The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has completed an inquiry to set terms and conditions for wholesale ADSL services to Telstra's broadband infrastructure.
ISPs use Telstra’s copper network to provide ADSL services, with the ACCC’s final access determination (FAD) setting price and non-price terms for access to the network until 30 June, 2014.
The ACCC has determined wholesale ADSL prices to decrease by around 15 per cent compared to commercial prices being charged prior to regulations in February 2012.
“The ACCC regulates wholesale ADSL services to help ensure consumers and businesses have a choice in the provision broadband services,” Rod Sims, ACCC chairman, said in a statement.
“The wholesale price set in the final access determination provides certainty to industry participants, which in turn benefits customers by promoting competition and allowing a range of broadband services to be offered over Telstra’s copper network.”
The ACCC has dropped the price of monthly port charges per end-users in zone 1, mainly CBD and metropolitan areas, from $25.40 in the interim access determination to $24.44.
In regional and rural areas, the monthly port charge per end-users has been dropped from $30.80 to $29.66.
The monthly charge per aggregating virtual circuit or virtual LAN acquired in connection with wholesale ADSL has fallen from $45.50 per Mbps to $32.31 per Mbps.
The prices are a decrease on those the ACCC put forward in its draft FAD released in March this year due to updated information being provided, according to the ACCC.
The terms and conditions in the FAD only apply if there are no commercial agreements between an access seeker and Telstra.
The ACCC will begin another FAD inquiry later this year to review the terms for telco services beyond 2014.
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