Mid-tier telco People Telecom today said it would soon start selling ADSL2+ broadband services based on Telstra's wholesale platform, making it the first telco to do so.
Telstra has for the past several years demonstrated an unwillingness to wholesale ADSL2+ services to other telcos as it does ADSL1, as rivals like iiNet and Optus are speedily rolling out their own ADSL2+ networks. However, the nation's former monopolist has appeared to change its tune over the past several months.
Telstra has the largest ADSL2+ network in Australia, touching some 900 telephone exchanges. People Telecom is already an extensive reseller of Telstra services and inked a $200 million deal earlier this year with the bigger telco.
People Telecom chief executive John Stanton claimed the "high-quality" Telstra-based ADSL2+ service would allow his firm to debunk what he called some broadband "myths".
"There tends to be a consumer perception that all ADSL2 services are higher speed and higher quality, compared to standard ADSL services," he said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange this morning announcing the deal.
"That's always the case, because many ADSL2+ offerings in the marketplace are highly contended, low-cost products that actually offer slower speeds than, for example, a high-quality 8Mbps ADSL service."
I'm confused. People Telecom are offering ADSL2 services over the Telstra built network? Yet they are standing there saying ADSL2 is actually worse than ADSL1 in most cases?...huh?