This might put a dent in their plans , most people on ADSL2 have...

This might put a dent in their plans , most people on ADSL2 have gone for low line rental and use voip for voice calls.

Telstra have gone and done this (copied from whirlpool.net.au)

"Telstra will prevent people from choosing the cheapest phone line rental if they use competitors' ADSL infrastructure, it told ISPs today.

Any customer who uses HomeLine Budget rental ($19.95/month) and tries to connect ADSL2+ with a Telstra competitor using LSS (Line Sharing Service) after 1 March will have to switch to HomeLine Complete and pay $7/month more.

LSS has been in the news recently due to an ACCC decision to reduce the price Telstra can charge competitors for it from $9/month to $3.20/month. Telstra has aggressively challenged this decision, and today's move could be seen as a further reaction.

Most ADSL2+ providers use LSS to offer ADSL2+ on a phone line at the same time as a normal Telstra phone service. For users of VoIP, HomeLine Budget offers a way to minimise redundant landline costs.

A Telstra spokesperson told Whirlpool that HomeLine Budget is subsidised by Telstra as a "service to the community". "Homeline budget is a product Telstra supplies as a community service to low income people including pensioners as part of an agreement with charities", he said. "We suspect the service is being exploited by people who are not low income earners", he said, adding that there had been a "spike in demand since the ACCC reduced Line Sharing to $3.20 per month."

The spokesperson said the ACCC has been briefed, and that the Low Income Measures Assessment Committee (LIMAC) supported "Telstra's aim of trying to ensure services like this go to people who are disadvantaged."

But the Telstra website makes no mention of any restrictions on its use, stating that the HomeLine Budget plan is "great value for infrequent phone users" and "value-for-money on your basic calling needs."

Telstra was unable to immediately confirm how existing customers would be affected, but Whirlpool is led to believe that those with both HomeLine Budget rental and an existing LSS service will not be affected. Any attempts to combine LSS with HomeLine Budget after 1 March will be denied.

Telstra's decision is likely to send some ISPs back to the drawing board to re-evaluate the business case for ULL (Unconditioned Local Loop). ULL allows ISPs to completely avoid Telstra line rental and provide both phone and ADSL using their own infrastructure. With minimum line rental now increasing, ULL could be seen as more attractive.


Opinions?