Wholesale regulation is in transition, with the NBN having recently proposed a new access framework to address stakeholder concerns
Wholesale incentives did little to accelerate the adoption of higher speed broadband: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued its latest annual report on developments in competition and pricing in the country’s telecoms market. The regulator finds that the price of home broadband from the National Broadband Network (NBN) increased across the board in 2021/22, while the operator’s own service indicators remained largely unchanged. Consumers on higher-end (50-100Mbps) and very high-speed (>100Mbps) plans experienced the largest price increase at 9%. Australia is seeing a general shift to faster speeds; however, temporary wholesale rebates to encourage the take-up of 100Mbps and >100Mbps services did little to accelerate that trend. Meanwhile, 5G fixed wireless access services are maturing and smaller internet providers are continuing to gain customers from the more established operators, thereby increasing competition in the residential broadband market.
5G is the locus of competition in mobile: The ACCC also highlights the ongoing investments operators are making to deploy 5G networks, extending coverage to rural areas for the first time. 5G services continue to be a focal point of competition between Optus, Telstra, TPG and various mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), offering choice for consumers. The price of mobile services have remained largely unchanged year-on-year, as typical data allowances have again increased. Although ACCC analysis suggests that the median data allowance is now 35GB per month, consumers only use 10GB on average. With over two thirds of data left unused, the ACCC believes consumers may be able to save money by switching to a plan that better suits their needs. Amid high inflation, regulators in other countries have also urged end users to shop around.
Regulation of the NBN remains in flux: The annual telecoms stocktake recognises that the NBN is continuing to invest in its network coverage and capacity as part of a A$4.5bn (£2.5bn) programme, as well as the infrastructure upgrades made by DGtek, TPG and Uniti. Facing increasing competition from smaller providers and new technologies, the NBN is also operating under a revamped Statement of Expectations (SoE), a key objective of which is for “commercially sound investments” – suggesting the Government wants the firm to start paying for itself. In addition, the regulation that oversees the NBN remains in flux. In May 2022, development of a new framework had appeared to make progress; however, the NBN later withdrew the Special Access Undertaking (SAU) variation it had lodged with the ACCC. The NBN submitted a revised proposal on 29 November, which aims to resolve the pricing and quality issues that characterised the previous version, while supporting the sustainability of future operations.
