Non-NBN fixed line services access regulation

  • The ACCC regulates a range of non-NBN fixed line wholesale telecommunications services.
  • For the services we regulate, we determine the price and other terms of access for retail service providers.

What the ACCC does

  • We decide the price and other terms for retail service providers to access the non-NBN fixed line services we regulate.
  • We review the services periodically and decide whether regulation is necessary.

What the ACCC can't do

  • We don’t set the prices or service standards of retail services for end users.
  • We don’t control whether consumers have a choice of retail service providers.

What we do in regulating fixed line services

We regulate many non-NBN fixed line wholesale services

The ACCC regulates access to wholesale telecommunications services. As part of this role, we regulate:

  • superfast broadband access services (SBAS) supplied by non-NBN networks
  • a range of Telstra legacy fixed line wholesale access services, specifically the:
    • unconditioned local loop service (ULLS)
    • line sharing service (LSS)
    • public switched telephone network originating access (PSTN OA) service
    • public switched telephone network terminating access (PSTN TA) service
    • wholesale line rental (WLR) service
    • local carriage service (LCS)
    • wholesale ADSL service.

We determine the price and non-price terms of access for retail service providers to access these services. We do this to ensure:

  • retail service providers have access to monopoly telecommunications networks
  • consumers can benefit from competition in the market.

We don’t control whether consumers have a choice of retail service providers.

We check that regulating the service remains necessary

The ACCC needs to periodically review the services we regulate.

We do this to check:

  • whether regulation is still necessary
  • that the price and non-price terms of access are suitable.

Our recent reviews of fixed line services are:

We run public inquiries on access decisions

We run a public inquiry when we are deciding whether:

  • to declare a service for access regulation
  • to extend, revoke, vary, allow to expire, or remake an existing service declaration before it expires.

See the Telecommunications access declarations we have made. Select ‘Communications’ in the Industry list and ‘Access declaration’ in Type.

After running a public inquiry, we make a final access decision for the service. See the Telecommunications access determinations we have made. Select ‘Communications’ in the Industry list and ‘Access determination’ in Type.

We set the rules for the supply of telecommunication services

We describe how we set rules for the supply of telecommunication services:

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We no longer manage access disputes

Current legislation doesn’t include dispute provisions.

Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Act 2010 removed access dispute provisions from the Trade Practices Act 1974 from 1 January 2011.

While changing to the new legislation, the Act allowed a party to notify the ACCC of an access dispute regarding a declared service. This could be done until we made a final access determination. Arbitration determinations published by the ACCC as part of these provisions are in the public register.

The legal basis of our functions

We do this work under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Telecommunication Act 1997.

Our role in running public inquiries on access decisions is under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Fixed line service projects

See a complete list of telecommunications and internet projects.

Title Industry(desc) Type Status
Local number portability review & pricing principles Communications Guideline Finalised

The ACCC has outlined a number of pricing principles guidelines to refer to if required to arbitrate a number portability dispute.

View project
Wholesale ADSL service declaration inquiry 2021 Communications Access declaration Ongoing
30 July 2021

On 30 July 2021 the ACCC commenced a public inquiry, under Part 25 of the Telecommunications Act 1997, into the declared wholesale asymmetrical digital subscriber line (WADSL) service. The ACCC has released a Consultation and position paper to facilitate its inquiry.

View project
G9 FANOC - Fibre to the node SAU Communications Access undertaking Withdrawn
2007

On 10 March 2008, FANOC formally advised that it was withdrawing the Special Access Undertaking.

View project
Possible variation of the ULLS declaration 2007 Communications Access declaration Historical
May 2007

The ACCC's final view is that it is not satisfied that varying the ULLS service description at this time would promote the long-term interests of end users.

View project
Telstra exemption application: Optus cable network areas 2007 Communications Review Finalised
2007

On 11 November 2008, the ACCC issued a final decision rejecting Telstra's exemption application relating to the Optus HFC network

View project
Unconditioned Local Loop Service pricing principles & indicative prices 2008-09 Communications Review Finalised
2009

In November 2007, as part of the ACCC's strategic review of the regulation of fixed services, the ACCC issued an Unconditioned Local Loop Service (ULLS) pricing principles determination. The final report was released on 4 June 2008.

View project
Fixed line wholesale services pricing review 2009-2010 Communications Review Finalised
2010

On 3 December 2009 the ACCC announced a fundamental review of the Access Pricing Principles for telecommunications services. As a result of the review, the ACCC decided to maintain the current pricing principles and indicative prices for fixed line services until 31 December 2010.

View project
Local carriage service & wholesale line rental pricing principles & indicative prices 2008-09 Communications Price determination Finalised
2009

The ACCC has taken the submissions into account in developing the final pricing principles and indicative prices. The final report was released on 6 August 2008.

View project
Telstra - Unconditioned local loop service & line sharing service undertaking 2004 Communications Access undertaking Finalised
December 2004

In December 2004 Telstra lodged unconditioned local loop service (ULLS) and line sharing service (LSS) undertakings. The undertakings set out how Telstra proposes to meet its standard access obligations to supply these services. The ACCC released its final decision on Telstra's LSS connection and disconnection charge undertaking in April 2006.

View project
Unconditioned Local Loop Service pricing principles 2007 Communications Price determination Finalised
2007

The LSS pricing principles and indicative prices were published as part of the ACCC's LSS declaration review. That review was finalised in October 2007. The ULLS pricing principles were issued separately in November 2007.

View project
Telstra - Unconditioned local loop service access undertaking 2008 Communications Access undertaking Finalised
2008

On 22 April 2009 the ACCC decided to reject the Undertaking. The ACCC released a final decision to reject this Telstra & ULLS Undertaking on 28 April 2009.

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Fixed network & local services pricing principles & indicative prices 2006-2007 Communications Price determination Finalised
2006

The ACCC released its final indicative prices in November 2006. The indicative prices relate to the 2006 and 2007 calendar years.

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Telstra - Unconditioned local loop service monthly charge undertaking 2005 Communications Access undertaking Finalised
2005

In December 2005 Telstra submitted two unconditioned local loop service (ULLS) undertakings. The undertakings set out how Telstra proposed to meet its standard access obligations to supply the ULLS for the period from 1 January 2006 to 30 June 2007 and from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 respectively.

The undertakings related to the monthly charge Telstra proposed to charge for the ULLS.

The ACCC released Telstra's undertakings on 16 January 2006.

The ACCC released its final decision to reject the undertakings in August 2006.

View project
Unconditioned local loop services pricing principles 2002 Communications Price determination Finalised
2002

The ACCC declared the unconditioned local loop service (ULLS) in July 1999. In response to a discussion paper, submissions were received from several interested parties and these views were taken into account in developing the final report released in April 2002.

View project

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