Telstra submits new ULLS monthly charge undertaking
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published Telstra's latest Unconditioned Local Loop Service (ULLS) monthly charge access undertaking.
In this ULLS Undertaking Telstra proposes that a price of $30 for each ULLS service in a Band 2 Exchange Service Area should apply for the period to 31 December 2010. In its most recent ULLS undertaking Telstra proposed a price of $30 averaged across all Exchange Service Areas. The ACCC rejected the undertaking as it could not be satisfied that the undertaking was reasonable. This decision was affirmed by the Australian Competition Tribunal on review.
The undertaking and confidential supporting submissions were submitted by Telstra on 21 December 2007 with public versions of documents placed on the ACCC website, on 24 December 2007.
Telstra has supported its undertaking with its Telstra Efficient Access Model. However, it has requested that the model itself remain confidential at this time. Telstra has stated that it intends to make a version of the model available for analysis subject to appropriate arrangements being put in place with respect to confidentiality.
The ACCC will now prepare a discussion paper seeking submissions on the undertakings.
Although the formal consultation period will begin when the discussion paper has been issued the ACCC has issued Telstra's undertaking at this time to allow interested parties a longer period of time in which to assess the proposal.
Media inquiries
Ms Lin Enright, Director, Media Unit, (02) 6243 1108or 0414 613 520
Additional contacts
Mr Robert Wright, General Manager - Communications Group, (03) 9290 1864 , 0412 105 338
The ULLS is a service for access to unconditioned cable, usually a copper wire pair, between a telephone exchange and an end user's home or office. The ULLS essentially gives an access seeker the use of the copper pair without any dial tone or carriage service. This allows the access seeker to use its own equipment in an exchange to provide a range of services, including traditional voice services and high speed internet access, to the end-user.
Telstra's undertakings specify terms and conditions on which Telstra undertakes to supply the ULLS to access seekers. The undertakings propose a price of $30 a month for the ULLS in Band 2 Exchange Service Areas (covering around 70 per cent of the population).
