Page 70 - SAMENA Trends - December 2023
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WHOLESALE UPDATES  SAMENA TRENDS


                                              WHOLESALE NEWS





        GCRA Issues Final Decision On Wholesale Fixed Broadband Pricing


        The  Guernsey Regulatory and Competition  Authority  (GCRA)
        has  issued  its  final  decision  on  wholesale  broadband  pricing
        under  which  the  average  charge  for  local  fixed  line  incumbent
        Sure  Guernsey’s  wholesale  broadband  services  will  be  reduced
        to GBP26.40 (USD33.4) per month – a figure equating to a 31%
        reduction  from the  current  average  charge  level.  As  per the
        regulator’s decision, the new rate will be applicable from 1 April
        2024 to 31 December 2028. According to the GCRA, it estimates
        that the reduction in Sure’s wholesale broadband revenues for the
        first full year of the price control in 2025 will be GBP2.9 million.
        Should  these  price  reductions  be  passed  on  to  consumers, the
        watchdog  has  suggested  they could  see  an annual  average
        saving  of  GBP116  in  2025.  Summarizing  the  reasoning  behind
        its decision, the GCRA claimed that Guernsey’s fixed broadband
        customers currently ‘face some of the highest prices in Western
        Europe’, with it saying that a ‘significant contributor’ to this situation
        is the fact that access to fixed broadband is controlled by Sure’s
        network business, ‘which sets high prices to retailers of broadband   its ongoing fiber investment program and still earn ‘a reasonable
        with  little competition’. By  intervening  in  the  market,  the  GCRA   return’.  In  this  area  the  regulator noted  it  had  conducted an
        has suggested a wholesale price reduction will enable retail ISPs   extensive review, accounting for Sure’s costs and revenues in the
        to lower their prices ‘significantly’, in turn making the Bailiwicks’   coming years as it rolls out its full fiber network, with this done to
        charges  for  such  services more comparable  to other western   ensure that the reduction in charges would still enable the telco to
        European countries. Meanwhile, the GCRA has said that, despite   recover its efficient costs and would not undermine the financing
        the reduction in charges, it has sought to ensure that Sure can fund   of the infrastructure deployment.




        NCC Outlines Proposed Retail and Wholesale Tariff Adjustments for 2024-

        28


        Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) has issued   specified that the price reduction would not apply to ADSL-based
        a  draft  notice  regarding  proposed  adjustments  to  tariffs  for the   services offering downlink speeds below 12Mbps nor those FFTx
        wholesale fixed broadband markets. In a press release regarding   tariffs offering downlink rates of more than 300Mbps. With regards
        the matter, the regulator said that it was proposing for retail fixed   to wholesale fixed broadband, meanwhile, the NCC has suggested
        broadband retail prices to be reduced by ‘3.32% minus the annual   a tariff reduction of ‘5.09% minus the annual growth rate of the
        growth  rate  of the  consumer price index’  for those  operators   consumer price index’, though here the reductions will not apply
        deemed to hold significant market power (SMP). Of note, the NCC   to those connections offering downlink speeds of 2Mbps or less.




        DIGI, Vodafone Agree to Spectrum Usage Rights, Wholesale Fiber Access


        DIGI Portugal and Vodafone Portugal have entered into a framework   is part of a remedy package submitted by Vodafone in connection
        agreement, under which DIGI Portugal will gain spectrum usage   to its acquisition of Cabonitel/Nowo Communications. Vodafone
        rights  to  2×10MHz  in  the  1800MHz  band  and  2×10MHz  in  the   entered into an agreement with Llorca JVCO, the owner of Spanish
        3400MHz-3800MHz  band,  in  addition  to  wholesale  bitstream   operator  MasMovil Ibercom  (trading  as  Grupo  MASMOVIL), to
        access to Vodafone’s own proprietary optical fiber network. The   acquire Cabonitel, the holding company which controls Portuguese
        deal, subject to approval by the Portuguese Competition Authority,   operator Nowo, In October 2022.

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