TelstraClear set to get better broadband deal from Telecom

Telecom will likely be forced to provide rival TelstraClear with access to wholesale high-speed internet on better conditions than now received by other resellers.

Telecommunications Commissioner Douglas Webb said yesterday that the Commerce Commission's preliminary view was that Telecom should provide TelstraClear with wholesale high-speed internet services "with characteristics which differ from Telecom's commercial bitstream service available to telecommunications providers".

The view is contained in the commission's draft determination on the matter and has been hailed as a breakthrough by the Telecommunications User Association.

TUANZ chief executive Ernie Newman said: "It will allow TelstraClear to enhance Telecom's Jetstream service rather than just resell it. Consumers can expect to see substantially higher broadband speeds, market choices and higher usage caps as a result of this."

He said it was a significant step to boosting takeup of high-speed internet access.

Webb said giving TelstraClear regulated bitstream access would increase competition in the broadband internet market.

"This should drive the growth of bitstream as a platform for the delivery of broadband services."

Last year, TelstraClear applied to the commission for a ruling on a regulated bitstream after it failed to reach an agreement with Telecom over terms for an "unbundled bitstream service" (UBS).

UBS is a wholesale high-speed internet service which allows other Internet Service Providers access to Telecom's network to provide high-speed internet services.

The commission decided to adopt UBS as a means of driving down consumer prices and accelerating the takeup of high-speed internet.

It decided on UBS last year rather than forcing Telecom to give competitors direct access to its copper wire telephone network, or "local loop unbundling", which it recommended in a preliminary decision.

- NZPA, STAFF REPORTER