Telstra says it is being left out of upcoming spectrum auctions. 

The Federal Government has recommended guaranteeing Optus and TPG a slice of 900 MHz spectrum so they can continue to run 3G services.

There was no such proposal to guarantee Telstra a similar slice of spectrum.

TPG and Optus both say Telstra should not be guaranteed any 900 MHz spectrum.

Telstra is not happy. 

“This would be an unprecedented and extremely aggressive regulatory intervention, fundamentally distorting the market and utterly inconsistent with the proposition market forces should determine the highest-value use for spectrum,” Telstra has told the ACCC. 

Telstra wants any discounts offered to its competitors to be offered to it as well. 

“In the event that ‘guaranteed’ spectrum is priced at anything less than the final unit price achieved at auction for the relevant band (excluding any assignment bids), equivalent downwards adjustments must be made to the final unit price payable by the other successful bidders in order to place all persons acquiring spectrum in the auction on a fair and even footing - noting that even a slight difference in price/MHz/pop can cause the price payable to differ by millions of dollars.”

More details are available here.