Telstra will enable ADSL2+ at 900 further telephone exchanges, in a surprise announcement today.

Telstra says the move is possible after assurances from the Federal Government that Telstra would not be forced to open its ADSL2+ service to competitors.

"The Government's decision means that more than a million extra Australian families, businesses, non-profit organisations and government agencies will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of high-speed broadband in education, productivity improvements, entertainment and health-care", said Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo.

Up until now, Telstra had only enabled ADSL2+ at an exchange if there was at least one other provider with ADSL2+ equipment located there. According to Telstra, "the Government made clear that it does not consider there is a compelling case to regulate these services at this point and that, if there were an attempt to regulate them in future, the existence of other competing broadband platforms would be highly relevant."

Responding publicly to the announcement, Internode managing director Simon Hackett said that the Government's position "conflicts with a decade of competition policy and practice."

"You can rest assured that we have already sent queries and requests for information about this and its implications to both Telstra and the ACCC this morning and we will look forward to the responses with interest", he said.

Telstra says that 370 exchanges will be enabled immediately, with 132 following within 3 weeks, and another 405 within 200 days.

But people may be turned off the thought of ADSL2+ once they see the prices. Unlike its competitors, Telstra uses a tiered pricing model based on speed, where a user pays significantly more for ADSL2+ than they do for low speeds. BigPond's cheapest unbundled ADSL2+ plan is $69.95 for only 600MB, with $150/GB excess fees and counted uploads.

Links:

• Telstra Media Release  (Telstra, 6 Feb 2008)
• Government Media Release  (DBCDE, 6 Feb 2008)
• Letter from Conroy to Sol  (DBCDE, 6 Feb 2008)