Government considers Commerce Commission report

The Government has this morning received the Commerce Commission's draft determination on pricing for the unbundled bitstream access (UBA) and a final determination on the unbundled copper local loop (UCLL), and will now take time to review these decisions.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams says the decisions on both prices, taken together, are potentially significant for the industry and end users.

“I have asked my officials to review the effects of the pricing and report back to me," she says.

“I note that the Commission’s report says it has only found two countries to benchmark the UBA rate against, and has struggled to find a broad sample of countries.

“New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world to have structurally separated its main telecommunications company, while at the same time rolling out a fibre network.

"This potentially highlights the need for a pricing methodology appropriate for the New Zealand context.”

The UCLL portion of the pricing decision is applicable immediately, while the UBA rate will not take effect until November 2014.