Two access disputes have been notified to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission under Part XIC of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
Telstra Corporation Limited has notified the ACCC of separate access disputes with Optus Mobile Pty Limited and Optus Networks Pty Limited.
These access disputes relate to the price paid by Telstra for the Domestic Mobile Terminating Access Service* supplied by the Optus entities.
The ACCC has begun the arbitration process for these access disputes. Given that the legislation contemplates that arbitrations be conducted in private, the ACCC will not be making any public comment at this stage.
*The Domestic Mobile Terminating Access Service is a wholesale input, used by providers of fixed-to-mobile and mobile-to-mobile calls, to allow their customers to call mobile phone users. It allows consumers (either fixed-line or mobile) to call mobile users connected to another network. The carrier whose customer initiates the call pays the carrier whose customer receives the call for the mobile terminating access service.
These disputes relate to the charges, and other terms and conditions, for carrying that portion of a call which terminates on Optus's mobile network.