Commerce Commission Defers Decision on National Roaming Investigation

New Zealand's Commerce Commission says that it is deferring its decision on whether to investigate extending the regulation of the national mobile roaming service to include prices. The Commission has been considering whether there are reasonable grounds to commence an investigation.

"The Commission has significant concerns with the current state of the mobile market that suggest there may be a case to commence a Schedule 3 investigation into designation of the national roaming service," said Paula Rebstock, Commerce Commission Chair. "These concerns primarily involve the prices contained in current commercial roaming agreements and the ability of future potential market entrants to negotiate competitive agreements in a timely manner."

The Commission's intention is to complete its consideration of whether there are reasonable grounds to commence a Schedule 3 investigation into designation of the national roaming service in three months' time. This will provide parties with an opportunity to reach commercial solutions to the issues raised by the Commission in the interim.

The Commission also expects there to be greater clarity about appropriate prices for roaming services over this period, arising from the Commission's separate investigation into mobile termination services. The Commission has used mobile termination prices as a proxy for mobile roaming prices in the past.

Posted to the site on 30th March 2009