This notice is issued under sections 156AI(5) and 156AM(5) of the Telecommunications Act 2001 and approves Chorus' Variation to the Open Access Undertakings for Copper Services and Fibre Services.
N o t i c e
1. Title-This notice is the Telecommunications (Approval of Variation to Undertakings) Notice 2014.
2. Commencement-This notice will come into force on the date on which this notice is signed.
3. Application-This notice applies to Chorus.
4. Interpretation-In this notice, unless the context requires otherwise:
Act means the Telecommunications Act 2001;
Chorus means Chorus Limited; and
Undertakings means the Chorus Limited Deed of Open Access Undertakings for Copper Services and the Chorus Limited Deed of Open Access Undertakings for Fibre Services.
5. Variation-Section 10.1 of the Undertakings now reads:
"No later than 45 Working Days following the end of each Chorus financial year the Board of Chorus must certify to the Commission annually on behalf of Chorus that, to the best of the directors' knowledge after making reasonable inquiry, Chorus has complied with these Undertakings (except for any breaches that have been reported to the Commission or are reported with the certificate)."
6. Approval of Variation to Undertaking by Minister-The variation to the Undertakings is approved.
Dated at Wellington this 13th day of May 2014.
HON AMY ADAMS, Minister for Communications and Information Technology.
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the notice, but is intended to indicate its general effect.
On 7 June 2013, the Commerce Commission ("Commission") recommended to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology ("Minister") that the Minister approve a variation to clause 10.1 of Chorus' Undertakings that was requested by Chorus from the Commission on
27 March 2013.
The Commission's recommendation to the Minister was made under section 156AL of the Telecommunications Act.
The effect of Chorus' requested variation was to extend the timeframe requirements (from 20 working days to 45 working days) for certification to allow Chorus Board members to certify their compliance at a standard Board meeting rather than calling an extraordinary meeting.
Section 156AL(2) of the Act sets out the requirements that must be fulfilled for the Commission to make a recommendation to the Minister on a proposed variation. The Commission is required to have:
(a) received a formal request for variation from the LFC (in this case Chorus);
(b) consulted on the request with interested parties; and
(c) been satisfied that the variation would best give effect to the purposes of the subpart of the Act governing the Undertakings.
On 7 June 2013, the Commission advised the Minister that all of the requirements of section 156AL(2) of the Act (set out above) have been satisfied in Chorus' requested variation.