competition.

"Telstra argues that without regulatory certainty, it cannot offer ADSL2+ (higher-speed broadband) in exchanges where its competitors do not already offer this service," Mr Samuel said.

"However, there is a very easy way for Telstra to receive absolute regulatory certainty - by asking for an exemption from regulation for ADSL2+.

"Let me be perfectly clear: if the ACCC is satisfied that an exemption should be granted, it will not force Telstra to give access to its competitors to this particular service.

"You can't get much more certainty than that."

But Telstra spokesman Rod Bruem rejected Mr Samuel's undertaking.

"Mr Samuel knows full well an exemption is useless, because even if we were to go through that lengthy and very complicated process, at the end of the day the ACCC will still have the power and right to vary any terms and conditions as it pleased," Mr Bruem said.

"It is not an iron clad guarantee."

About 91 per cent of the population is connected via the copper network to local exchanges offering ADSL or ADSL2+ broadband, with speeds of up to eight megabytes per second (mbps) to 20 mbps.

Household broadband penetration has reached 42 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an increase of about 130 per cent over the past 18 months.

"This suggests broadband is booming," Mr Samuel said in a speech to the Australian Telecommunications User Group annual conference in Sydney.

"But despite this, Telstra argues we are in a 'broadband drought'.

"We now know from Telstra's recent market briefing that it would not take much for Telstra to 'flick the switch', as I've been calling on them to do, and extend ADSL2+ coverage to allow around 90 per cent of the Australian population to have access to broadband speeds up to 20mps."

Mr Samuel said Telstra had indicated it could turn on ADSL2+ in as little as 48 hours.

Mr Samuel said that further development of Australia's broadband network would depend on what form the network would take and who would own it.
07/03/2007 04:34:08 PM