Pursuant to clause 1 (3) of Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 2001 ("the Act"), the Commerce Commission ("the Commission") gives public notice that
it is commencing an investigation into access to, and interconnection with, the unbundled elements of the telecommunications network of Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited (including any of its subsidiaries) under Schedule 3 to the Act.
Under clause 1 (1) of Schedule 3 to the Act, the Commission may on its own initiative commence an investigation into whether or not Schedule 1 to the Act should be altered in any of the ways set out in sections 65 to 67 of the Act if the Commission is satisfied there are reasonable grounds for an investigation into the matter.
Background
On 10 April 2003, the Commission commenced the investigations required by section 64 of the Act with the publication of an Issues Paper (the "Issues Paper"). Section 64 of the Act requires the Commission to deliver a report to the Minister of Communications into whether or not each of the following services should become a designated or a specified service under the Act:
? Access to the unbundled elements of Telecom's local loop network.
? Access to the unbundled elements of, and interconnection with, Telecom's fixed Public Data Network.
The Commission considered various submissions from interested parties in response to the Issues Paper.
Scope
The Commission is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for an investigation into whether or not Schedule 1 to the Act should be altered in any of the ways set out in sections 65 to 67 of the Act for the following matters:
1. Main Distribution Frame (MDF)
? The interface point between the local loop and local switching equipment.
? The MDF provides a network termination point for cables connected to the local switching equipment and the local loop network.
? The MDF provides flexible cross connection between cable pairs which are terminated on the MDF.
2. Ancillary Services which may need to accompany unbundling of the local loop network or the fixed Public Data Network
2.1 Co-location
This includes three different methods:
? Hostel or segregated co-location, where the access seeker's equipment is housed in a separate room or area at the access provider's facilities, including in
an area adjacent to the access provider's building, but still on the access provider's property.
? Co-mingling, where the access seeker's equipment is housed at the access provider's facilities but is either mixed in with the access provider's equipment, or is within the same area, and not in a separate room or area.
? Distant co-location, where the access seeker's equipment is housed at a distant location and an external tie-cable is used to connect the access provider's exchange with the remote site.
2.2 Backhaul
Data transmission from the access provider's exchange to the nearest available point of interconnection in a Local Interconnect Calling Area (LICA) group.
3. Line sharing
A service which involves the use of shared spectrum of the local loop network.
4. Bitstream access
Access to high speed or broadband links between the end customer's premises and the nearest available point of interconnection in a LICA group.
5. Access to the PDN
A service which involves the provision of access to voice or data services required by an access seeker connected to the PDN. This service includes transmission to the access seeker's premises and hand over of full protocol and functionality so that the access seeker may deliver an equivalent service from their own facilities.
The services covered in the current investigation under section 64 of the Act will in practical terms be dealt with together with the wider investigation under Schedule 3 of the Act set out above.
Other
The commencement of this Schedule 3 investigation does not indicate that the Commission has reached a view as
to the desirability of designation or specification of any particular service.
Further, it does not indicate that the Commission has reached the view that any aspects of the above services are definitively within or outside the scope of section 64 of the Act. It is clearly desirable to assess the issues arising at
this time in a wider context than is contemplated just by section 64.
The Commission is commencing this Schedule 3 investigation on 4 September 2003.
The Commission will publish a draft report on the Schedule 3 investigation and the section 64 review on 18 September 2003.
Under the Act, the Commission must deliver a final report to the Minister of Communications not later than 20 December 2003.
The Commission intends to run the section 64 review and the Schedule 3 investigation in parallel.
It will report on both of these simultaneously in a final report to the Minister of Communications.
Inquiries regarding this review can be directed to Alex Cheetham, Chief Adviser, Network Access Group, Commerce Commission, by telephone on (04) 924 3686.
Date of decision: 2 September 2003.
COMMERCE COMMISSION.