The Commerce Commission has set the price that Telecom's competitor's will pay to use its sub-loop services.
As part of it unbundling obligations, Telecom must grant direct access to phone and internet service providers to its copper sub loop at its distribution cabinets.
Telecom is currently in the process of deploying 3,600 roadside cabinets throughout its network, a process referred to as 'cabinetisation'.
This process shortens the length of the copper lines used to connect customers to Telecom's network by using fibre optic cable between telephone exchanges and roadside cabinets.
The commission says reducing the length of copper lines makes for faster connection speeds and will give Telecom's competitors the opportunity to also deliver advanced broadband services.
The commission has set the charge at $11.99 per line in urban areas and $22.14 per line in non-urban areas.
There will also be a monthly rental calculated on a cabinet-by-cabinet basis.
The cost per customer for the unbundled sub-loop services is understood to be about 26% higher than the corresponding costs for local loop unbundling.
Telecom was forced by the government in 2006 to unbundle its local loop services, allowing competitors to install and operate their own network equipment inside Telecom's exchanges.
To read more on the commission's decision CLICK go
to
www.comcom.govt.nz
and
look under Industry Regulation/Telecommunications/Standard Terms
Determinations/Sub-loop UCLL service.
