NBN Co and Telstra Definitive Agreements commence

The Definitive Agreements between NBN Co and Telstra come into force on 7 March 2012, allowing NBN Co to increase construction activity.

“This is another key milestone in delivering the National Broadband Network and giving all Australians access to the infrastructure that will boost our future prosperity,” a joint media release from Penny Wong, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, and Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, said.

Ministers Wong and Conroy said the agreements will enable more efficient building of the NBN. The delivery of Telstra’s infrastructure information under the agreements removes one of the last impediments for the full-scale rollout of the NBN and will see NBN Co ramp up its construction activity.

The agreements will ensure faster take-up, higher revenues, lower costs and less use of overhead cabling. NBN Co will re-use existing infrastructure, which will avoid infrastructure duplication and community disruption.

Full structural separation will be achieved when Telstra migrates its customers to the wholesale-only NBN and decommissions its copper network. Retail service providers will have access to a single wholesale-only network offering access on open and equivalent terms.

New universal service arrangements will commence on 1 July 2012. These will include ensuring that all Australians will have reasonable access to a standard telephone service and that appropriate safety net arrangements are in place that will assist the migration of voice-only customers to an NBN fibre service.

Telstra and the Commonwealth have a $100 million retraining agreement that will provide funds for Telstra to retrain and redeploy staff affected by reforms.