Commissioner Anita Mazzoleni has poured cold water on comments from Vodafone, Orcon, ABN Amro Craigs and Forsyth Barr that the ComCom’s sub-loop unbundling decision favours Telecom.

After speaking at the 10th annual Telecommunications and ICT conference (TelCon10) in Auckland, Commerce Commission telecommunications panel member Anita Mazzoleni responded to an NBR query about whether she was moved by the hail of criticism of the pricing set for competitors to access to Telecom’s roadside cabinets.

“It was an extremely difficult decision because of the absence of benchmark pricing overseas,” Ms Mazzoleni said.

The commissioner noted that pricing had been through three rounds of discussion (during which Orcon and Vodafone both told Keallhauled they violently objected to about the watchdog’s draft pricing).

“I have no particular issue with where we ended up,” said Mr Mazzoleni. “Where we ended up reflects the costs of the service. It was always going to be a tough business case because cabinets don’t have the same economies of scale as exchanges”. He commissioner reiterated her earlier comments that higher value services - such as VDSL2 - could be used to offset the higher pricing.

Vodafone: cooled off
Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners arrived at TelCon10 just after Ms Mazzoleni’s speech, but told NBR he had no issue with her sticking to her guns.

“I don’t have a problem. We’re big people,” Mr Stanners told NBR. “Once the rules have been set you have to move on and play the game.”

On Thursday, in the immediate aftermath of the commission’s sub-loop unbundling determination on Thursday, both Vodafone and Orcon released bluntly worded statements.

Vodafone GM of Corporate Affairs Tom Chignell took issue with the commission’s headline example of cabinet pricing being 26% more expensive than accessing a Telecom exchange. Mr Chignell said real-life market share levels were likely to lead to pricing at an uneconomic 50% premium.

Forsyth Barr and ABM Amro analysts also said the ruling was a positive for Telecom and would dampen sub-loop completion.

This morning, Orcon continued its campaign against the decision, with an open letter to the commission.

But Mr Stanners, it seems, is letting it go.