Telstra starts court proceedings over Broadband ConnectTelstra has started proceedings in the Australian Federal Court against the Minister for Communications, IT & the Arts, Helen Coonan, regarding the Broadband Connect Program. The Program’s guidelines offered up to AUD 600 million of taxpayers’ funds to provide broadband to underserved rural and regional areas. Telstra submitted its proposal on this basis. Instead, nearly AUD 1 billion was ultimately awarded to the SingTel Optus and Elders consortium (OPEL) to - according to Telstra - largely duplicate existing services with little net benefit to rural Australians. According to Telstra’s Geoff Booth, Telstra could not stand by and watch AUD 1 billion of taxpayers’ money being wasted. Telstra had asked the Minister to explain why it was not given a chance to submit a revised proposal for almost AUD 1 billion. Coonan has not provided Telstra will the documents underlying her decision. Telstra has thus started proceedings in the Federal Court to provide the documents. Coonan has refuted Telstra’s claims. In a response, Australian communications minister Helen Coonan called Telstra’s reaction “sour grapes” and said the company could better spend its time improving its services, particularly on its 3G network. She rejected the assertions made by Telstra, calling the award proces fair, and said the government will vigorously defend its stance in court.
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