The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has set prices and conditions for the non-NBN local bitstream access service (LBAS) in a final access determination.
The LBAS is a wholesale access service for fixed line networks that are built or upgraded after January 2011. It is a last-mile service to residences and small businesses with 25Mbps or faster speeds. It doesn’t apply to the NBN, wireless or satellite networks.
The final access determination applies for three years, expiring 5 October 2015. It sets a price ceiling of $27 per service per month for an LBAS service with 25Mbps downstream and 5Mbps upstream. The price is benchmarked to the NBN Co wholesale broadband agreement (WBA) price for a similar service.
The ACCC determination also requires LBAS providers to supply a voice service if requested by the access seeker. And the order contains baseline non-price terms and conditions of access for parties who can’t reach a commercial agreement.
“The ACCC considers that benchmarking to the NBN Co WBA is appropriate to ensure similar terms and conditions for retail providers of broadband services, whether they acquire NBN-based services or not,” ACCC Commissioner Ed Willett said in a statement.
“With this FAD, the ACCC has sought to provide some certainty in terms and conditions for industry participants.”
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