New regulations imposed by the Federal Government have caused TPG to temporarily withdraw its controversial fibre-to-the-basement rollout, which it had established in competition with the NBN.
The regulations in question required TPG to fulfil certain requirements in order to sell their product, which they were unable to complete in time, as advised by their website:
“On 14 December 2014, we were advised of a regulation that precludes us from selling our FTTB products after 1 January 2015 unless we have taken certain steps. There has been insufficient time to complete those steps before 1 January so until we complete the required changes we are required to remove our FTTB products from sale.”
TPG has assured customers that it will resume operations as soon as possible, though no timeframe has been given. More information is available on their website.
In December, Federal Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, announced a new carrier license condition for owners of superfast broadband networks, requiring carriers to offer wholesale services on a non-discriminatory basis and to functionally separate their wholesale and retail businesses.
According to Turnbull, “This is designed to support fairer and more effective retail competition by ensuring competing service providers can access new residential broadband networks and provide alternative offerings.”
“Competition will give residential consumers choice about who they want as their Internet retailer and creates the conditions for reduced prices, better service standards and greater innovation in the services being offered.”
His announcement can be read online.
