SYDNEY, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A $10.8 billion deal between the Australian government and telecoms firm Telstra Corp over Telstra's role in the $35 billion National Broadband Network will not be completed this year, the Australian Financial Review said on Monday.
The delay comes as the government asked the state-owned National Broadband Network Company to rewrite parts of its business plan, making it harder to meet Telstra's planned deadline of a shareholder vote by the end of June 2011, the paper said.
Parts of the NBN's business plan are set to be revealed on Monday but the plans had to be revamped after the competition regulator told the government to increase the number of points where internet service providers can access the network.
The NBN was one of the election clinchers for the Labor party earlier this year as Australia's slow and expensive Internet service has often frustrated voters.
Telstra and the government have been negotiating a deal to use Telstra's fixed-line assets for the basis of the network, with the aim to have a deal sealed by the end of 2010, in order to allow Telstra to clear a number of other regulatory hurdles.
However rival phone companies such as Singapore Telecommunications' Australian unit Optus have been critical of the plan and want to be able to connect to the network at up to eight times more points than had originally been allowed for.
(Reporting by Adrian Bathgate; editing by Balazs Koranyi) Keywords: TELSTRA NBN/ (Adrian.Bathgate@thomsonreuters.com)(+64 4 471 4233)(Reuters Messaging: adrian.bathgate.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The delay comes as the government asked the state-owned National Broadband Network Company to rewrite parts of its business plan, making it harder to meet Telstra's planned deadline of a shareholder vote by the end of June 2011, the paper said.
Parts of the NBN's business plan are set to be revealed on Monday but the plans had to be revamped after the competition regulator told the government to increase the number of points where internet service providers can access the network.
The NBN was one of the election clinchers for the Labor party earlier this year as Australia's slow and expensive Internet service has often frustrated voters.
Telstra and the government have been negotiating a deal to use Telstra's fixed-line assets for the basis of the network, with the aim to have a deal sealed by the end of 2010, in order to allow Telstra to clear a number of other regulatory hurdles.
However rival phone companies such as Singapore Telecommunications' Australian unit Optus have been critical of the plan and want to be able to connect to the network at up to eight times more points than had originally been allowed for.
(Reporting by Adrian Bathgate; editing by Balazs Koranyi) Keywords: TELSTRA NBN/ (Adrian.Bathgate@thomsonreuters.com)(+64 4 471 4233)(Reuters Messaging: adrian.bathgate.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.