TransACT has decided to pull out of Terria, the consortium bidding against Telstra for the government's $4.7 billion national broadband network, shortly after the departure of two other members AAPT and Soul.
The Terria broadband consortium is finalising a deal with key telecommunications unions which would see the groups negotiate a collective agreement in the event of Terria winning the federal government's $4.7 billion broadband contract.
TPG-Soul has pulled out of the Terria consortium today, saying the nation doesn't need a national broadband network.
National broadband network consortium Terria said today that AAPT's withdrawal from the group would not affect its ability to hand in a bid on 26 November.
The telco exodus which has plagued the Terria broadband consortium over the last week is now over, according to remaining members, who yesterday pledged their support as being "rock solid".
The inference that Soul, AAPT and TransACT were Dead Telcos Walking long before their withdrawals were announced makes me wonder whether Terria has always been, God help us all, just as flimsy a proposition as Telstra has made it out to be.
Without consensus on labour issues, the eventual winner of the NBN may end up as little more than a lame duck and a cashed-up symbol of the conflict between the desire for progress and the lack of mechanisms to deliver it.
Sometimes, a well-placed and well-timed letter can make all the difference. Other times, it can make no difference at all and even hurt your case. This week's missive by the Competitive Carriers' Coalition, I would suggest, falls into the latter category.
Fair is not what the National Broadband Network tender is about; it's bloodsport, and a fight for survival, and a challenge of the wills, and all the other sorts of superlatives you might expect from an Olympics announcer.
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