Telecom New Zealand Limited has applied to the Commerce Commission under section 42 of the Telecommunications Act for pricing reviews in respect of the Commission's interconnection determination released on 5 November 2002. The Telecom applications for review relate to the price of interconnection with the Telecom network, and with the TelstraClear network for toll bypass calls, toll-free and payphone calls and call origination for premium rate and 50XY services. This follows an earlier application by TelstraClear for a similar pricing review.

While the determination set an interconnection price based on benchmarking against prices in other countries, the pricing review will examine the forward-looking costs of providing interconnection services in New Zealand.

The Commission has provided a copy of the application to TelstraClear, and requested TelstraClear's comments. The Commission's determination (released on 5 November) continues to have effect and is enforceable pending the making of a price review determination.

Media contact: Osmond Borthwick, Manager, Network Access

Phone work (04) 924 3667

Jackie Maitland, Communications Manager

Phone work (04) 924 3708, mobile 029 924 3708

Commission media releases can be viewed on its web site www.comcom.govt.nz