Telstra (Australia) vs Telecom NZ

Its interesting to note that in a recent letter to shareholders, Telecom NZ have almost confirmed that the company will be splitting into two distinct companies. One to manage the fibre optic infrastructure and another to offer retail/wholesale services. This is something that the Australian Government have been trying to force Telstra (however unsuccessfully) for quite a long time.

From the letter to shareholders:

Over the last couple of years a Government policy has evolved that is known as Ultra Fast Broadband. The aim of this policy is to invest $1.5 billion of public funds in extending the amount of fibre optic cables used to carry broadband in New Zealand.

… one of the requirements of the tender process is that the companies that build the fibre optic infrastructure do not also offer services to end users, such as retail and business customers.

This has made me wonder a number of things. Why didn’t the NBN have a similar clause? Why have Telstra been so reluctant to do this?

For those that are interested, the full letter is available here.