From Cellular News: A joint report by the Australian and New Zealand governments into the cost of trans-Tasman roaming has recommended increased powers for their telecoms regulators to intervene in the market.
The governments have both accepted the report’s recommendations and decided to extend these to other markets. The New Zealand government said that the necessary amendments to the Telecommunications Act are expected to be in place by the end of 2013.
The report was prepared jointly by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Australia’s Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE). It is based on traffic and revenue information provided by the two countries’ mobile operators for the calendar years 2009-2011, as well as an study prepared by the consultancy firm WIK.
The publication of the final report follows a draft report published in August 2012 after a formal investigation into trans-Tasman roaming services by both governments was announced in April 2011. That announcement was based on an analysis of operator traffic and revenue for the calendar years 2007-2009, and submissions received on a discussion paper published in May 2010.
The full report can be downloaded from here.