Conroy questioned by ACCC over Telstra leak

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has reportedly contacted communications minister Stephen Conroy for an explanation regarding the leak of confidential information about Telstra’s copper network.

The alleged request comes after Conroy apologised to a Senate committee last week for the leak, which found Telstra’s customer access network was valued between $7.96 billion and $33 billion by a number of models, including the ACCC’s.

Conroy also apologised to Telstra chief executive David Thodey for the leak.

“I take responsibility… it was a mistake,” he told the Senate, also saying the Government was “concerned” about the leaked information.

The information was contained in a report completed in January, but was accidentally published by the Government last week. The report contained information regarding the value of each component of the network, including ducts and copper cables.

As reported in the Australian Financial Review, the ACCC is concerned over the leak as it revealed confidential data that plays a part in the assessment of proposals for the National Broadband Network.

The ACCC has attempted to deal with some controversy, as some Telstra shareholders have raised concerns over the $33 billion valuation. Some have seen that figure as a precursor to a move that would rally support for a merging of Telstra’s network with the NBN, but the ACCC has attempted to play down that concern.

The valuation also fuelled the controversy surrounding the Government’s plans to separate Telstra’s wholesale and retail divisions. The leak potentially slowed Conroy’s attempts to have the legislation passed through Parliament as quickly as possible.

The ACCC refused to comment.

Meanwhile, Telstra chief David Thodey has said the company has scrapped its $2.20 administration fee for customers paying bills over the counter or by mail, just two months after the fee’s introduction.

Thodey said in a statement the change will be implemented over the next few months, while the company will refund the administration fees to customers who have already paid the charge.

“I have listened to the community debate and believe that the way we introduced the fee did not align with our commitment to put customers back at the heart of our business.”

“It is now clear to me that introducing this fee across our existing plans was the wrong way to encourage customers to move to electronic payments.”

Thodey said although the fee was waived for over one million elderly and disadvantaged customers, who opt to pay at Post Office locations rather than online, the fee was still not acceptable.

“While others in our industry still charge for cash payments over the counter, Telstra will now look for other ways to encourage customers to move to electronic payments, possibly including the introduction of optional electronic-only plans.”

The company’s annual general meeting is scheduled for today.