Slashdot Mirror
Telstra Kicked Out of $15bn Broadband Project
An anonymous reader writes "Australia's largest telco and ISP, Telstra, has been
kicked out of the bidding process to build a national broadband network (NBN) estimated to be worth $15 billion. The Aussie government had earlier
given assurances that the proposal would be considered, however it now won't even be evaluated by the expert panel, which will make the recommendations to the Senator for Broadband and Communications. The government may now take steps to legislate so that Telstra can't build a network that competes with the NBN — leaving the incumbent to focus on wireless HSPA+ technology instead."
They submit a non-compliant bid, really what did they expect.
Bid Rejected - http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24800767-15306,00.html
Govt hits back at Telstra - http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24802044-15306,00.html
Of particular interest is this snippet form the above stories:
"The independent expert panel charged with assessing the bids obtained five separate pieces of legal advice which said it could not consider Telstra's bid.
That advice was from internal government lawyers; the Australian Government Solicitor; respected private law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth; senior counsel appointed by Corrs; and finally, the Solicitor-General, the Government's top legal advisor."
There were four conditions that RFP documents had to meet:
* The document must be written in English.
* The measurements used within must meet Australian standards.
* The proposal must be signed.
* The document must include a plan for how SMEs will be involved.
Telstra didn't submit anything for point 4. Now for a multi billion dollar proposal, you should at least submit a compliant bid. Instead they submitted a document with their own terms and promised "more information" if the Govt agreed to THEIR terms.
Govt hits back at Telstra - http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24802044-15306,00.html
Of particular interest is this snippet form the above story:
"The independent expert panel charged with assessing the bids obtained five separate pieces of legal advice which said it could not consider Telstra's bid.
That advice was from internal government lawyers; the Australian Government Solicitor; respected private law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth; senior counsel appointed by Corrs; and finally, the Solicitor-General, the Government's top legal advisor."
Long story short- Telstra screwed themselves becuase they submit a non-compliant bid. They CAN'T accept the bid because if they do, the other parties that did submit compliant bids could possibly sue them.
They submitted a 13 page 'proposal' at the last minute while (apparently) even the smallest of the bids were throughly detailed.
I bet when each bidder had to front the 'expert panel' on the weekend the panel decided not to waste their time entertaining a 'proposal'. Being a 13-page 'proposal' the lawyers would've had no trouble finding missing bits.
Besides, the process is pretty lame. The goal was to build the exact same proposal that Telstra came out with in 2005 - $4billion AUD for FTTN(which will be obsolete in 10 years anyway), and only do FTTH in brand new developments.
Its been pointed out by the head of another ISP (Internode, who I use) that Telstra could simply build a FiOS-style FTTH network and keep it to themselves, with no strings attached while the older PSTN remains. Keep in mind that Telstra's entire goal throughout this process has been to decimate the competitive environment that exists. There are ADSL2+ plans which offer 100x more value than the proposed wholesale FTTN port price!