re: empire strikes back

Testy exchanges over Telstra 3G
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By Colin Kruger
April 29, 2006
THE Federal Government might be not much more than a week away from making crucial decisions on Telstra's regulatory and ownership future, but it has not brought an end to the sniping between the company and the office of the Communications Minister, Helen C##NANN.
The two parties were engaged in a tit-for-tat this week that was almost as perplexing as Telstra's 5 per cent share price rise in the last three trading days of the week.
Senator C##NANN's office on Friday refused to respond to accusations by Telstra that the Government was threatening to take the unprecedented step of regulating the telecom's 3G mobile network, which is being rolled out.
The company cited a recent media report as the source of its accusation and said: "This would mean that investments in major new telecommunications technologies and services may be regulated identically to the old copper network; Telstra's legacy infrastructure.
"To protect its shareholders and their investments, Telstra is seeking urgent clarification from the Government that its new 3G network will not be regulated."
According to Government sources, regulation of the mobile network was never a consideration.
Senator C##NANN's office made no comment but referred to an earlier statement that it would work with the Australian Communications and Media Authority and Telstra to ensure a smooth transition from Telstra's CDMA network to the 3G network.
Telstra shares continued their recent surge, with the stock briefly breaking through the $4 barrier on Friday. The shares closed up 7c at $3.95 with a massive 85 million shares traded.
One theory doing the rounds on the rising share price was that investors with short positions on Telstra were being forced to cover their positions after a switch to defensive stocks generated buying interest in the company.