Australia - Operational Separation (historical background)

Synopsis

The report was archived in June 2005. No other industry in Australia is so dominated by one player as the telco industry, and Telstra is one of the most dominant telcos within OECD countries. How has this situation come about since Telstra’s privatisation? Features of the operator itself are part of the story, yet other key ingredients have allowed Telstra to reach such dominance. This report considers the role of the regulatory regime in failing to foster real competition in the market, and how Telstra has use the regime to its own advantage. The focus is on the environment that has lead to the operational separation option, and the advantages of such comprehensive reform. To everybody’s surprise Telstra announced a voluntary separation in December 2004. The governments review in 2005 is heavily focused on this issue.