5 July 2012: The Commerce Commission today released the draft decision of its annual competition review of unbundled copper local loop (UCLL) and unbundled bitstream access (UBA) backhaul link services.
This was the fourth competition review of UCLL backhaul links and the second competition review of UBA backhaul links, conducted under section 30R of the Telecommunications Act.
In its draft decision the Commission has found an increase in the competitiveness for both local and regional backhaul links that were assessed by the Commission. 83% of UCLL and unbundled copper low frequency service (UCLF) and 76% of UBA local links are competitive. In addition, 95% of regional links are now subject to competition.
In 2008 only 37 local UCLL backhaul links were considered competitive. This figure is now 178. 36 out of 38 regional links are now competitive, compared to only 22 out of 38 in 2008.
The draft decision recognises the continuing investment in backhaul by access seekers and the consequences of the separation of Chorus and Telecom.
Full story here.