Revisiting the structural separation of Telstra [2004]

This paper, originally published in Telecommunications Journal of Australia Volume 54 No 3, 2004, reviews the arguments for and against the 'vertical' structural separation of Telstra, following the apparent failure of nominal 'accounting separation' as a regulatory means for ensuring fair and equitable provision of Telstra's wholesale pricing to itself and to its competitors.The paper argues the several national benefits of a government buy-back of Telstra's fixed wholesale network business, and suggests a new solution as to how this might be achieved at affordable cost and without excessive political risk.The paper also spells out the implications of the opposite eventuality, the complete privatisation of Telstra, and why this would not be in the national interest