Telstra is slated to miss its self-imposed deadline to finalise a deal with the Australian government to migrate its customers to the upcoming National Broadband Network. Telstra initially planned to finalise the AUD 13.8 billion deal by Christmas but then revised it to Australia Day (26 January). Under the agreement, Telstra will be paid to decommission its copper network and lease its network of ducts and pipes to NBN Co, the company rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN). Telstra announced publicly that it expected to finalise the deal by the end of this month, but insiders say it needs to sign off on the deal on 26 January to be able to brief its shareholders on the deal at its half-year results in February, The Australian reports. Telstra declined to say when it expected to finalise the deal, but it did say "we continue to work constructively and will advise the market of any changes as soon as there are any."
