NEC's NEXSTEP broadband division is contesting the price for which Telstra supplies the Unconditioned Local Loop Service (ULLS). The monthly price has jumped this year from $17.70 (US$13.54) to $30.

Other service providers to have lodged a complaint with the ACCC over the issue include Optus, Powertel and Request Broadband.

"We are all affected," said NEXSTEP general manager Duncan Wallace. "Our business is a DSL business. We are dependent on using the ULL - like everyone else."

Last year Telstra proposed for the first time that it should average out the hitherto significantly different cost estimates for providing the ULLS across all geographic regions into a single monthly charge of $30.