Correction: This story was corrected on 25 March to clarify the charges concerned are between telcos, not necessarily charged to customers.
The telecommunications commissioner says there's been a shift in the competitive landscape. Photo: Unsplash/ Thom
The Commerce Commission is considering deregulating fees telcos can charge each other when customers make phone calls and send texts to customers on another network.
Telecommunications Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson said the Mobile Termination Access Services (MTAS) may no longer be necessary to promote competition, given advances in digital communication which offered a wide range of options for communications, such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and others.
"We've seen a significant shift in the competitive landscape," he said.
"This means a formal investigation is warranted, but a recommendation to deregulate will be made only if we find regulation is no longer necessary to promote competition for the benefit of Kiwi consumers."
The latest investigation followed the commission's call for feedback in November.
The most recent MTAS review was completed in September 2020 when the Commission concluded reasonable grounds for deregulation did not exist.
Before MTAS was regulated, operators had significantly cheaper prices for calls and short messages on their own network compared with those going to a customer on a different network.
In June 2010, the commission said the higher prices hindered competition and regulated pricing followed.
