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Charges for calls from landlines to mobile phones are set to fall but a telecommunications advocate is not happy with how the deal was struck - three-and-a-half years after complaints were first lodged with the Commerce Commission.
Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand head Ernie Newman said he was bitterly disappointed the Government had overridden a Commerce Commission recommendation to regulate the charges.
The Government announced on Monday night that it had accepted voluntary offers from Telecom and Vodafone to gradually reduce the rate each charged to carry calls from the fixed-line network to its phones - called the mobile termination rate.
Minister for Economic Development Trevor Mallard said Telecom offered to reduce its mobile termination rate from 20c a minute to 12c a minute and Vodafone offered to drop the rate from 20c a minute to 14c, both over the next five years.
But Newman said the agreements had taken the transparent and procedurally sound processes of the Commerce Commission behind the closed doors of Parliament.
"The problem with the parliamentary process is this is really reduced back to old-fashioned lobbying. We don't know what discussions, what negotiations, what tradeoffs applied between Vodafone and Telecom on the one hand and minister Mallard on the other."
Mallard said there were no backroom deals or negotiations. He said he told the companies: "I want your best deal and I want it enforceable."
He said the offers were very similar to the Commerce Commission deal but passed the savings on to the consumer.
Shares in Telecom closed up 7c at $4.90 yesterday.
