165/04
2 December 2004
Tabling of ACCC report
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) report on competition in the corporate customer segment of telecommunications was tabled in Parliament today by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan.
The report is part of the enhanced accounting separation framework for Telstra introduced under the Government's 2002 telecommunications competition reforms.
Since its introduction in 2002 the enhanced accounting separation framework has increased the transparency of Telstra's activities, improved the information available to Telstra's competitors and provided the ACCC with a tool to systematically monitor and investigate allegations of anti-competitive conduct.
"To ensure there is fair competition between Telstra and its competitors the Government directed the ACCC to produce a report every six months focusing on the level of competition in the supply of telecommunication services to the corporate customer segment," Senator Coonan said.
"As part of the accounting separation framework, the report is designed to encourage a more transparent, accountable and informed market focusing specifically on the corporate customer segment."
The telecommunications corporate customer segment has complex service requirements often involving a bundle of fixed voice, mobile services, data and potentially managed services.
Although the segment is highly competitive, the lack of transparency in the prices paid for the services, combined with the large rewards offered by providing services to corporate organisations, creates incentives for Telstra and its competitors to potentially engage in anti-competitive conduct.
"This first report creates a strong foundation for future reports by outlining how the ACCC has delineated the corporate customer segment, how it will collect information for future reports, and the analytical framework it will use to assess the state of competition in future reports," Senator Coonan said.
The ACCC has indicated that future reports will focus on the top 1200 companies by revenue and government customers with contracts valued in excess of $2 million.
Media Contact: Jane McMillan 0438 690 305