Possible variation of the ULLS service declaration (May 07)

The ACCC has decided to suspend a public inquiry which had been initiated under subsection 152AL of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act) to determine whether it should vary its service declaration for the unconditioned local loop service (ULLS).

In mid-March 2007, the ACCC received a request from the G9 consortium of companies to vary the ULLS declaration to ensure that sub-loop access falls within the definition of the declared ULLS. It was argued that a variation would provide certainty for a FTTN provider as the provision of services over the network would be contingent on access to the sub-loop. A copy of that request is available below.

The focus of the inquiry was on whether to vary the service description so that a ‘potential point of interconnection’ need not be located at or associated with a customer access module (CAM). In line with encouraging a more technically neutral service description, the ACCC was also considering whether the definition of communications wire in the ULLS declaration should be amended to include copper and other metallic based wires used in local loops.

The ACCC released a discussion paper in May 2007 (available below). The ACCC received nine submissions in response to the discussion paper. Public versions of the submissions are available below.

On 17 December 2007, the ACCC released a position paper as part of its inquiry into the possible variation of the definition of the declared ULLS. The ACCC received three submissions in response to the position paper. Public versions of the submissions are available below.

On 21 April 2007, the public inquiry into possible variation of the ULLS service declaration was suspended in recognition that there was no pressing need to vary the ULLS service declaration at this time. This position was stated in the ACCC’s position paper of December 2007. The ACCC has not received any submissions which indicate to the contrary.

Considering the potential impact the Federal Government’s competitive process to build a National Broadband Network (NBN) may have on the issue of ongoing access to the ULLS, the ACCC is of the view that to amend the ULLS service description at this time may create unnecessary regulatory uncertainty. 

While it is intended that the ACCC will re-commence its public inquiry after the conclusion of the NBN process, or address these issues in its review of the ULLS service declaration prior to its expiry in July 2009, the ACCC may in fact re-commence its public inquiry at any stage. This may occur if, for example, issues concerning the technical and functional neutrality of the ULLS service description become pressing.