Industry up for $69.7 million in latest TSO calculation

Hard on the heels of Vodafone’s loss in the Court of Appeal this week, the Commerce Commission has today released its draft cost calculation for the TSO at $69.7million for the year 2008/09.The largest contributor is Telecom, which is liable for $46.2 million, but it is the sole beneficiary as this is the money the industry must pay to enable Telecom to maintain a voice service to uneconomic rural customers. The second largest contributor is Vodafone - $18.2 million, a sum it is likely to dispute. Vodafone is awaiting High Court decisions on TSO determinations for the 2004/05 and 2005/06 years and it may continue its legal challenge to the amount it was forced to pay in the 2003/04 determination, all the way to the Supreme Court.Here’s the breakdown of who’s expected to pay what in the Commission’s 2008/09 draft calculation:Telecom - $46,284,585Vodafone -$18,247,639TelstraClear - $4,450,512WorldxChange - $218,777Orcon -$185,477CallPlus - $134,121Compass - $86,0252degrees - $45,538Woosh - $38,108LinkTel - $19,869Airnet - $9,018Teamtalk - $4,332Submissions on the draft calculation are due by Friday 15 January.Final TSO cost calculations for 2007/08 and 2006/07 were released by the Commerce Commission in October this year.Meanwhile the government wants to overhaul the TSO and instead create a contestable fund that will assist in the roll out of rural broadband.