Independent Review – Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
On 3 February 2017, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a report of its final decision to extend Declaration of the wholesale Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) service (the Declaration) for five years until 13 February 2022.
The wholesale ADSL service is a point-to-point service which enables network providers to deliver high speed fixed-line broadband internet services. The Declaration means the ACCC can set conditions and prices when Telstra sells wholesale ADSL access to other network providers. The report of the wholesale ADSL service inquiry (the report) concludes that the continuation of the Declaration will provide long term benefit to end users including promoting market competition and encouraging efficient use of telecommunications infrastructure.
The report has been self-certified by the ACCC as meeting the requirements of a regulation impact statement. Under the Government’s best practice regulation process, the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess the adequacy of independent reviews. The ACCC estimated an increase of $6800 per annum in regulatory burden.