nbn pricing doubts, tls vote delay

The vote on the bill to structurally separate Telstra has been delayed until Monday by the opposition. The biggest investor in Telstra, the Future Fund, also said it would not guarantee its support for the deal between Telstra and NBN Co until it saw more details.

After the government finally released a business case summary, the chief executives of the 10 telco firms that make up the Alliance for Affordable Broadband wrote to NBN chairman Quigley, saying a failure to allow price falls would limit competition. This was rejected by PM Julia Gillard.

Independent analysts also raised doubts over the pricing strategy, saying it went against the experience of most new telecommunications networks.

This all comes at a time when the outlook for the Australian economy has suddenly dipped to lower GDP growth.