Australia's Telstra holding on to Foxtel

Australian telecommunications giant Telstra said it has no plan to lower its stake in pay TV operator Foxtel despite concerns by the competition regulator about its holding.

Telstra's chief executive said in an interview that the company is happy with its stake in Foxtel, which is also part owned by News Corp and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd.

Foxtel is the major player in the pay TV market in Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week announced it would allow loss-making pay TV operators Optus and Foxtel to share programs and costs.

However, the ACCC noted it was concerned Telstra could technically use its 50% stake in Foxtel to deny access to Foxtel's programs to competitors which were rolling out cables in competition to Telstra.