Commerce Commission looking into potential Telecom Wholesale breach

Thursday 27th August 2009

The Commerce Commission is investigating a potential breach of Telecom Corp.’s operational separation, but has yet to decide whether to pursue a full inquiry for anti-competitive behaviour.

The regulator has acted following a report from the Independent Oversight Group, a government-appointed watchdog body.

It was already considering whether the Telecom Wholesale unit’s loyalty offer breached competition laws. It is considering the IOG decision which found “non-trivial breaches” around the deals offered to retail customers such as Whoosh and CallPlus. The

regulator also confirmed it has received a formal complaint in relation to Telecom Wholesale’s loyalty discount.

In a statement, the largest listed telecommunications company said it’s reviewing the IOG decision before making any further comment.

Orcon Internet Ltd., one of the top two internet service providers in broadband performance according to broadband measurement firm Eptiro, is pleased with the IOG’s decision to uphold the complaints, calling it a “positive step.”

“Orcon led the unbundling of the local loop and the loyalty offers were structured in such a way as to disadvantage us and our customers,” he said in a statement.

In June, the regulator reaffirmed its final decision that Telecom can charge its competitors for access to the sub-loop unbundled copper service that connects broadband customers to local distribution cabinet.

The same month, IT and Communications Minister Steven Joyce delayed the timetable for the company to unbundle the local loop and backhaul services.

Businesswire.co.nz

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