Telstra-Clear against Telecom’s structural separation proposal

The Herald reports that Telstra-Clear is against Telecom’s proposed structural separation, preferring the operational separation process already underway.

Putting aside for now the merits of structural vs operational separation, it is no surprise that Telstra-Clear is not endorsing structural separation. Their parent Telstra in Australia would not be at all happy with one of their companies saying yes let’s chop the big monopoly incumbent up into two.

Telstra-Clear is right that there are risks of delays with the structural separation, but to my mind the potential benefits from such a split, are worth the risk. But those benefits will need to be negotiated and agreed upon without undue delay.