Cornered! is a blog devoted, most of the time anyway, to telecommunications: local and global issues, technology, people and trends from the perspective of someone who's been reporting, analysing and commenting on the industry since the dark ages (BC - before competition). Sometimes serious, sometimes flippant, sometimes frivolous. Controversial, analytical, informative, amusing, but never boring; a vehicle for examinations of important issues and observations on my encounters and experiences in an industry where polarised views and hyperbole are the norm.
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Cornered! ACCC's role in evaluating broadband network proposals is indeed 'critical'
Cornered! ACCC's role in evaluating broadband network proposals is indeed 'critical' | ACCC's role in evaluating broadband network proposals is indeed 'critical' |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Thursday, 17 April 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 The ACCC's role is set out in Section 10.4 of the RFP and, as Conroy said in his speech: this is a purely advisory role. "...the ACCC has a dual role. It will provide the [expert] panel with ongoing advice on a range of issues. This includes the nature of access services, pricing, proposed regulatory changes and the impact of proposals on competition. The ACCC will also provide a written report to the panel which will contain an individual and comparative assessment of proposals. Importantly, in conducting its assessment, the ACCC will be able to draw on all information it has legally available to it, including the range of information it has on costs and prices."This is in stark contrast to how the ACCC dealt with the G9 proposal for an FTTN last year. Under the provisions of the Trade Practices Act the G9 was required to lodge a special access undertaking, a public document. The ACCC then invited comment and in due course issued a public draft decision which again was open for comment in advance of a final decision. {That stage was never reached as the G9 withdrew the undertaking after the ACCC's provision rejection in its draft decision.) This is a far cry from the ACCC's advisory role on responses to the NBN RFP. Telstra's competitors, through the Competitive Carriers Coalition, have called from the proposals for the NBN to be "subject to rigorous examination involving publication of the proposal, the publication of an opinion by the ACCC and then public submissions and a final public report." CCC executive director, David Forman said: " Telstra has for two years wanted to do a secret deal with the Government, giving Australians no opportunity to scrutinise what it proposes until it has received approval..[and] has also said it will not invest unless it has a guarantee of monopoly profits and inflated prices for a generation. It the responsibility of the Government to ensure that this does not happen and ensuring public examination of proposals is the best guarantee that bad decisions are not made." Unless the government changes its mind this public scrutiny will not occur. The situation could indeed become critical.
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