Comm Comm: final mobile termination undertakings

Commerce Commission considering final mobile termination undertakings

The Commerce Commission today released further revised undertakings received in relation to mobile termination access services from Telecom and Vodafone, and correspondence from 2degrees withdrawing all of their earlier undertakings.

The Commission will now consider the revised undertakings. The Commission will be making no further comment before providing its final report to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology in February 2010 on whether the Commission will recommend that these services should be regulated, and, if so, whether any of Telecom and/or Vodafone’s undertakings should be recommended for acceptance in lieu of regulation.

The revised undertakings from Telecom and Vodafone, and correspondence from 2degrees are all available on the Commission’s website www.comcom.govt.nz under

Industry Regulation/Telecommunications/Investigations/Mobile Termination Access Services

Background

MTAS Investigation. On 6 November 2008 the Commerce Commission commenced an investigation under Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 2001 (the Act) into mobile termination access services (MTAS). The MTAS incorporates mobile-to-mobile voice termination (MTM), fixed-to-mobile voice termination (FTM) and short-message service termination (SMS). The investigation is considering whether these services should be recommended to be regulated services under Schedule 1 of the Act.

The MTAS relates to the portion of a call or SMS to a mobile phone, once it has been handed over to a mobile company to be transmitted to a mobile phone (as shown in the diagram below). The current MTAS investigation is only considering whether or not the MTAS should be recommended to be regulated under the Act.

Undertakings. Under the Act, parties can submit undertakings, which are an offer of terms and conditions for the supply of a service as an alternative to regulation. Under the MTAS Investigation, the Commission is currently considering two revised undertakings under Schedule 3A of the Act, from:

a. Telecom – one undertaking covering all three components of MTAS; and
b. Vodafone – one undertaking covering all three components of MTAS.

ENDS

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