Telstra banned from Australian broadband tender

15.12.2008
Telstra's broadband hopes have been shot to pieces following an Australian government decision to exclude it from the National Broadband Network (NBN) tender.

The telco was banned from the bidding process after its 13-page non-compliant bid did not meet requirements to include small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction of the NBN.

The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy confirmed the telco was banned from the bidding process and said the minister will hold a press briefing at 2.30 this afternoon to discuss the issue.

Competitive Carriers Coalition (CCC) executive director David Foreman said Telstra should be investigated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) because it did not lodge its amended SME plan -- which it submitted in secret earlier this month -- to the ASX.

"On November 26, the deadline for NBN bids, Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie made a song and dance about how Telstra was refusing to put any more than a 13 page letter into the bidding process, and was holding back on the rest of the bid," Forman said.

"At no stage did Telstra tell the market that it tried to put in more than 13 pages, nor that it had tried to submit an essential component of its bid after the deadline.