ACCC provides benefits to consumers in apartments and other multi-dwelling units
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has today published a final determination made in an arbitration concerning a dispute over access to the Unconditioned Local Loop Service* in multi-dwelling units such as those in an apartment block or a shopping centre.
Optus notified the dispute on 21 September 2006 and the ACCC made its final determination on 30 November 2007. Telstra has 180 days from the date of the determination to make the necessary system changes to implement the final determination.
The final determination provides further guidance to industry on the reasonable terms of access to the ULLS by specifying a process that could be used by access seekers to order and provision the ULLS in MDUs serviced by a main distribution frame (MDF) in the building.
"This decision will bring benefits to consumers by improving competition in the supply of broadband and voice services to residents in apartments and other multi-dwelling units," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
The final determination specifies that where there is an existing pair of wires between Telstra's exchange and the customer's premise, Telstra must, if requested, re-use the existing wires to provide a ULLS.
Currently, when Telstra is requested to supply a ULLS to an access seeker, in this case Optus, it allocates the service to a vacant pair of wires at the building address, then seeks permission from the building owner to gain access to the building MDF so that its technician can identify and tag the wires. Following this, an Optus technician is sent out to finally connect the new wires back to the customers' premise.
This process can involve significant delays for access seekers and is not customer friendly. It is also labour intensive, is an inefficient use of resources and requires the customer to be present so that the access seeker's technician can test the line to ensure that the customer's new services are working correctly.
The decision in this access dispute only has effect between Telstra and Optus.
The final determination and accompanying statement of reasons will be available on the ACCC's website.
* The ULLS is an access service involving the use of unconditioned cable, primarily copper pairs, between end-users and a telephone exchange, where the unconditioned cable terminates. The ULLS is used by access seekers to connect their own networks to existing infrastructure to deliver high-speed and data based services to end-users. The ULLS was declared on 4 August 1999.
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.
** ACIF C569:2005 Unconditioned Local Loop Service – Ordering, Provisioning and Customer Transfer industry code.
