Cheaper copper
May 5th, 2012 at 12:41 pm by David FarrarThe Herald reports:
In a draft determination, the Commerce Commission indicated it wants to reduce the geographically averaged unbundled copper local loop (UCLL) service to $19.75 a month from its current price of $24.46 over two years.
UCLL lets Chorus’s competitors use the copper network between an exchange and an end-customer’s premise to offer their own voice and broadband services. The current urban price only has to come down $19.81, and the biggest access gains would be in non-urban areas, which are sitting at $36.63. …
Wholesale prices for access to the copper lines were averaged as a result of legislation enabling Telecom to carve out its Chorus unit last year, something that rankled with rival telecommunications companies who claimed it would lift their costs. The de-averaged urban and non-urban prices are $15.82 and $29.19 respectively, the regulator said.
It is a pity the Government decided to require an averaged price, as it means urban users are subsidising rural users. Instead of urban users getting a wholesale price drop of $3.99 and rural of $7.44 the drops are $0.06 for urban and $16.88 for rural.
But still good to see overall wholesale prices heading in the right direction.
May 5th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
And it’s not as if dairy farmers don’t subside the economic performance of the country.
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
No, It is a pity the Government decided to set any price
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
yeah, it only wiped out $100 million of Chorus’ value.
Great going Commerce Commission, imagine what they’ll do for the upcoming SOE floats.
[DPF: I am a chorus shareholder myself but monopoly utilities always have price regulation, where it is uneconomic to have infrastructure competition]
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
And heres me thinking from the headline they’d found a way to make NZ Police a bit more efficient.
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Yeah but DPF, it was $100 million dollars that got wiped off Chorus.
I’d also helpfully point out that a government agency is forcing down copper-wire pricing to make it more attractive to consumers at the same time the government is spending $1.5 billion of our money to move people to ultrafast fibre based broadband. Sounds like good government, no?
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Cross subsidisation eh.
F*** I hate this government. They care not a bit about basic economics. That much has been made clear to us over the last few years.
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Yellow bananas are as good as gone. Blue bananas are in vogue. Red/Green bananas are becoming more fashionable I hear.
Whatever colour we squabble over, we are still just a little, tiny, ineffectual, fucking banana republic that no one in the real world gives a shit about.
I wish all you pseudo-intellectual political junkies would get a life and start to realise the reality of this!
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Why not just deregulate Chorus entirely?
Vote:Without regulation, Chorus will be required to be competitive or run the risk of another company setting up a wired network (like Saturn in Wellington) or a mobile company coming out with a fast 4G network in direct competition with (and lower overheads than) the wired incumbent.
May 5th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Imagine what the bloody tossers that ran Telecom paid the bloody wankers at the ad agency to come up with the bloody stupid name “Chorus”?
Fuck we all live in a bloody dream world here in Godzone.
The seriously important multiple CEO’s of our once Electricity Department are a bloody good example of cost plus circle jerking.
All in a village of 4.4 million inbreeds too!
Vote:May 5th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
KK…
Spot on. If Hugo Chavez knows that the John Key’s socialist National government is setting prices in the market, he will ring the prime minister to congratulate him. Chavez : Good work Comrade Key!
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