Telecommunications giant Telstra (ASX:TLS) has revealed at a retail shareholder meeting in Sydney this week that it is planning its own fibre-optic network for Australian cities if the National Broadband Network (NBN) does not go ahead.
The report, carried in the Australian Financial Review, said that Telstra chief financial officer, John Stanhope, told retail shareholders that the company would lease, rather than sell, its ducts and exchange space to the NBN Co so that it could re-use the assets for its own network if the Liberal party came to power.
Stanhope said in a statement that Telstra would continue to use copper in regional areas but would roll out fibre in cities. It may have a mix of fibre to the premises in some circumstances, some fibre-to-the node and would continue to use broadband over copper in some circumstances.
The announcement follows news that The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced the interim pricing terms for access seekers to Telstra's copper networks.
The Interim Access Determinations (IADs) have been designed to serve as a benchmark for Telstra and potential wholesale customers to fall back on when negotiating terms, ACCC said.
The price for a single ULLS in CBD, metropolitan and regional areas has been set to $16 per month. Prices had previously ranged from $6.60 per month for CBDs to $31.30 per month for regional areas.
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