Telstra has announced plans for an open access wholesale service on fibre networks it is currently deploying in South Brisbane.
The Fibre Access Broadband (FAB) service will be provided to access seekers on request and subject to oversight by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The service begins from April 2012.
FAB delivers broadband via fibre-to-the-premises at speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and five Mbps upstream.
Communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, said in a statement that provision of the wholesale service will support competition between service providers on these networks and offer greater choice for end-users.
Provision of the wholesale fibre service was a condition of the networks being exempted from certain regulatory arrangements under Parts seven and eight of the <i>Telecommunications Act 1997</i>.
“The arrangements are transitional, pending the rollout of the National Broadband Network [NBN] and Telstra’s long term structural separation,” he said.
“They relate to networks that Telstra had already been contracted to build before parts seven and eight were enacted.”
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