The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued final pricing principles and indicative prices for the domestic mobile terminating access service (MTAS) for the period 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011.
The indicative price for the MTAS from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011 will be 9 cents per minute.
The final pricing principles continue to adopt a cost–based pricing approach based on a total service long run incremental cost (TSLRIC+) framework. In formulating the indicative price for MTAS the ACCC took into account the WIK Mobile Network Cost Model, international cost benchmarking, and carrier financial data captured under the Regulatory Accounting Framework (RAF).
The ACCC is of the view that maintaining the MTAS price at 9 cents per minute for three years would provide a higher level of certainty for network operators and would promote efficient investment, and is in the long-term interest of end-users. Further, the ACCC remains concerned that reductions in MTAS in recent years have not been fully passed on to consumers making fixed-to-mobile calls.
The application of the pricing principles and the indicative price beyond 30 June 2009 is subject to the MTAS remaining a declared service beyond that date.
The ACCC also issued its Draft Report on reviewing the declaration of the MTAS today. The ACCC proposes to extend the current MTAS declaration for a period of five years.
The draft report will be available on the ACCC website. Interested parties are invited to make written submissions on the draft report by 5pm on 16 April 2009.