ACCC lodges broadband report | Australian IT

THE federal Government is one step closer to appointing a builder for its $15 billion national broadband network.

The competition watchdog this week handed in a report analysing each bidder's proposed access and pricing conditions.With the ACCC's regulatory report on its desk, the expert panel now has until the end of the month to deliver to the Government a shortlist of preferred proponents to build the network.

Chaired by Communications Department secretary Patricia Scott, the eight-member expert panel has been considering the NBN bids since proposals were received by the Government on November 26. At that time, the Government received proposals to build the $4.7 billion taxpayer-funded project from Singtel-owned Optus, Melbourne-based Acacia, Canadian company Axia NetMedia and two state-based bids from Transact and the Tasmanian Government.

Telstra came to the bidding table with an eight-page letter offering a detailed bid on the proviso that the Government commit to a laundry list of demands, including an undertaking not to split the company. While the Government initially accepted Telstra's NBN proposal, the company was cut from the bidders' list by the expert panel after it failed to supply a plan detailing the benefits of its bid for small and medium-sized business.

Despite the exclusion, Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo last week outlined the telco's post-NBN battle plans in an attempt to reassure investors that the company was still on track to meet its financial guidance. Speaking at a Citigroup conference in Arizona last week, Mr Trujillo brought into question the commercial viability of the NBN when he said Telstra would effectively deny the owners of the NBN a customer base by migrating its retail customers to its own networks before the project could be completed.

The reluctance of Optus to disclose the source of capital for its proposed bid has also added more speculation to the financial viability of the project. Likewise, Canadian outfit Axia and Melbourne-based Acacia have also failed to make clear their funding plans. Investment banker John Wylie, who is on the panel and has advised on three Telstra share sales, has actively grilled bidders on their finances, people familiar with the process said.

The expert panel now has less than two weeks to consider the financial capacity and a raft of other requirements before it submits its shortlist of preferred proponents to the Government by the end of this month.

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