Apr 13

Telstra Nbn Agreement

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will review the competitive aspects of this agreement, as provided for by the Competition and Consumer Protection Act, which the government intends to adopt, in order to enhance industry safety. Telstra is to present a new migration plan to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that takes into account the coalition government`s NBN multi-technology mix to implement the new agreements. The amendment will allow Telstra to denounce the new final agreements and claim damages from NBN Co if the deployment is cancelled once 75 to 92 per cent of the premises have been adopted. Telstra will cede ownership of its copper and hybrid fibre coaxial networks, while committing to separate structurally under final renegotiated agreements with NBN Co, which maintain the value of the $11 billion agreement reached in 2011. NBN Co also signed an agreement with Optus for its HFC network, which it said was equivalent to US$800 million in 2011. The amended contracts must be approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Tax Office. Telstra stated that the new deal would not require a shareholder vote, as the estimated value of the initial agreements approved by shareholders in 2011 was maintained and Telstras` existing commitment to structural separation remained unchanged. nbn and Telstra have taken existing and complementary steps to allay potential concerns about Telstra`s role as a nbn customer and its role in this agreement. In combination with the Australian government`s political reforms, Telstra estimates that the agreement announced today will allow Cestra to re-value a net worth of about $11 billion. Payments from NBN Co to Telstra would be made over several years during implementation. The new agreements also amend a provision of the old agreement that Provided that Telstra would be entitled to a $500 million freedom exemption if the government terminated the NBN after reaching more than 20 per cent of the premises.