AN ALLIANCE of telecommunications carriers has lashed out at the Coalition's broadband policy, saying any alternative policy involving the continued use of the Telstra pay TV cable network would be ''doomed to fail''.

The Competitive Carriers' Coalition attacked the Coalition's alternative broadband rollout plan after opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said that he would not prioritise areas covered by Telstra's existing HFC - or TV cable - if elected.

Opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, denied that the Coalition would continue to use Telstra's HFC network indefinitely. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

''These comments ignore the reality that such a proposal would mean that for 30 per cent of the population there would be no effective competitive broadband market,'' chairman of the alliance Matt Healy said.

The carriers such as Vodafone and iiNet are worried about the prospect of having to deal with Telstra over the network access issue, which has been a long-standing issue between Telstra and its smaller rivals.