Telstra lodges updated NBN undertakings

Telstra says its revised submission to the competition regulator regarding its participation in the national broadband network does not require further shareholder approval.

The nation's largest telco said on Friday it had submitted an updated and amended structural separation undertakings (SSU) to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Telstra said the changes to the original SSU submitted in July this year meant the document now included a new clause which expressly provided that the supply of regulated services to wholesale customers would be equivalent to the comparable retail services Telstra provided.

This "overarching equivalence commitment" covered pricing, technical and operational quality, operational systems, procedures and processes used in the supply of the service, Telstra said.

Moreover, Telstra said the SSU was clarified to note that it did not "constrain the ACCC's powers to a greater extent than provided by law".

The telco had also offered further options for the resolution of equivalence complaints, as well as further commitments on transparency and reporting to the ACCC.

"The ACCC's power to obtain information under the SSU has been expanded to expressly apply to any function or power the ACCC is exercising under the SSU," Telstra said in a statement.

The deal with the federal government and NBN Co - the government funded company charged with building and operating the national broadband network - received shareholder approval last month.

Telstra told shareholders they would be entitled to another vote on the deal should the outcome of negotiations with the ACCC result in material changes.

The telco said on Friday the revised SSU did not constitute material change and did not require another vote.

Some rival telcos had expressed concerns the SSU did not provide all industry players a level playing field once the NBN was rolled out.

Telstra said it would ensure staff with line management responsibilities at a retail business unit did not have responsibilities for a wholesale business unit or network services business unit, to address concerns of the ACCC and wholesale customers.

This would not apply to the chief executive, chief operating officer, or any person in a role approved by the ACCC.

Under the deal, Telstra will progressively decommission its copper-based network and allow NBN Co to access its pits, manholes and exchanges, and sell some infrastructure. In return, Telstra will receive $11 billion from the federal government, with the financial benefits to come over a 30-year period.

The regulator said in August that it could not accept a crucial aspect of the SSU, saying the telco had no compliance plan for its commitment to structurally separate its two arms from 2018.

However, in a statement on Friday, the ACCC said the outcomes of the discussions with Telstra and other telcos had raised regulatory concerns in relation to wholesale ADSL services.

As such, the competition regulator said it was giving urgent consideration to starting a public inquiry into the declaration of wholesale ADSL.

The ACCC noted that it would shortly be finalising an inquiry into exemption provisions for wholesale line rental, local call service and public switched telephone access.

"Provided that the outstanding concerns around wholesale ADSL can be quickly resolved, the ACCC is otherwise minded to accept the undertaking," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

The ACCC said the discussion period on the revised SSU would close in mid-January next year, with a final decision to be announced in February.

The deadline for the two parties to reach agreement, which had been December 20, was extended.

Telstra's discussions with the ACCC was the last step for the $11 billion transaction to be completed.

"Telstra believes that the SSU as revised meets the requirements of section 577A of the Telco Act, and is consistent with the guidance provided by the government," Telstra said.

At 1015 AEDT, Telstra shares were down one cent at $3.26.

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