Just days after the resignation of TPG Soul and less than two weeks after the resignation of AAPT, a third member has left the Terria consortium.
Australian ISP TransACT announced yesterday that it had left the consortium, which has been assembled to provide a bid on building Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN).
In a statement to the media, TransACT chairman John Mackay said the company left the consortium so that it was not seen to have a conflict of interest should Terria win the contract.
Just five members remain in the consortium, which is led by Optus, SingTel's Australian subsidiary.
According to iTWire, The CEOs of the remaining members, ISPs Primus, Macquarie Telecom, Internode and iiNet, have all pledged their 'rock solid' support for the consortium.
TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich has told the Australian media that the company had left Terria some time ago, and had simply not revealed its withdrawal until yesterday.
But according to The Australian, industry insiders allege that TransACT had been involved in Terria negotiations as recently as a week ago.
It is now looking more and more likely that Australia's incumbent Telco, privatised former national provider Telstra, will submit the only credible bid on the November 26 deadline.
Telstra already enjoys a near-monopoly on Australia's core telecommunications infrastructure, and if allowed to build the NBN the situation could potentially become even worse.
Related news and analysis:
- Terria loses second member
- Terria's 2nd largest member pulls out
- Terria struggles to raise NBN bid capital