Telstra passes on NBN billions, plays it safe

Technology pundits were left scratching their heads yesterday when Telstra walked away from bidding for up to A$56 billion in NBN fibre build contracts. Both Telstra and NBN had previously talked about Australia’s biggest telco installing some of the new fibre network. Last week nbnTM launched the nation’s first fibre-to-the- …

[Anonymous Coward]

Bah

Why would a modern country like Australia even need mid to hi speed Internet infrastructure?

Only the kids use it anyway.

And that's mostly to update Facebook and watch cat vids.

</sarcasm>

[anonymousI]

Re: Bah

...and of course the only other uses are for (alleged) "piracy", and porn.

After all, for what other possible purposes could a first-rate national comms network be used?

</more sarcasm>

[Robert Heffernan]

Remediating Copper? Muppets!

The copper network doesn't need REMEDIATION. It needs REPLACEMENT, that is what we were promised with the NBN. To replace the ageing and failing copper network with a nice shiny new fiber network that will lay the foundation for Australia's digital future.

Getting to be totally over politicians these days. Over promising and under delivering would be acceptable but this Government has screwed it all up so badly I have completely lost faith in the whole system.

[Griffo]

It's pretty clear

It's simple really. Telstra have more knowledge than anyone of the dire state of the copper and HFC networks they have basically been band-aiding for 10+ years. They've just sold them for $11B dollars and are now sitting back and saying "as if we'd be stupid enough to bid to upgrade that heap of junk".

[DanielR]

Good at economics I believe. This is what Turnbull has given you just to avoid fibre. Replacing the copper with copper. ADSL services.

[DanielR]

Not even Telstra want to go into the hornets nest because they know.

[rtb61]

Basically they know exactly how shit the copper is they sold the taxpayer in the biggest scam in Australian history, paying billions for something that was going to be scrapped and quite simply want to distance themselves from it whilst keeping the money.

There is a good chance of a Royal Commission into the purposeful and very corrupt bungling of the NBN by the LNP and people will be looking to distance themselves from the fallout and the fines.