time to hang up on tls imho, page-24

As a shareholder in Telstra, my biggest concern with the NBN is what sort of regulatory handicaps are going to be imposed on Telstra. The NBN tenderers have not just been asked to submit proposals for building the NBN but also proposals for the regulatory environment under which it operates.

The Singtel consortium (which is chaired by ex NSW Labor treasurer Michael Egan for those who aren't aware) has apparently stated they believe two regulatory requirements for a successful NBN are:

1) Operational separation of Telstra; and
2) A legislated monopoly on terrestrial broadband infrastructure for the successful NBN tenderer.

That presumably means if they are successful and the government agrees with number 2, the government would stop Telstra rolling out their proposed cable upgrades.

Unfortunately as far as government contribution goes I think we can assume the NBN will be an open ended cheque book - can anyone really see the government saying no if the NBN reaches say 70-80% completion and the company comes back and says we've run out of money, can you put in some more? I can't.