Australia: More competition in NBN wholesale market can be seen

More retail service providers (RSPs) are directly accessing the national broadband network (NBN) in more locations around Australia, offering greater choice and potentially better services for consumers and businesses, according to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) latest quarterly Wholesale Market Indicators Report released today.

There are now at least eight access seeker groups acquiring wholesale services directly from NBN at all of the 121 NBN points of interconnect (POIs) nation-wide, with at least nine groups at 120 POIs and at least 10 at 115.

Telstra remains the dominant wholesale access seeker, but its market share declined slightly, while TPG and Optus made small gains. Smaller RSPs also increased their collective share from 6.8% to 7.1%.

“The ACCC is pleased to see this growth in the number of RSPs acquiring wholesale services directly from NBN, which is good for both consumers and businesses,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

“Connecting directly to the NBN allows RSPs to better control the quality of service they can provide to their customers.”