KEY POINTS:
Regulation is needed to increase competition in New Zealand's mobile phone market, the Commerce Commission said in a draft recommendation on mobile roaming and co-location services today.
The consumer watchdog also rejected undertakings from Vodafone as an alternative to regulation over roaming and co-location. The commission said there was some uncertainty over prices, and some non-price terms would not facilitate entry for other operators.
Vodafone is New Zealand's largest mobile phone operator, sharing the market with Telecom.
However, the commission did not close the door to Vodafone, which has the opportunity to address concerns raised in the draft report and revise its undertaking.
The commission has recommended that non-price terms of the national roaming service should become subject to price regulation. It recommended no change to the existing co-location service, but wanted industry body the Telecommunications Carriers' Forum to provide a dispute resolution mechanism.
"New Zealand and Slovakia are the only OECD countries which do not have three or more mobile operators," Telecommunications Commissioner Ross Patterson said.
"The recommendation to amend the roaming service in the Act is likely to facilitate new entry, which will lead to more competition, greater choice of provider, lower prices and more innovative products and services."
Roaming enables a mobile operator with limited coverage to access other networks for its customers to make and receive calls, and would also allow a new entrant to offer nationwide services while it builds its network.
Co-location allows a network operator's mobile equipment to be installed on another's tower, potentially reducing a new entrant's cost of setting up cell sites.
The deadline for submissions on the draft report is August 31.
- NZPA
