The Commerce Commission today released its draft decision on how the application of the unbundled bitstream access standard terms determination (UBA STD) relates to services delivered over VDSL. VDSL is a very high bit-rate DSL service, which can deliver much higher broadband speeds than existing ADSL2+ technology in common use. The Commission's draft decision follows a request last year by Telecom for clarification of how the regulations under the Telecommunications Act deal with VDSL.

"The Commission's view is that if Telecom delivers the existing regulated bitstream service using VDSL technology, it must do so on the terms of the regulated service. It is for Telecom to choose which DSL technology it wishes to use to deliver the regulated service, and it is not obliged to use VDSL. On the other hand, Telecom may use VDSL to deliver bitstream services with higher quality specifications than the regulated service, and can offer these services commercially," said Dr Ross Patterson, Telecommunications Commissioner.

"The Commission could carry out a review to determine whether the commercial service should be added to the regulated service. However, VDSL technology is in its infancy in New Zealand. The Commission's preferred approach is to observe the performance of commercial VDSL services in the market and only undertake a formal review under the Telecommunications Act if competition concerns emerge," said Dr Patterson. "In reaching this view, the Commission has been mindful of ensuring that incentives for investment in new DSL technologies are maintained, as such innovation is likely to provide significant long term benefits to consumers in the New Zealand telecommunications market."

The Commission's preliminary view is that a clarification of two aspects of the regulated bitstream service would be appropriate. These relate to the notice requirements when Telecom wishes to introduce a new bitstream variant, and a process to exclude retail plans based on commercial wholesale variants when calculating the price of the regulated services.

The Commission is seeking submissions from interested parties on the draft decision. Submissions should be sent to telco@comcom.govt.nz by 5pm on Friday 5 March 2010. The Commission's draft decision and copies of previous submissions are available on the Commission's website.

Background

In December 2007, the Commerce Commission issued its final determination on the price and non-price terms on which Telecom must make the unbundled bitstream access (UBA) service available to other telecommunications providers. Decision 611 can be found on the Commission's website.

Unbundled bitstream access (UBA) is a regulated wholesale service that allows telecommunications companies to supply a range of broadband services to retail customers. UBA refers to the wholesale broadband service provided by Telecom from the end-user to the first data switch, or equivalent facility, other than a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

Decision 611 covers both basic unbundled bitstream access (BUBA) and enhanced unbundled bitstream access (EUBA).

Standard Terms Determination process under amended Telecommunications Act. On 22 December 2006, the Telecommunications Act was amended to incorporate a process for the Commission to make a standard terms determination on which a designated access or specified service must be supplied by Telecom to all access seekers requesting the service. A standard terms determination includes non-price terms proposed by Telecom, usually in consultation with access seekers, and price terms for access to the service set by the Commission.

VDSL (Very high bit-rate Digital Line Subscriber) is a DSL technology which provides faster data transmission over copper wires. VDSL is capable of supporting high bandwidth applications such as high definition television as well as telephone services, such as Voice over IP, and general internet access, over a single connection.