The bargaining begins, with Telstra all to well aware that it’s in something of a strong position, especially if it appears willing to deal.
The Australian reports that Telstra’s David Thodey wants a quick deal, but not neccessarily just any deal, quoting him as stating that
“The new government has committed that they will seek to renegotiate our NBN agreements . . . We will look to help facilitate this quickly with a view to minimise uncertainty. While any negotiation takes place, our priority will remain focused on meeting our existing commitments and winning customers on the NBN where it is available.”
This is going to be the important crux on which the government FTTN rollout either flies or stalls; if Malcolm Turnbull can negotiate a quick settlement — presumably while keeping to his “copper has no economic value” stance — then it should be feasible to get working on the revamped NBN quickly. If not, as happened with Labor, negotiations could bog the whole thing down substantially.