Telstra trials retail broadband on Tassie NBN

Free fibre services for 100 existing Telstra customers.

Telstra will trial a retail broadband service on the Tasmanian NBN for three months starting next month.

The incumbent was seeking about 100 existing Telstra customers living in Midway Point, Scottsdale and Smithton to participate.

They would get services delivered over fibre and retain their Telstra copper line and services but get free access to broadband on the NBN infrastructure, a spokesman told iTnews.

Telstra wanted to identify how the NBN would interface with its backend systems and whether a commercial Tasmanian service was feasible.

Telstra chief executive officer David Thodey (pictured) noted the uniqueness of the prospect that it would run services on another network's infrastructure - something from which it traditionally shied away.

"It's unusual for Telstra to access another network rather than use our own, so it's important we ensure our products and services work smoothly," Thodey said.

The network testing would occur prior to the customer trial, NBN Co said.

Thodey said the trial was an "opportunity for Telstra to assess how BigPond broadband services and next-generation digital home products such as T-Hub and T-Box perform over the NBN".

NBN Tasmania executive chairman Doug Campbell the NBN gave "retail service providers the opportunity to prove the integration of their services on to the new network".

"They are also gaining valuable experience in the types of service plans that are attractive to customers using the impressive capabilities of the new network," he said.

If the trial was successful, Telstra would join ISPs iiNet, iPrimus, Internode and Exetel in selling retail internet services on the network.