The four big fibre optic cable wholesalers will need to disclose more information about their pricing, costs and quality control measures under new requirements.
Photo: 123 RF
The Commerce Commission's new rules cover Chorus, Enable Networks, Northpower Fibre and Tuatahi First Fibre, but only Chorus will be subject to additional price-quality controls from the beginning of 2022.
The specific price-quality controls would set a cap on the total revenue Chorus could collect for fibre services provided over its network and the minimum quality standards it must meet.
"Our experience regulating infrastructure businesses in the energy and airports sectors shows that information disclosure can be a powerful tool, with increased transparency helping to limit excessive profits and ensure services are delivered to the quality demanded by consumers," Telecommunications Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson said.
Reliance on ultra-fast broadband (UFB) connectivity showed no sign of letting up, according to data released by Chorus.
The average Auckland home and small business increased data usage by 63 percent to 619 GB (gigabytes) last month, while the national average increased by 57 percent.
"One of the reasons the UFB rollout was so successful was that fibre wholesalers were required to provide key information about performance," Gilbertson said.
He said regulated fibre wholesalers would need to publicise its pricing, performance and other key metrics so the commission and stakeholders can understand how they are performing against compared each other.
"Together, these measures will help to constrain the prices and promote the quality of services offered by Chorus and the other regulated fibre wholesalers."
The Chorus specific price-quality details will be announced on 16 December and be in place for the next two years.