In order to make the National Broadband Network a success we need to break Telstra in half, says Adam Turner.

The timeline for Australia's National Broadband Network has been pushed back yet again. I'm as frustrated as anyone, but this is something we can't afford to screw up. The biggest way we could screw it up is to hand the NBN to Telstra on a silver platter, letting the monopolistic telco continue to hold the country to ransom for generations to come.

There's no doubt that Australia is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to high speed broadband infrastructure. There's also no doubt that Telstra is to blame. Around the world other incumbent telcos have come to terms with the brave new world of competition and restructured themselves accordingly, embracing new technologies whilst striking a balance between the interests of customers and shareholders.

Telstra's pitch: and why it's a bad idea
Meanwhile Telstra has fought tool and nail, delaying the inevitable to the detriment of the country. It even held out on handing details of the existing infrastructure to other parties looking to bid for the right to build the NBN. Now Telstra has the nerve to urge the government to make a quick decision, hoping politicians will take the easy way out and cave into the telco's demands.

The latest comments from Telstra regarding the NBN delay prove that the telco's audacity and arrogance know no bounds.

"High-speed broadband is critical to this country's future economic prosperity," said Telstra spokesman Jeremy Mitchell last week. "Australia cannot afford even more delay in the building of this network and miss out on the benefits of high-speed broadband."

How anyone from Telstra can say that with a straight face is beyond me. Rushing the process will certainly deliver Telstra what it wants, and handing Telstra control of the NBN is like handing Darth Vader the keys to a fully operational Death Star.

What happens to the competition?
If Telstra is allowed to control the next generation of broadband infrastructure it will decimate the competition while the country's toothless regulators sit on their hands. I could go on, but I think Australian telecommunications analyst Paul Budde sums it up beautifully in his latest report.

"Telstra's strategy has been to refuse to negotiate towards mutually agreeable solutions. Instead its strategy is to shout and abuse, shocking the market and the government into a panic mode and that may produce the wrong decision, but one that would be beneficial to Telstra," Budde says.

"The major problem lies in Telstra's refusal to participate in a process that would lead to a proper national solution. Instead it has opted for a highly focused and successful campaign to delay any new form of competition."

How about a network that's right for everyone, not just Telstra shareholders
Budde says there is only one way forward from here; structural separation of Telstra. You can't have a level playing field amongst telcos when one telco controls the infrastructure as well.

"If Telstra leaves no other option then the only solution is for the government to indicate that it will consider providing the ACCC with at least the powers to structurally separate the incumbent... The government doesn't have to formalise any form of separation at this stage. As happened elsewhere in the world, this stick should be big enough to get Telstra to the table. If the government fails to use this opportunity we will end up – guaranteed – with the wrong outcome for the NBN," Budde says.

"To get the right outcome we need Telstra to build the network based on open access principles, along the lines that are now being widely accepted in Europe and Asia (and the discussion has now even started in the USA)... Before the all-important decisions are made by the Minister we need to get our house in order. Otherwise the $4.6 billion will be completely wasted."

I say it's time to accept the truth that has been staring Australia in the face for the last decade. Telstra is holding this country back and only the threat of the sword will ensure we get a National Broadband Network that's right for Australia, not just right for Telstra shareholders.

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