NBN Co today released its latest Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA5) Consultation Paper, which focuses on how a revised NBN Co Special Access Undertaking (SAU) could be implemented, subject to acceptance by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
NBN Co is planning to lodge a revised SAU variation proposal with the ACCC as soon as possible in November 2022. The Company is releasing the latest WBA5 Consultation Paper before lodgement of the revised SAU variation in response to RSP feedback for consultation as early as possible and in consideration of the lead time required to implement the proposed SAU variation commitments.
The company’s proposed SAU variation aims to deliver significant improvements to the regulatory and pricing framework, which should benefit end-user customers, the telecommunications industry as a whole and the wider Australian economy and society.
If accepted, NBN Co’s proposed SAU variation will remove wholesale usage-based CVC (Connectivity Virtual Circuit) charging for all residential fixed line and fixed wireless services by 1 July 2026; simplify wholesale pricing; reduce the level of operational complexity for Retail Service Providers (RSPs) and provide greater price certainty; establish a link between NBN Co’s efficient costs and prices; help ensure service standards cannot degrade over time, and provide a significantly enhanced oversight role for the ACCC.
At the same time, the varied SAU aims to provide NBN Co with the regulatory certainty needed for the company to operate as a sustainable commercial organisation. This will enable the company to invest in network capability over the long-term to meet the evolving needs of customers and help deliver Government policy.
The company’s parallel WBA5 consultation process is intended to enable a contractual offer to be presented to RSPs for negotiation and agreement in time for NBN Co and RSPs to implement a new SAU by the later of 1 July 2023, or within three months of the SAU’s acceptance.
