The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has today published interim determinations, together with the statements of reasons, in five telecommunications mobile terminating access service (MTAS) arbitrations.*
The interim determination and statement of reasons for each arbitration is available on the ACCC's website.
Under the Trade Practices Act 1974 the ACCC may make an interim determination in a dispute prior to making a final determination.
The interim determinations set out the charges to be paid by the access seekers to Vodafone for the supply of the MTAS, except where agreed otherwise by the parties. The statements of reasons set out the ACCC's reasons for the interim determinations.
The interim determinations were made in July and August of this year. The interim determinations are in effect for 12 months or until a final determination comes into effect or the interim determination is revoked.
The ACCC consulted with the parties regarding publication of the interim determinations.
The ACCC has considered the parties' submissions and, except for information considered commercial-in-confidence, the interim determinations and statements of reasons are published in full.
Given that the legislation contemplates that arbitrations be otherwise conducted in private, the ACCC will not be making any further public comment at this stage.
* The Domestic Mobile Terminating Access Service is a wholesale input, used by providers of fixed-to-mobile and mobile-to-mobile calls, to allow their customers to call mobile phone users. It allows consumers (either fixed-line or mobile) to call mobile users connected to another network. The carrier whose customer initiates the call pays the carrier whose customer receives the call for the mobile terminating access service.
The disputes relate to the charges, and other terms and conditions, for carrying that portion of a call which terminates on Vodafone's mobile network.
The ACCC is vested with arbitration powers enabling it to make directions and 'do all things necessary for the speedy hearing and determination of an access dispute'. For the ACCC to engage in arbitration, an access seeker and/or an access provider must notify the ACCC of an access dispute. The ACCC may arbitrate an access dispute only where:
a declared service is supplied or proposed to be supplied by a carrier or carriage service provider
one or more standard access obligations apply or will apply to the carrier or carriage provider in relation to the declared service, and
an access seeker is unable to agree with the carrier or carriage service provider regarding the terms and conditions on which the carrier or carriage service provider is to comply with the standard access obligations.
Where a dispute cannot be resolved after private negotiations, mediation and/or conciliation, either of the access parties may refer the matter to the ACCC. Arbitration by the ACCC would be considered as a final solution for the parties in dispute. Where the ACCC is notified of an access dispute the ACCC must determine the matter, unless it decides to terminate the arbitration or the notification is otherwise withdrawn.
