Austar Entertainment Limited - s.87B undertaking

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted court-enforceable undertakings proposed by Foxtel, Optus, Telstra and Austar which address the Commission's concerns about the potential anti-competitive effects of the planned pay-TV arrangements between Foxtel and Optus.

The Commission does not therefore intend to oppose the arrangements which allow Optus and Foxtel to share pay-TV programming. The undertakings provide access to programs for pay-TV operators, broader choice for consumers and access to Telstra's cable network and Foxtel's set-top boxes.

In order to address the concerns about access to programming, Foxtel and Austar have agreed to allow rival operators, such as TransACT and Neighbourhood Cable, to purchase their pay-TV content at fair and commercial terms.

Concerns about access to infrastructure have been addressed by Foxtel's and Telstra's undertakings to allow rival pay-TV operators to use their analogue and proposed digital networks to provide competing pay-TV services to consumers.

The terms and conditions Telstra and Foxtel impose for access to these networks are still to be subject to further consideration by the ACCC to determine whether they comply with the telecommunications access requirements of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Foxtel and Telstra have committed to 'digitise' the pay-TV network, although this commitment is conditional on the passing of the Federal Telecommunications Competition Bill and further decision-making processes provided for in this proposed legislation; the proposed legislation allows potential investors to seek an exemption from the access regime which would otherwise apply if the services were regulated in the future.