accc may scupper telstra deal

Today's SMH article by JARED LYNCH

http://www.smh.com.au/business/accc-puts-deal-at-risk-telstra-warns-20100609-xwx4.html
Extract..

TELSTRA'S chief financial officer, a key figure in Telstra's negotiations with the federal government on the national broadband network, fears that if a deal is struck, the consumer watchdog may block the agreement.

The $43 billion network hinges on approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Negotiations began eight months ago when the government set out to coerce Telstra to transfer its traffic to the network - a costly exercise, considering most of Telstra's revenue comes from fees charged for accessing its copper network.

A spokeswoman for Optus, Telstra's biggest competitor, said yesterday that it expected ACCC scrutiny of any agreement struck between NBN Co and Telstra. ''It is important that any deal between Telstra and NBN Co is transparent and represents a fair deal for Australian taxpayers,'' she said.

The Telstra CFO, John Stanhope, said yesterday that any agreement had to compensate the company's shareholders. He said the talks were progressing, despite an end date not being in sight

''It is a very complex discussion. But even if we agree, someone like the ACCC could come along and say it doesn't like it.''

Todays Fairy Story...Yeah, there was once a country lucky enough to have funtastic regulators; the Sick one and the Crappy one. There was also this greedy Bear from another island who wanted to grab the biggest porridge bowl...