The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today released several papers looking at possible pricing approaches for the regulation of wholesale (access) services provided over mobile and the smaller (non-dominant) fixed line networks. These services are used by service providers to supply mobile-to-fixed and mobile-to-mobile calls, as well as long distance calls and local calls to consumers.
A key issue raised by these papers is whether mobile networks and non-dominant telephone networks should be regulated in a similar way to Telstra's fixed network.
The pricing of these wholesale services has a significant impact on the call charges paid by consumers. As such, the ACCC has sought expert economic advice on principles that should be used to price these services.
To accompany this expert advice, the ACCC is also issuing two discussion papers which summarise the main tenets of the expert's findings in relation to each matter and raise broader issues of particular interest to the ACCC.
The ACCC's interest in these issues stems from a number of recent access disputes that the ACCC is currently arbitrating. The ACCC, in progressing the various arbitrations on these matters recognises that there will be issues of general principle on which it will be appropriate to seek the views of industry as a whole as well as other interested parties.
Accordingly, the papers have been released for public comment and are available on the ACCC's web-site www.accc.gov.au . Comments are due by 31 January 2000.
