A row has erupted over whether or not Telstra is to blame for sabotaging the construction of the national broadband network, re-opening a 14-year-old debate that shows no sign of resolving itself.

The row began on Tuesday when Telstra chairman John Mullen issued a "mea culpa" on behalf of his predecessors at Telstra for sabotaging government efforts to commission the private sector to build a network, saying former Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo had done some "very bad things".