Stuart Corner
Friday, 14 November 2008 10:50
IT Policy -
Government Tech Policy
Page 3 of 4
"For example, price control sub caps, particularly in the less competitive segments, may be appropriate...This may require different caps for residential and business FTM services."
The ACCC has no power to make such changes: This would be a matter for Government. However, the ACCC favours a different approach: it recommends that adopted in New Zealand under an agreement entered into with mobile operators voluntarily whereby they agree to pass on in full to fixed line customers any reduction in mobile termination rates.
In the case of Telstra's services this would have resulted in calls to mobiles for fixed line customer costing an average of 31.5 cents today rather than 38.44 cents.
Telstra did not respond to the ACCC's suggestion that its retail prices for fixed to mobile calls should have come down, instead launching an attack on the entire gamut of the ACCC's administration of access pricing regulations.
Telstra's group managing director for public policy and communication, David Quilty, said: "The ACCC says it's concerned fixed to mobile prices are not coming down, and responds by retaining [the mobile terminating access price] at the same high level for three more years. It is illogical and puts the ACCC in the dock for guaranteeing higher prices for consumers.
"The ACCC must say why mobile terminating rates are nine-times fixed terminating rates and explain how this massive differential works in the interests of consumers or potential investors in fixed networks."
Quilty claimed that the ACCC was "simply making it up as it goes [with] no rhyme nor reason to its decisions."
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