21 July 2006
Commerce Commission delays damaging creation of mobile competition
Econet Wireless New Zealand (Econet) today publicly expressed concern about how long it is taking the Commerce
Commission to make judgments on the anti-competitive behavior of monopoly businesses.
Econet welcomed the Telecommunications Commissioner's announcement on 10 May that he would consider whether certain
behavioural practices by the incumbents were deterring entry. However, that consideration seems to have stalled.
In the meantime, Econet filed a complaint with the Commerce Commission over six weeks ago regarding those very
practices. Econet is concerned that Vodafone decided to cut prices and lock in customers for up to three years, at the
same time that Econet opened its switch site and commenced initial network build.
Econet is excited about mobile price cuts, and has budgeted real prices to drop up to 80% in New Zealand. However, it is
concerned that locking in customers and closed network txting practices by incumbents with entrenched market positions
is intended to inhibit competitive entry and is anti-competitive.
Network operators who have significant market power should be prohibited from engaging in this kind of behavior, as is
often the case in other OECD markets where little or no competition exists.
New Zealand is a country where bad network behavior has traditionally been tolerated. Econet's chief project director,
Tex Edwards, observed that the extraordinary Saturn/Telecom decision of 1998, where pocket pricing was permitted, and
the outcome of the legendary Clear/Telecom dispute have prevented much needed network builds.
Edwards publicly urged the Commerce Commission to expedite analysis of its complaint, and the Telecommunications
Commissioner to commence his investigation in terms of his May 10 letter, to facilitate desperately needed competition
in the mobile phone industry.
ENDS