Broadcasting transmission in the Telecommunications Act 2001 (Act)

In 2018, the scope of our role was amended to include broadcasting transmission by way of the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Act 2018 (Amendment Act).

An important aspect of our regulatory role is monitoring competition in telecommunications markets and the performance and development of telecommunications markets. We can do this through conducting inquiries, reviews and studies into any matter relating to the telecommunications industry or the long-term benefit of end-users of telecommunications services within New Zealand.

Broadcasting transmission review

In February 2022 we published a Terms of Reference outlining the context and scope for a review of the broadcasting transmission services market in New Zealand (review) under s 9A(1)(b) of the Telecommunications Act 2001 (Act).

This review has been completed, and in June 2022 we published a report providing an overview of the key market players, services, and infrastructure, and how the broadcasting transmission sector may develop in New Zealand, including:

  • exploring emerging technologies
  • convergence and potential for disruption (including from over-the-top (OTT) providers)
  • changing trends in traffic and consumer preferences.

Further work in broadcasting transmission

We will build on this work by incorporating broadcasting transmission into our regular, routine monitoring function.

We are going to do this by tracking the substitutability between different transmission technologies, as well as the changing patterns in consumer demand. We will also track transmission services revenues, costs, and investment.

This will give us the information we need to perform our monitoring role in relation to broadcasting transmission and identify any issues that may require further investigation.