Telstra claims NBN at risk due to separation demand

Greg Winn, chief operations officer of Telstra, speaking at CEDA's Australia's Broadband Future lunch in Sydney, the provision of high-speed broadband was critical to Australia's economy, productivity, competitiveness, jobs and growth.

"However the vision for high-speed broadband has become clouded by those that say you can build the NBN by pulling everything apart," Winn said.

"As the chief plumber at Telstra and someone with more than 35 years in the industry, including more than 10 years as a senior operating officer, I'm telling you - it won't work.

"To design, build and run any kind of a finished product or service to any customer requires end-to-end architecture. Networks are networks - they're not individual elements.

According to Winn, history and global experience shows that all you get from separation is a lack of investment, an increase in costs and duplication, and no increase in competition.

“So-called experts have said the NBN could be achieved with what is known as sub-loop unbundling,” he claimed.

“Sub-loop unbundling - which is essentially separation by stealth - would substitute the existing integrated network management with a set of unworkable, arm's length relationships that would be complex, and costly to administer.

"You can't do it without risking the fundamental safety, security and usability of the telephone service. The cut-over of all loops at the node - disconnecting customers from the network - is very risky. You lose end-to-end accountability and the lines of responsibility would be in constant dispute.”

Winn questioned the responsibility for fault management, emergency calls, disaster management and response, when each transaction requires multiple hand-offs between the end-user, retail provider and the network operator, if the telco was separated.

"This network is the central nervous system of Australia's national and commercial security - our banks, national security agencies, transport systems, electricity and other utilities, hospitals and schools are dependent upon a reliable and secure fixed telecommunications for their day to day, minute to minute operations,” he said.

"Separation and sub-loop unbundling are ideas that the largest companies in the world, much larger than ours, have totally written off because they understand what it will do to the integrity of the network and the customer experience.”