Australia's Telstra far from broadband deal: report

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian telecoms firm Telstra (TLS.AX) has yet to reach a deal with the government on the term of access to its network in a $37 billion national broadband scheme, just days before target date, a report said on Monday.

Telstra, a former state-owned monopoly, is concerned over the cost of being part of the broadband network and the cannibalizing of its aging copper-based system as customers migrate to the new fiber network.

Telstra had hoped to strike a deal with the government before its half-year earnings on February 11 as it promised to update its 1.4 million shareholders on the talks, but the sides remain far apart before more talks this week, the Australian Financial Review newspaper said.

The government is preparing to reintroduce legislation that aims to force Telstra to split its retail and cable network arms, and commit its cable assets to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plan to push super-fast fiber-optic cable into almost every home.

The faster network was a key election promise that helped propel Rudd to victory in 2007, painting the then-ruling conservatives as opposed to infrastructure that would boost national productivity.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)