New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has formally recommended that mobile termination rates be regulated to promote better competition in the market and to bring New Zealand in line with international standards, reports the New Zealand Herald. In February, the Commission released a draft report recommending the government accept undertakings from local operators Telecom and Vodafone as an alternative to regulation, but reversed that recommendation in a subsequent draft report. In an official report released today, the Commission recommended the termination of voice calls and text messages on New Zealand’s mobile networks be regulated by New Zealand’s Communications and Information Technology Minister, Steven Joyce.

The local arm of Vodafone said it was “disappointed” with the Commission’s reversal, claiming that the undertakings would have served to lower termination rates quicker than via regulation. “The difference between the regulated rate and the undertakings is likely to be minimal at best – perhaps two or three cents per minute better for voice and almost no difference for text,” the operator argued. “Is it worth delaying the introduction of these rates for another year while the Commission decides on its theoretical model?” The regulator’s move is thought to be part of an effort to protect New Zealand’s new third operator, 2degrees, which welcomed today’s development. “We’re hoping for a quick decision and a fast process that allows 2degrees to put even better prices in the market,” said 2degrees COO Bill McCabe. Vodafone, however, claimed that “2degrees is not having any trouble competing, so the Commission’s efforts to protect it, whilst theoretically elegant are completely unnecessary from a practical point of view.”