The heads of five of Australia’s top Internet and telecommunications companies have joined forces to call for a pro-competitive approach towards the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Forming under the name TERRiA Access Seekers Association (TASA), the group said today that it was spurred on by the amount of misinformation currently being reported about the NBN.

Consisting of Netspace managing director Stuart Marburg, Primus Telecom CEO Ravi Bhatia, iiNet CEO Michael Malone, Optus CEO Paul O’Sullivan and Internode managing director Simon Hackett, the group’s goal is to ensure competition and innovation issues are considered in any decisions made by the NBN Co.

“TASA will offer a provider-neutral forum for legitimate access seekers to discuss and define how its members believe that the necessary technical access mechanisms, service definitions, pricing principles, and business interfaces should work together to ensure the success of the NBN,” Internode’s Hackett said.

“The association will be welcoming participation from access seekers intending to use the NBN and will operate in a way that ensures the interests of consumers, rather than the interests of individual service providers, ultimately comes first.”

The group says it will be extending an invitation for others to join.