Mayhem in Aussie telecommunications debate!
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Posted Sun 25 February 2007 @ 12:09 p.m. by Ernie Newman
Australia is in the thick of an unseemly telecommunications brawl involving Telstra, the ACCC and the federal government. In response ATUG, the Australian telecommunications Users Group, has released a well-reasoned defence of the role of regulation in the industry.
That the whole principle of industry-specific regulation should come into question at all in this modern age seems inexplicable to those of us who have explored in depth the needs of users and the unique characteristics of this complex telecommunications ecosystem.
I'll be at ATUG's annual conference in Sydney in a few days. On one level, watching the kangaroo-pats fly could be fun. On the other, this whole time-wasting diversion is ever so bad for the Aussie economy.
However TUANZ might have criticised Telecom in New Zealand in the past, we must give them credit that since May of last year they have accepted the realities of competition-enhancing measures and really have embarked on a "new way of life." Telstra's resistance is a flashback to what might have been here in New Zealand.
Categories: Events | Fixed line carriers | Regulatory