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.

Orcon has seized on ABN Amro Craigs comments, and Telecom’s zooming share price yesterday, as proof that the Commerce Commission ruled the wrong way on sub-loop unbundling. ABN also called the commission’s pricing misleading.

Telecom shares (NZX: TEL) began yesterday at $2.59.

Today, the Commerce Commission announced the price that competitors will have to pay to put their own broadband gear inside Telecom’s roadside cabinets. Vodafone and Orcon are up in arms, saying the commission has set them up to “lose money hand over fist”.

Communications and IT minister Steven Joyce has approved a variation to Telecom’s separation undertakings to the government. The new timetable will see a six-month delay in some unbundled local loop and backhaul services but, the MED says, better service for Telecom’s wholesale customers and a faster road to full competition overall.