The Commerce Commission has received an application for an undertaking from Vodafone. The application is in the context of the Commission's investigation into whether or not to amend the roaming and co-location services currently regulated under the Telecommunications Act.

An undertakings regime was incorporated in the Act via the amendments made on 22 December 2006. The regime allows a relevant access provider to submit proposed terms and conditions of supply of a service that the Commission is proposing to regulate, as an alternative to regulation. If the Commission accepts the terms of an undertaking it may recommend in its final report that the Minister accept the undertaking as an alternative to regulation of the service or services under investigation.

The Commission is required to give public notice of an undertaking and request written submissions from interested parties. The closing date for submissions on the undertaking is 9 March 2007.

The undertaking is available on the Commission's website www.comcom.govt.nz under Regulated Indsutries/Telecommunications/Market Monitoring/Telecommunications Market Reports.

Background

On 10 October 2006, the Commission announced that there are reasonable grounds to investigate:

  • amending the terms of the national roaming service;
  • moving the national roaming service from a specified to a designated service; and
  • moving the co-location service from a specified to a designated service.

On 16 November 2006, the Commission formally commenced the investigations into whether or not to amend the terms of the current roaming and co-location services under Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 2001. On 15 December, the Commission released an issues paper and requested that submissions be made on the paper by 9 February 2007.

On 22 December 2006, the Telecommunications Amendment Act (no 2) 2006 came into force. The Act sets up a transitional mechanism for Schedule 3 investigations already commenced but not completed. The Commission had the option either to complete the investigation under the old process or under the amended Schedule 3 process. The Commission decided to undertake the investigations into amendments to the roaming and co-location services using the new Schedule 3 process in the Act, and informed the relevant access providers of this decision.

One of the amendments to the Act is the undertakings regime set out in Schedule 3A. Clause 2 of Schedule 3A sets out the purpose of the process as follows:

2 Purpose of clauses 3 to 16

The purpose of clauses 3 to 16 is to provide, as an alternative to a proposed regulatory change, a mechanism for an access provider to supply a service to all access seekers -

(a) on a voluntary basis that avoids the need for regulation; and

(b) on terms an conditions agreed between the access provider and the Commission\

Undertakings must be made not later than 40 working days after the date on which the Commission commences an investigation into the proposed regulatory change under clause 1 of Schedule 3. Accordingly, undertakings from relevant access providers in relation to the mobile investigation into roaming and co-location were due by 5 pm on Friday, 19 January 2007. Only Vodafone has lodged an application for an undertaking.

Clause 16 of Schedule 3A requires that the Commission give public notice of an application for an undertaking and invite persons who have a material interest in the proposed regulatory change to make written submissions on the application.