The Government announced yesterday that it would trigger major access restrictions against Telstra if the communications giant did not reform its structure.

Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, announced reforms to effectively carve up its operations and eventually create a more competitive market for communications in Australia.

He said by calling for the reforms, the Government was addressing Telstra’s high level of integration to promote greater competition and consumer benefits and was "streamlining and simplifying" the competition regime to provide more certain and quicker outcomes for telecommunications companies.

He said the changes strengthened consumer safeguards to ensure services standards were maintained at a high level and would remove redundant and inefficient regulatory red-tape.

While the announcement stripped more than $2 billion worth of value from Telstra shares on the day it was announced, the move was applauded by consumer groups and competitor communications companies.

Cheaper broadband, pay TV and mobile services have all been flagged as a result of the reforms, which the Government will introduce to parliament this week.

It is unclear yet how the Opposition, and crucially The Nationals, will vote on the reforms, however Nationals leader Warren Truss is already calling for rural service guarantees under any new structure.

Mr Truss said the Federal Government must guarantee that its Telstra break-up proposals will not result in poorer telecommunication services to regional Australia.

He said the future of Telstra Countrywide and basic telephone services to low-revenue customers must also be addressed in any new communications industry structure.

"Already two million Australians in regional areas have been excluded from Labor’s broadband promise and today’s latest Telstra announcement will leave many in despair that they will ever get faster broadband technology," Mr Truss said.