Ultrafast Fibre releases provisional unbundled fibre pricing
Local fibre company Ultrafast Fibre has released its
provisional Layer-1 unbundled point-to-multipoint service
(also known as PONFAS) wholesale pricing that will apply
from 1 January 2020 in their UFB1 areas.
“From 1
January next year we are required to offer Layer-1 unbundled
services on our UFB1 fibre network, so today we’re
releasing our provisional pricing for PONFAS,” says
Ultrafast Fibre’s Chief Executive, John
Hanna.
“There has been considerable discussion over
the past 12 months around the complexities of unbundling and
we have been working hard to define a product offering that
meets our obligations, as well as being fully transparent
with our key stakeholders. This advance announcement will
give us plenty of lead time to work with any feedback we
receive.”
Ultrafast Fibre’s provisional monthly
wholesale access charges for PONFAS are:
a. $48.84 per month for the ‘Distribution Fibre’ component (the fibre connection from the customer premises to the splitter located in the roadside cabinet)
b. $184.36 per month for the ‘Feeder Fibre (including Splitter)’ component (the fibre connection from the splitter in the roadside cabinet back to the central office where the access seeker connects their own equipment)
Under this pricing construct, the total average monthly cost of each unbundled connection paid by an access seeker will vary depending on the number of customers connected to their splitter.
“Our pricing
reflects the equivalence of inputs (EOI) standard we are
required to apply when delivering unbundled fibre services.
Providing an EOI service means it must be supplied on the
same terms as we supply our current bundled services, and at
a price which reflects the actual cost to deliver the
service,” Mr Hanna says.
Ultrafast Fibre has engaged
key customer and regulatory stakeholders throughout this
process and will continue to do so as part of the EOI
guideline consultation process recently announced by the
Commerce Commission.
“At the same time, we will
continue to invest in the reach, quality and capacity of New
Zealand’s fibre broadband network infrastructure and
generate an appropriate return on the $500m+ investment our
community-owned shareholders have already made.
“We
currently have over 120,000 active customers on our network
enjoying a full range of fibre broadband benefits. Our
communities can be assured of the best possible broadband
experience through our existing managed services. 1 January
2020 will not result in any changes for consumers happy with
their current fibre service,” Mr Hanna
says.