Telstra gets the boot out of multi-billion Australia broadband project

Australia's newspapers are aflame over Telstra's disqualification for participation in the country's $6.7 to $10 billion (US) national broadband network project. Australia's broadband minister said Telstra has "excluded itself" from the RFP process for failing to respond to one of five mandatory requirements in the process, whereas other participating bidders managed to meet all the requirements and conditions for participation. Telstra reportedly submitted a light-on-details eight page document at the last minute that neglected to include a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) build-out plan. In comparison, other bidders have produced thousand page documents in response to the RFP. The multi-billion dollar project involves replacing copper with fiber for 98 percent of Australia's network; Telstra was believed to have an overwhelming advantage over its rivals, since it owns the central coffers where all the current copper comes from.