Newcall Communications Limited, Teamtalk Limited, Telecom New Zealand Limited, Telstra New Zealand Limited and Vodafone New Zealand Limited have applied to the Commerce Commission for authorisation of their entering into and giving effect to a Number Administration Deed.

Commission Chairman Peter Allport said the Number Administration Deed sets out certain principles, with which more detailed number allocation rules must be consistent, and certain other matters related to number administration. Mr Allport said that the Number Administration deed also establishes a process to determine whether long term number portability should be introduced. This process includes appointing an independent expert to report on the likely costs and benefits of long term number portability, and, if a decision is subsequently made to implement long term number portability, determining how costs should be allocated.

The Commerce Act prohibits competitors agreeing to work together in a way that reduces competition between them. It also allows for authorisation of potentially anti-competitive business practices if the public benefit is greater than the detriment to competition.

The Act sets no deadline for the Commission to consider authorisation of a potentially anti-competitive practice. However, it does have a 60 working day deadline for considering authorisation of a merger.

The Commission has provisionally set a 60 working day timetable to consider this authorisation. This will give the wide range of interested parties time to make submissions. They will have the opportunity to comment on the application and also on the Draft Determination the Commission plans to release by March 1. Allowing for the statutory break over Easter, the 60 days end on April 19.

Public notices asking for submissions will be published shortly. Interested parties will have until February 15 to make initial submissions. During that time Commission staff will study the proposal, interview industry participants and carry out necessary research.

Steps and the provisional timetable for considering the application are:

February 15 Deadline for initial submissions from interested parties
March 1 Commission releases Draft Determination (preliminary decision)
March 17 Deadline for submissions on Draft Determination
March 30 and 31 and April 1 Conference
April 19 Final determination issued

The Commission must determine the relevant markets and then assess what impact the proposed acquisition would have on competition in those markets.

An authorisation, if granted, protects an acquisition from court action under the Act.

Public copies of the application are available from reception at the Commission's Wellington office, level 7, Landcorp House, 101 Lambton Quay.

Media contact: Chief Investigator Network Industries Andrew Brice

Phone work (04) 498 0956

Communications Officer Vincent Cholewa

Phone work (04) 498 0920

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