MELBOURNE, Australia-Australian carrier Hutchison Telecommunications has raised concerns about the launch of third-generation (3G) mobile communications if Telstra, which has a half stake in pay-television operator Foxtel, is permitted to bundle subscription television with other services.
Hutchison’s fears come in the wake of a proposal to consolidate the pay-TV operations of Foxtel and Optus. Hutchison is investing A$3 billion (US$1.6 billion) to launch a 3G network next year. In particular, Hutchison is worried that by offering bundled services, Telstra could possibly gain too much of a competitive advantage in the tightly contested mobile telephony market and dampen new growth areas such as 3G.
