Trade Practices Act 1974 Determination under section 152AQA Pricing Principles for Digital Data Access Service (Cth)

TRADE PRACTICES ACT 1974

Determination under section 152AQA

Pricing principles for Digital Data Access Service

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) determines, pursuant to section 152AQA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act), that the principles specified in Schedule 1 are to apply to the Digital Data Access Service (DDAS) declared by the ACCC under section 152AL of the Act.

Note: For the effect of this determination, see subsection 152AQA(6) of the Act.

Made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on

4 June 2008

…………………………………

Graeme Julian Samuel

Chairman

SCHEDULE 1

Principles relating to the price of access to the DDAS

1.         Wherever it is reasonably practicable to do so, the price of the DDAS should be set equal to the total service long run incremental cost (i.e. TSLRIC) of the service.

2.         Where it is not reasonably practicable to set prices on the basis of TSLRIC, the price of the DDAS should be set having regard to the price of an appropriate benchmark.

3.         A service will be an appropriate benchmark where:

(a)        it is supplied in a competitive market or it is subject to cost based regulation; and

(b)        its physical attributes are comparable to the DDAS in question.