Telstra moves closer to sealing broadband deal

MELBOURNE: Australia's dominant phone company, Telstra Corp, will be US$5bil better off working with the government's new high-speed broadband network than competing against it, an independent expert said, paving the way for shareholder approval.

Telstra released the advice to shareholders ahead of a vote on Oct 18 on its plan to hand over its fixed-line assets to the government's US$38bil network, a cornerstone of one of the nation's biggest telecoms reforms.