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Telstra lawyers take on competition notice

Telstra today launched a Federal Court legal challenge to a recent notice issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which accused the telco of anti-competitive actions.The "Part A competition notice" issued last month allows third parties to take legal action resulting from Telstra's decision to raise the wholesale price of its Home Access product in December.
Written by Renai LeMay, Contributor
Telstra today launched a Federal Court legal challenge to a recent notice issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which accused the telco of anti-competitive actions.

The "Part A competition notice" issued last month allows third parties to take legal action resulting from Telstra's decision to raise the wholesale price of its Home Access product in December.

The ACCC notice has already resulted in a multimillion dollar lawsuit from Optus which has yet to be resolved, but Telstra today said the regulator didn't take action fairly.

The ACCC had raised different arguments than those contained in an earlier consultation notice, Telstra said in a statement.

"The ACCC has shifted the goal posts mid-game and blindfolded one team," Telstra's general manager of regulatory affairs, Dr Tony Warren, said.

The statement claimed the competition notice related only to a subset of low-spending customers, whereas the previous consultation notice related to the entire customer base.

The ACCC's general manager of telecommunications, Michael Cosgrave, told ZDNet Australia in a telephone interview that it was Telstra's right to take legal action and confirmed the legal challenge had been mounted.

It would take place in the Federal Court, he said.

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