Telstra admits wrongdoing, could face up to $300 million in fines

Telstra, the Australian telco could face a fine of up to $300 million after pleading guilty to misleading and deceptive conduct in denying access to competitors over its copper network. The telco has reportedly owned up to charges in a defence filing with the Federal Court on 31 July.

The Australian telco admitted to failure on its part to discharge its obligations towards other telcos under the Telecommunications Act 1997. The company has thus contravened one of the conditions of its carrier licence.

The admission comes in the context of a court case brought against it by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in March on allegations the company violated its obligations to users of its unconditioned local loop services and line-sharing services.

Under standard obligations, Telstra is legally required to provide access to its telephone exchanges to allow competitors to install equipment for new voice and broadband offerings to customers.

The ACCC said Telstra denied access at seven of its metropolitan exchanges falsely claiming they were full and had no outstanding capacity for rivals to install new equipment.

The ACCC had alleged that the telco misled access seekers about there being a lack of capacity on its main distribution frames (MDF). MDF is a key component of an exchange used by ISPs to interconnect DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) equipment to the copper wires running to customer homes.