Commission releases process paper on commercial UBA services

Commission releases process paper on proposed commercial UBA services

30 May 2014

The Commerce Commission today confirmed its process for assessing the proposed commercial unbundled bitstream access (UBA) services, Boost HD and Boost VDSL, submitted to it by Chorus on 14 May.

The Commission is required to assess whether the proposed commercial UBA services are materially different from the regulated UBA service and can be priced separately.

The Commission expects to consult on a draft decision in late June. This recognises the substantial level of industry interest in the current final pricing principle review of the UBA price, and the importance of allowing all interested parties to comment on any Commission decision that may be relevant to the scope of the regulated service.

Following consultation, the Commission expects to release a final decision in late July.

The process paper can be found at https://www.comcom.govt.nz/new-uba-variants/

Background

Unbundled bitstream access (UBA) is a service that allows telecommunications companies to supply broadband services to customers without the need to replicate Chorus' electronics or software.

Chorus is required to provide the Commission with Notice of any new commercial UBA services (referred to as New UBA Variants) under clause 10 of the Standard Terms Determination for Chorus’ Unbundled Bitstream Access Service (UBA STD).

The Commission is then required to assess whether the proposed commercial UBA services fall within the existing UBA Service Description outlined in Schedule 1 of the UBA STD.

The last time the Commission assessed a New UBA Variant was in 2010 when Telecom proposed the Wholesale VDSL2 Service.

ends

© Scoop Media