Australian Federal Court upholds regulator's ruling against Telstra
20 Jul 2009
The Australian Federal Court has ruled in favour of competition watchdog and 14 ISPs against Telstra in a dispute over access prices on the telco's copper network.
The disputes between Telstra and ISPs including Optus, Primus, Amcom, TPG and Macquarie Telecom, had been referred to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for arbitration. At the heart of the disputes was Telstra's attempt to increase monthly access fees for its copper network.
In the matter of the 14 proceedings concerning the dispute, the telco challenged ACCC's final ruling in its arbitrations and escalated decisions to the Federal Court which dismissed the Telco's appeals.
Though the watchdog has not yet made any formal statement on the ruling, Optus director of government and corporate affairs, Maha Krishnapillai has welcomed the decision.
He added that he long-running dispute formed a part of an attempt by the telco to over-inflate the price of access to its network. He accused Telstra of having delay and litigated around the issue for 12 years.
Though no figures have been quoted as regards the legal bill, it is expected to run into millions of dollars.
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