ACCC varies class exemptions for wholesale voice services

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued its final decision varying the class exemptions granted in August and October 2008 for the wholesale line rental (WLR), local carriage service (LCS) and public switch telephone network originating access (PSTN OA) services. The variations will align the obligations of Telstra and other providers of these services.

The class exemptions mean providers other than Telstra will be exempt from the requirement to comply with the standard access obligations in the Trade Practices Act 1974 in relation to the supply of these wholesale voice services in certain metropolitan areas.

The original class exemptions were granted when the ACCC made the individual exemption orders for Telstra’s supply of the WLR, LCS, and PSTN OA services. The ACCC considered that granting the class exemptions would promote the long term interests of end-users by ensuring that all access providers, including Telstra, would have the same incentives to invest in wholesale voice services. The class exemptions were designed to be consistent with the dates and areas of operation specified in the individual exemption orders.

Following the decision by the Australian Competition Tribunal to vary the individual exemption orders, the ACCC issued a draft decision proposing to vary the dates and the areas of operation of the class exemptions so that they are consistent with the revised individual exemption orders. After considering submissions received in response to the draft decision the ACCC has confirmed its draft decision.

The final decision will be available on the ACCC's website.