The Commerce Commission has released its determination on Telecom New Zealand Limited's net cost of complying with its telecommunication service obligations (TSO) for the period 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004. The TSO relates to the local residential telephone service provided by Telecom. The Commission decides on an annual basis the cost incurred by Telecom in delivering the service, and apportions the cost between Telecom and other operators whose networks are interconnected with the Telecom fixed network.
The 2003/04 TSO cost is $63.8 million. 70% of that cost is borne by Telecom and the remainder by other operators, primarily by Vodafone and TelstraClear.
The 2003/04 cost is broadly in line with prior years (2001/02 $66 million on an annualized basis; 2002/03 $57 million).
The cost has been apportioned between Telecom, TelstraClear Limited, WorldxChange Communications Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, CallPlus Limited, Compass Communications Limited, Teamtalk Limited and ihug Limited in proportion to their net liable revenues.
The Commission expects to shortly issue the draft determinations for 2004/05 and 2005/06. These determinations have been delayed pending the outcome for 2003/04.
