broadband strategies handbook.pdf - Khazar University

separation is considered a last-resort measure and is typically used only ifother regulatory interventions have failed and a comprehensive cost-benefitanalysis has been conducted. 25 Structural separation is extremely difficult toreverse and can dramatically affect the market, such as by increasing regulatoryuncertainty and affecting infrastructure investment. Additionally, it isdifficult to allocate the separated firms’ assets and liabilities in order toensure the ongoing viability of both entities. As a result, regulatory authoritiesrarely impose structural separation as a remedy.In 2010, the Australian Parliament passed the Telecommunications LegislationAmendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Act 2010(Australian Government 2010). The act and implementing regulations setout the procedures by which the dominant fixed-line operator, Telstra, muststructurally separate control over its copper and hybrid fiber coaxial networkinfrastructure as well as its provision of wholesale access services,from retail fixed voice and broadband services (Australia, Department ofBroadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy 2011). In August2011, Telstra submitted to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissionits structural separation undertaking plan, which commits Telstrato full structural separation by July 1, 2018. 26 Telstra’s structural separationis set to occur through the progressive migration of its fixed-line networksto the National Broadband Network (NBN) Company, which is rolling out anational broadband network to be provided on a wholesale-only basis.Additionally, the plan sets out various measures by which Telstra will ensuretransparency and equivalence in the supply of regulated services to itswholesale customers during the transition to the NBN. In exchange forstructurally separating and providing the NBN Company with access to itsfixed-line infrastructure, Telstra will receive compensation in the amount of$A 11 billion. 27Network NeutralityNetwork neu trality (“net neutrality”) generally refers to the notion that anISP should treat all traffic equally, whether content, application, or service.Based on this principle of nondiscrimination, proponents of net neutralityseek to restrict the ISP’s ability to interfere with or inappropriately manageInternet traffic (Atkinson and Weiser 2006). Blocking or slowing down (alsoreferred to as “throttling”) the delivery of certain types of content, applications,or services is one of the main concerns of net neutrality advocates.However, such network traffic practices may be considered necessary toensure that illegal content is not distributed or to manage networks better124 Broadband Strategies Handbook