ACCC invites comment on policies and procedures for list of NBN POIs

The ACCC (www.accc.gov.au) has  released a consultation paper inviting comment on the policies and procedures that relate to the identification of listed Points of Interconnection (POIs) to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

In November 2012, the ACCC published the list of POIs to the NBN as required by section 151DB of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA). Section 151DC of the CCA requires the ACCC to conduct a review of the policies and procedures relating to the identification of listed POIs to the NBN.

The review must be conducted by 30 June 2013 and includes public consultation.

In 2010, the Federal Government determined in its ‘Statement of Expectations’ for NBN Co that a semi-distributed POI structure which extends the NBN network to meet with, but not overbuild, competitive infrastructure was its preferred outcome.

The government asked NBN Co to determine the specific location of POIs, in close consultation with the ACCC.

ACCC Commissioner Ed Willett said:

“The ACCC has engaged in an extensive consultation process with stakeholders to ensure the number and location of POIs was in the long term interests of end users and was consistent with the government’s policy.”

The review seeks comments on the procedures used to identify the number and location of POIs and information on the extent to which facilities are interconnected at the listed POIs.

The ACCC invites interested parties to make submissions by 22 March 2013.

To read the ACCC Discussion Paper, click here.

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