The Commerce Commission has pushed out the timeline for a final decision on what price Chorus can charge on its copper line network as it deals with a large amount of complex information, and said its initial view is that the regulated price should be backdated no further than the start of December this year.
The competition regulator expects to make a final decision on what Chorus can charge on the unbundled copper local loop (UCLL) and for unbundled bitstream access (UBA) in September next year, extending its initial target to have it settled in April, it said in a statement.
The delay comes after the commission was asked for more time by interested parties, including Chorus, Spark New Zealand, Vodafone New Zealand and CallPlus, who wanted to make submissions.
The draft determination increased the allowable regulated monthly price to $38.39 from the $34.44 level set by an earlier decision and which came into effect from Dec. 1.
"We appreciate that there is a large volume of complex information for submitters to review so we have agreed to a four-week extension to the consultation period," Telecommunications Commission Stephen Gale said.