Watchdog names mobile pricing judgment day, time
Bad news for those hanging out for cheaper cellphone calls, or txts as the Commerce Commission puts its final determination on hold.
UPDATED Monday 2 May: The Commerce Commission has confirmed its final determination will be made at a media conference in Wellington this Thursday, starting 9.am.
UPDATED THURSDAY 28 APRIL: New Zealanders will have to wait another week for the first regulation of mobile phone pricing.
The Commerce Commission has delayed its final determination on mobile termination rates (MTR) until Thursday May 5.
As recently as yesterday, the watchdog had expected to release its decision tomorrow, Thursday April 28.
But last night, the commission said it needed more time to make its final determination on MTR - or what phone companies charge each other when mobile calls, or text messages, terminate on another's network.
The Telecommunications Users Association (Tuanz) and others are hoping for steep and immediate cuts in MTR, but the commission can only regulate mobile pricing at the wholesale level.
In a draft determination, the commission proposed cutting the MTR on voice calls by 10 cents per minute to 4.6 cents. MTR on txt messages, currently around 10 cents, is expected to be wiped altogether, or reduced to 1 or 2 cents (on the basis that a small fee will incentivise phone companies to deter spammers).
Tuanz chief executive Paul Brislen said the focus would be on whether phone customers passed on the cuts to their retail customers - something that hasn't always happened with equivalent regulation overseas.
2degrees has said that anticipated MTR cuts are already "priced in" to its plans. And previously the company – the staunchest advocate of MTR regulation – has said its customers can expect more for their money, rather than paying less.
A second key question is whether so-called on-net plan that reward customers for calling others on the same network, such as Vodafone's Best Mates and Telecom's My Favourites, will also be subject to regulation in the final determination.
NBR staff
Mon, 02 May 2011
Mon, 02 May 2011
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Watchdog names mobile pricing judgment day, time
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