The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today announced its final decision to accept new Telstra Multimedia (TMM) and Foxtel access undertakings for analogue pay TV services.
"The ACCC's decision clears the way for third party access seekers to access TMM's cable and Foxtel's set-top units (STUs) as the undertakings will govern terms and conditions of access in the absence of any other commercial agreement", ACCC Commissioner, Mr Ed Willett, said today.
"Third-party content or channel providers will now have an opportunity to provide their own programs on the existing analogue pay TV cable and will also have rights to migrate these channels to digital over time, consistent with the timing of Foxtel's own digital plans.
"Acceptance of the undertakings follows the rejection by the ACCC of earlier undertakings, submitted in late 2002, which were defective in regard to a number of terms and conditions of access. These have now been rectified in the new undertakings. The undertakings reflect a fair balance between the rights of access seekers to use the service on reasonable terms and the legitimate commercial interests of TMM and Foxtel".
The new access undertakings will have implications for the resolution of the long standing pay TV disputes between TMM and Foxtel and TARBS and C7, which the ACCC had been arbitrating. These arbitrations were put on hold pending the ACCC's assessment of the TMM and Foxtel undertakings. Any determination which may be made by the ACCC for these arbitrations must not be inconsistent with the terms and conditions laid down in the new access undertakings.