Telstra serves up wholesale fiber service in South Brisbane

Telstra (ASX: TLS.AX) has struck an agreement to provide wholesale access to competitors on its fiber network in South Brisbane in addition to new Greenfield real estate developments.

As reported in iTWire, the new 'Fibre Access Broadband' service will be available to other service providers on request and will be subject to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regulation.

Stephen Conroy, Australia's communications minister said that the "provision of the wholesale service will support competition between service providers on these networks and offer greater choice for end users."

Interestingly, the new service is part of a broader effort by Telstra to appease copper-based wholesale customers who were affected by the telco's move to take down its copper network and decommission the related telephone exchange in South Brisbane.

One of those wholesale customers is iiNet, which said it signed an agreement to use Telstra's fiber network only because the incumbent did not offer them a similar service.

"The agreement is unsatisfactory and is signed with the knowledge that we have no choice, given Telstra's massive power and the option of 'sign before we cut your customers off'," said Steve Dalby, iiNet's director regulator.  

For more:
- iTWire has this article

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