ComCom asks Minister to 'consider' the Vodafone Talk Add-on when thinking of MTR

Forums › ICT Policies and Regulation › ComCom asks Minister to 'consider' the Vodafone Talk Add-on when thinking of MTR

1 | 2 | 3

langi27

611 posts

Ultimate Geek

#329431 12-May-2010 16:03

Update today

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10644395

copied from the herald article

Vodafone's latest marketing deal has pushed the Commerce Commission to backtrack on an earlier decision and it is now recommending the Government regulate mobile phone 'termination rates'.

So Vodafone have gone and put their foot in it. Classic FAIL.

Backblaze

Backblaze Unlimited Backup. World’s easiest cloud backup. Get peace of mind knowing your files are backed up securely in the cloud (affiliate link).

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#329433 12-May-2010 16:11

I'd go as far as suggesting that blaming Vodafone is nothing but a lame smokescreen.

I would also suggest that recent announcements in countries such as the UK have had a far greater impact on their bakflip than anything else. The Com Com have spent 18 months debating the MTAS issue and are now no closer to actually doing anything. A LOT has changed in this time.

The big question now is how long it will take to regulate the market if this decision is accepted. This could easily drag out well into next year before we even see action.

langi27

611 posts

Ultimate Geek

#329436 12-May-2010 16:21

I guess time will tell whether or not 2Degrees and others can compete in a regulated environment, it's only natural that VF and Telecom would reject such claims in order to defend their market share. It?s also clear that they are threatened by regulation.

The opinions I'm reading here are only that, just people opinions, the results will speak for themselves in coming months (probably years), whether or not this will have the desired effect.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#329468 12-May-2010 17:17

Another way to look at todays announcement (which is a topic I'm currently writing a blog post on) is the fact the Commerce Commission were sideswiped by Vodafone and have made a decision have fallen right into Vodafone (and Telecom's) hands.

It is almost certainly that if regulation occurs we will see a minimum of a 12 month delay before any regulation takes effect. This will conincide nicely with the existing VF and Telecom offers which I believe expire towards the end of 2011.

Right now the ComCom have to totally review both pricing models and establish some true costs for New Zealand if they are to effectively regulate the market. A lot has happened both in the market and on a global scale since they launched their MTAS investigation in late 2008.

The outcome of this will be somewhere in the vicinity of $100 million extra in Vodafone's coffers, all because the Commission want to "encourage competition".

What is also very hard for the Commission to understand is that unless they introduce legisation to stop cheap on-net calling matter what MTR rates are set to cheap on-net calling will remain, and does occur in a large number of OECD countries. Turkey introduced legislation to prevent Turkcell offering on-net calling at less than it's MTR rate. Will we such the Commerce Commission look at such a concept here? If so you can say goodbye to all Best Mate type deals and capped calling from landlines to mobiles. The public can then decide for themselves if that's a good thing.

Even Taylor Reynolds (OECD telco expert) made the comment when he was here last month that cheap on-net pricing occurs across the OECD, is very common along operators and that the fact we are even paying for on-net calling is surprising.

So we have the OECD's top telco expert saying it's common place and our Commerce Commission having a heart attack over the same issue. Who's right and who is wrong?

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
76342 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#329478 12-May-2010 17:57

And the Drop The Rate, Mate! folks comment...

DROP THE RATE, MATE! WELCOMES CONSUMER-FOCUSED COMMERCE COMMISSION DECISION

The members of the Drop the Rate, Mate! campaign are thrilled with the draft report released today by the Commerce Commission, which recommends the Government regulate mobile termination rates.

Campaign spokesperson Suzanne Chetwin says that the decision is what the campaign has been fighting for over the last year. "More than 13,000 Kiwis have signed up to our campaign, and we are so pleased that they could soon see much better value , innovation and service in the mobile market."

The Commerce Commission is planning on providing its final recommendation to the Minister in early June. The campaign says it is vital that this timeline is kept. "We have been stressing the urgency of regulation for some time, and now that we are at the final hurdle, the Commission mustn't allow anything to delay its decision," said Ms Chetwin.

If Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce decides to accept the Commerce Commission's recommendation and regulate, he will be in good company - every other country in the OECD bar Mexico regulates these services. "It is clear, both from international experience, and from the recent actions of Vodafone, that competition will not be promoted without regulation," said Ms Chetwin

The Commission's decision was made in the wake of Vodafone's recently released call plan, which Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Ross Patterson said perpetuated the barrier to competition in the mobile market.

Drop the Rate, Mate! was founded in August 2009 by Airnet NZ Ltd, Consumer NZ, Federated Farmers, the Federation of Maori Authorities, the New Zealand Union of Students Associations, the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand, 2degrees and the Unite union.

Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Dosh referral: 00001283 | Sharesies | Goodsync | Mighty Ape | Backblaze

freitasm on Keybase | My technology disclosure

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#329899 13-May-2010 19:00

langi27: I guess time will tell whether or not 2Degrees and others can compete in a regulated environment, it's only natural that VF and Telecom would reject such claims in order to defend their market share. It?s also clear that they are threatened by regulation.

The opinions I'm reading here are only that, just people opinions, the results will speak for themselves in coming months (probably years), whether or not this will have the desired effect.

time will tell?

2Degrees have achieved one of the fastest growths of a third entrant around the world - all this before MTRs are lowered.

1 | 2 | 3