Vodafone's mobile terminating access service undertakings (November 2004)
On 26 November 2004 Vodafone lodged an ordinary access undertaking with the ACCC specifying the terms and conditions it would undertake to meet its standard access obligations to supply the domestic mobile terminating access service (MTAS). The terms and conditions related to the pricing of the MTAS and some other matters of supply. The undertaking includes a service description and usage charges specifying Vodafone's proposed charges for the service outlined in the service description.
The ACCC released a discussion paper on Vodafone's MTAS access undertaking on 25 February 2005.
On 7 February 2005 Vodafone wrote to the ACCC to inform that it had discovered an unintentional omission in the data inputs to the cost model underlying a key report (the PricewaterhouseCoopers report) on which the usage charges in the undertaking were based. Following further communications between Vodafone and the ACCC, Vodafone lodged a second (replacement) ordinary access undertaking on the MTAS on 23 March 2005, based on revised cost modelling figures.
Subsequently Vodafone wrote to the ACCC on 12 April 2005 withdrawing the first undertaking which it submitted on 26 November 2004.
The undertakings, supporting materials and the ACCC's February 2005 discussion paper are available below.
An amended version of appendix 3 to Vodafone's submission was posted on 10 January 2005.
Following requests for further information by the ACCC, Vodafone wrote to the ACCC on 7 February 2005 informing the ACCC that it had discovered an unintentional omission in the data inputs to the Pricewaterho...
PricewaterhouseCoopers report (on behalf of Vodafone)
On 28 October 2005 Vodafone submitted as ‘further corroborative evidence that the undertaking target price of 16.15 cpm is reasonable and conservative’ a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers in relation to a re-run of the original cost model prepared for Vodafone which incorporates data for the financial year 2003-04 and corrects a number of errors that had been identified in the original model. This report was received some seven months after initial submission of the Vodafone MTAS undertaking and more than two months after the final date the ACCC had set for submissions in response to the discussion paper.
As could reasonably be expected the ACCC was considerably advanced in its assessment of both the Vodafone MTAS undertaking and the submissions made by all interested parties in relation to it at the time it received the PricewaterhouseCoopers Model Re-run Report. Further, the report prepared by the ACCC’s external consultant, Analysys Consulting Ltd (Analysys), in relation to the original PricewaterhouseCoopers model was extremely close to completion. As such the ACCC’s ability to assess this ‘re-run’ report and the underlying model and model inputs for the purpose of its draft decision on the Vodafone MTAS undertaking was compromised. Accordingly the weight the ACCC was able to place on this information in forming its draft view on the undertaking was necessarily limited. The ACCC expected to be able to conduct a more thorough analysis of this material in reaching a final view on the Vodafone MTAS undertaking.
Vodafone advised the ACCC that a confidential version of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report and the accompanying re-run of the model were made available to interested parties that sought access to the information which Vodafone claimed to be confidential commercial information.
The ACCC retained Analysys Consulting Pty Ltd to provide advice on the re-run cost model prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers for Vodafone, in support of Vodafone's MTAS undertaking. A copy of the report to be prepared by Analysys is available below.
In coming to its draft decision, the ACCC retained Analysys Consulting Pty Ltd to provide advice on the cost model developed by PricewaterhouseCoopers for Vodafone, in support of Vodafone's MTAS undertaking. A public copy of the report prepared by Analysys is given above.
The ACCC also retained ...
