Telstra delighted by roaming ruling

TELSTRA investors can breathe a sigh of relief after the competition watchdog declared it was unconvinced domestic roaming was the antidote to poor mobile services in rural Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has confirmed it will not declare a domestic mobile roaming service — where customers of one telco can connect with a rival telco’s network in areas where their signal is poor.

It follows an inquiry into mobile roaming that started more than a year ago and the commission’s draft decision in May proposing not to back domestic roaming.

Chairman Rod Sims said yesterday the inquiry had found mobile roaming “would likely not lead to lower prices or better coverage or quality of services for regional Australians”.

Telstra shareholders had been spooked at the prospect of Vodafone Australia and TPG Telecom roaming on its multibillion-dollar mobile network.

Shares in Telstra climbed 3c, or 0.9 per cent, in the wake of the commission’s ruling yesterday, closing at $3.55.

It came despite a court case Vodafone has filed against the ACCC that could potentially counteract the regulator’s decision.

Vodafone in June took the ACCC to court over its draft decision, seeking a judicial review of the regulator’s conduct in holding a public inquiry into the issue.

Judgment has been reserved in that court action.

Mr Sims yesterday flagged moves to make it easier for Telstra’s rivals to install mobile equipment on the dominant telco’s towers.

“We will shortly commence a review of the facilities access code to identify barriers to colocation or infrastructure deployment,” he said.

The regulator’s promise to make it easier for Telstra’s rivals to roll out coverage in rural areas failed to placate Vodafone yesterday.

Vodafone chief strategy officer Dan Lloyd said the decision “rings alarm bells for regional communities”.

But Optus sided with Telstra on the issue. It has been investing in its regional network.