The Commerce Commission has released its draft determination on the calculation of 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 end of Telecom's financial year). The Commission has calculated the cost for that period to be $41.2 million.

The cost when finalised will be apportioned between Telecom, TelstraClear Limited, WorldxChange Communications Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, CallPlus Limited, Compass Communications Limited, Teamtalk Limited and The Internet Group Limited (ihug) in proportion to their net liable revenues.

Interested parties are invited to make submissions on the determination. The closing date for submissions is 3 February 2006. The Commission does not anticipate that it will be necessary to hold an industry conference on this matter.

A copy of the Commission's draft determination is available on the website.