The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a discussion paper looking at how it could better assess the level of competition in the corporate customer segment of the Australian telecommunications market.
The discussion paper follows the tabling of ACCC's report on the competition in the corporate customer segment for the July – December 2003 period, by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
While the tabled report outlines how the ACCC delineated the corporate customer segment, the discussion paper proposes the possible establishment of a number of information gathering and monitoring measures relating to the provision of products and services to that market. This is to assist the ACCC with its reporting role on the corporate customer segment. The discussion paper has been issued for public comment.
The discussion paper and the tabled report are a part of the revised accounting separation framework for Telstra, aimed particularly at fostering a more transparent and better informed corporate customer segment of the telecommunications market. This is intended to improve the information available to Telstra’s competitors and provide the ACCC with a tool to systematically monitor and investigate allegations of anti-competitive conduct.
ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said the proposed measures would nonetheless need to be assessed carefully to ensure that any additional reporting obligations are clearly justified in a cost-benefit sense, in terms of their ability to provide the ACCC with a much clearer picture of the corporate segment of the market and allow it to act quickly on any complaints of anti-competitive behaviour.
"The ACCC is particularly looking for industry comment on the effectiveness and adequacy of these measures", he said.
The measures will also need to be assessed having regard to the current operation of other monitoring and reporting requirements which have previously been imposed.
A copy of the ACCC discussion paper, Competition in the corporation customer segment of telecommunications markets: Further issues, can be found on the ACCC website.
The ACCC has called for submissions from industry participants and other interested parties by no later than 31 January 2005.