Synopsis

In August 2005 the Australian Government placed a bomb under the various cosy telecoms relationships in this country. The explosion that followed will reverberate for many years. Telstra, forced into action, and with a new CEO who didn’t want to be blamed for the carnage, finally revealed the problems it is facing – something that had been discussed by the rest of the industry for close to a decade. No longer could the government hide the facts, or the recommendations it had been given by the many inquiries that had taken place. The share price began to drop to more realistic levels. In mid September the Parliament passed the new telecoms Bill. Following is an analysis of this turbulent situation.