ComCom releases proposals for $50m telecoms levy
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ComCom releases proposals for $50m telecoms levy

The New Zealand Commerce Commission (ComCom) has released draft proposals on how it will split a $50 million levy for telecoms operators.

The annual Telecommunications Development Levy (TDL) pays for telecoms infrastructure, such as relay services for the deaf and hearing impaired, broadband in rural areas, and improvements for the emergency service phone line.

The draft decision proposes that more than 90% of the levy will be paid for by contributions from Spark, Chorus, Vodafone and 2Degrees Mobile.

The TDL is around 1% of telecoms service revenue and is paid for by companies earning more than $10 million per year from operating a component of a fixed or wireless public telecoms network.

ComCom also released its draft determination for the cost of the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), which is operated by Sprint International New Zealand for people with hearing and speech impairments.

It determined that the cost for the service for 2015/16 is $2.6 million, payable out of the $50 million TDL.

ComCom has set a 14 November deadline for submissions on both draft decisions, and said it expects to release its final decision in December.

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