The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released a supplementary consultation paper inviting further comments on the Special Access Undertaking (SAU) lodged by NBN Co on 5 December 2011.

The SAU sets out a range of regulatory commitments that NBN Co proposes shall apply until 30 June 2040.

“The SAU is a complex document that, if accepted, will be an important part of the telecommunications access regime that applies to NBN Co for a long period of time,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

This supplementary paper continues the ACCC’s public consultation on the SAU that commenced in December 2011. A number of interested parties provided submissions to that paper and the ACCC has had regard to these submissions in preparing the supplementary paper. 

“At this stage of the process, the ACCC is seeking comment on a broad range of issues. Given that this is the first SAU submitted under the new telecommunications access regime, and in light of the proposed term of the SAU and the scale of the NBN investment, this should come as no surprise,” Mr Sims said. 

“It is not unusual for the ACCC to seek views on a wide range of matters in its preliminary analysis of an undertaking.”

Key issues on which the ACCC is seeking views include:

  • the scope for independent review throughout the SAU’s proposed term (including of price related matters),
  • the interaction between the SAU and NBN Co’s Wholesale Broadband Agreement, particularly with respect to the non-price commitments that NBN Co is proposing, and
  • the proposed mechanisms for establishing service levels, setting prices for new products and ensuring efficient investment.

Following receipt of submissions, the ACCC intends to hold a multilateral industry forum to discuss key issues associated with the SAU, likely around mid-April 2012. Further details of this forum will be provided at a later date.

The ACCC invites all interested parties to make submissions by 5 p.m. on 30 March 2012.  The supplementary paper is available here.