On 9 July 2020 the ACCC released a public discussion paper commencing a public inquiry into whether the following services should continue to be declared:
- superfast broadband access service (SBAS)
- local bitstream access service (LBAS).
Submissions closed on 4 September 2020.
On 18 December 2020 the ACCC released a draft decision for comment. Submissions closed on 19 February 2021.
On 19 June 2021 the ACCC concluded its inquiry into the SBAS and LBAS and released a final report on its findings. The ACCC has decided to:
- extend the declaration of the SBAS for a further five years until 28 July 2026
- combine the existing declarations under a single SBAS declaration that applies to all non-NBN superfast networks
- remove the minimum 25Mbps download speed requirement.
SBAS access determination inquiry
On 19 July 2021 the ACCC commenced a public inquiry to make an access determination for the SBAS following its decision to declare the service. The inquiry will consider the price and non-price terms and conditions of access.
The ACCC intends to publish a discussion paper for the inquiry later this year and seek written submissions. Further information on the SBAS access determination inquiry can be found at: SBAS Final Access Determination inquiry 2021