Telstra welcomes DDSO removal

The Declaration required Telstra to make available internet data speeds of 64 kilobits per second available to at least 96 percent of the population under the DDSO.

the telco giant said historically it was fulfilled through ISDN, and to the remaining 4 percent of the population under the Special Digital Data Service Obligation (SDDSO) via satellite technology.

David Quilty, group managing director public policy and communications at Telstra said the Declaration had been overtaken by technology developments and was a classic example of outdated regulation that could easily be removed with no impact on customer service.

"Telstra's Next G network, which currently operates at a peak network speed of 14.4 Mbps giving 99 per cent of the population access to average internet speeds of 550 kbps - 3Mbps, will soon get even faster with a network upgrade shortly to increase peak network speeds to 21 Mbps," he said.

Quilty claimed the Government had a policy commitment to reducing unnecessary red tape and the telecommunications sector, which had a number of outdated and wasteful regulations holding back technology innovation, could provide some easy wins.