There are few more absorbing sights than watching two big gorillas going head-to-head in a battle of wits and strength. The ground shakes, small animals run for cover, everyone holds their breath.
That’s what’s happening in Australia right now as the two big gorillas of communications — the federal Government and Telstra — enter the final stages of the battle for broadband.
Yesterday, Telstra’s share price hit an all-time low. Over recent weeks the Government’s share price has been falling. The stakes for each gorilla are huge. Teletra’s commercial future v the Rudd Government’s biggest promise of all.
Neither can afford to lose. Stand by for a gorilla-sized compromise.
Yes, if only the idiots hadn’t sold Telstra.
IAN – Just thinking the very same thing. Would Telstra have the gig now? Probably! How does that help the shareholders? They’re the most important according to the multimillionaires who run the show!
If the government still owned a controlling share of Telstra, it would be negotiating with itself about using the fibre optic backbone that’s been put in place over the last 15 years (at least that part of it that Telstra laid). It would still be in negotiation with other fibre optic cable owners (Optus put in quite a bit), because it’s easier to use existing cable than install new stuff, but it wouldn’t have to look at replicating existing infrastructure if unable to reach agreement with the major player.
It’s not really in Telstra’s interest to reach agreement, as the establishment of a broadband network across urbanised Australia would undermine Telstra’s phone line copper and ADSL and FoxTel’s cable services.
I thought the most important thing for Telstra in recent years was paying Sol Trujillo. I’m not sure for what.
The NBN is another, arguably, fantastic Labor idea which is slowly getting, for lack of a better word, “changed” – please see draft policy the Minister has released recently for comment.
Nor,with respect, are we at final stages of this. What is happening is not so gently everyone’s position/angle is being teased out against a moving backdrop. But I do agree it all makes good reading.
While the Government postures it will legislate Telstra towards what it wants, there is a limiter on that, if only that as the share price goes down (how many of you bought Telstra shares?) people if not already, will start paying more attention to this.
People not only buy shares, they also vote.