Watchdog releases draft report on broadband backhaul

A Commerce Commission review of broadband backhaul has shown some of last year's review missed the mark. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Some parts of the telecommunications network the Commerce Commission expected to be subject to competition have turned out not to be competitive.

The commission today released a draft report on backhaul services - the final link connecting competitors to Telecom's local loop, so those companies can provide services such as landlines and broadband to households.

Backhaul services provide Telecom's competitors with access to transmission capacity on specific routes between Telecom's local exchanges and the competitors' networks.

The commission said part of its backhaul decision, released last June, was under review.

The decision had set out which backhaul routes were subject to regulation, as well as the terms and conditions governing the supply of the backhaul service on those routes.

The review looked at a number of routes and examined whether there was actual or potential competition to Telecom on those routes, the commission said.

The draft review's preliminary conclusions reflected changes in the backhaul market.

The commission had found that some routes it had believed would be subject to competition were currently not competitive.

In addition, the unbundling of additional local exchanges by Telecom's competitors had meant new routes had needed to be assessed.

The commission said its preliminary view was that some of these new routes were competitive.

"Where the commission finds that a route is competitive, it will not be subject to regulation. By contrast, routes that are found not to be competitive will be regulated."

Regulation meant that the terms and conditions of the commission's backhaul decision would apply.

Submissions can be made on the draft report until April 3, with the commission expecting to release the final review report in mid-April.

- NZPA