Wholesale relations between Telstra and its carrier customers have hit an all time low according
to Primus Australia MD Greg Wilson, who branded the carrier’s recent efforts as “crude and desperate
attempts” to pressure the government and regulators.

Speaking at a SPAN lunch in Melbourne yesterday, Wilson revealed the experience of meeting
the new executive team as being “the business equivalent of Meet the Fockers.”

“Most of those who have come into contact with the new family seem to
have been traumatised by the experience.” He added, “we have had a long
history of dealings with Telstra but nothing like what has been
occurring in recent times.”

Despite the “extraordinary lengths” that Telstra has resorted to in a
bid to “kill off” the multimillion-dollar investments in DSLAM rollouts by its
competitors, Wilson remained confident that Primus will be a major
player in the growth surge anticipated in the broadband market. He
called Telstra’s recent claims of $800m losses from ULL as “fantasy”
and “preposterous.”

“Telstra’s pricing proposal is not about being generous to the bush but
rather designed to kill off rivals in metropolitan markets, where it’s
now facing the prospect of real competition,” said Wilson.
He warned that if Telstra got its way, “we can forget about competitive services in the bush or
anywhere else, it will be Telstra or nothing.”