THE Federal Court has heard that a lack of access to telephone exchanges may have cost internet service providers revenue and growth.
Yesterday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission used affidavits and confidential documents from ISPs to show they would have been more profitable and competitive if they had had direct access to exchanges.
The ACCC has taken Telstra to court over breaches of the Telecommunications Act and Trade Practices Act in relation to access to exchanges.
Direct access to the Telstra exchanges would have allowed providers such as Primus and iiNet to have customers ''on-net'', giving direct access via exchanges, rather than ''off-net'', where the companies buy wholesale access from Telstra and then sell it to their own customers.
The hearing continues today.
