The ACCC has decided to extend the declaration of Telstra’s six fixed line telecommunications services to 30 June 2024.
Retail telecommunications service providers use Telstra’s copper network and other fixed line infrastructure to provide retail voice and broadband services to Australian consumers.
The six regulated, or declared, services are the unconditioned local loop service (ULLS), line sharing service (LSS), wholesale line rental (WLR), local carriage service (LCS) and fixed originating and terminating access services (FOAS and FTAS).
The ACCC considers that continuing these six fixed line service declarations would help improve certainty for end users during the transition to the NBN, expected to be completed in 2020.
"The NBN rollout is progressing but the fixed line network remains relevant to millions of consumers, before they migrate to the NBN, and in NBN fixed wireless and satellite areas where legacy network services will remain available," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
Once a service is declared, a network owner must provide access to the service upon request, and, when commercial agreement cannot be reached, regulated price and non-price terms determined by the ACCC will apply.
"Continuing regulation during the NBN build and migration period will ensure service providers that use Telstra’s copper network at reasonable terms and prices. This will encourage competition in the retail market and deliver greater choices for end-users in the form of better prices, service quality and service options," Mr Sims said.
The decision follows a public inquiry by the ACCC which sought input from interested parties.
"In making this decision, the ACCC considered submissions and found a general consensus in favour of our approach," Mr Sims said.
The ACCC must now launch a separate inquiry to consider and then determine access terms and pricing that would apply to the six fixed line and wholesale ADSL services. These conditions will be set out in the Final Access Determination (FAD), which is expected to be published in June 2019.
The ACCC’s final decision is available at Fixed line services declaration inquiry 2018.
