Telstra faces fine of $33.22m for blocking exchange access (Australia)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A fine of AUD40 million (USD33.22 million) has been faced by Australian fixed line incumbent Telstra for breaching obligations related to allowing its competitors access to its exchanges. Penalty is thought to be levied by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against Telstra for each occasion it refused rivals access to its exchanges.

The watchdog is allowed to apply fines of up to AUD10 million under the existing legislation for each of the 27 incidences of refusal. However, it has been understood that the telco has admitted that it mistakenly rejected applications the ACCC is considering smaller penalties.

Although Telstra has claimed that the errors were the result of junior staff acting improperly, rather than following an official company policy, it has admitted that it wrongly denied access to alternative operators. Both the ACCC and Telstra have made their final submissions in the case and the final verdict lies with Federal Court.