Commission’s views on response to draft Commission’s views on response to draft Determination

Commission’s views on response to draft Determination

The Commission notes that the SAOs provide a non-discrimination standard in respect of faults and maintenance. Section 152AR(3)(c) relevantly provides that an access provider must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the access seeker receives, in relation to the service supplied to the access seeker, fault detection, handling and rectification of a technical and operational quality and timing that is equivalent to that which the access provider provides to itself.

In respect of interconnection, s152AR(5)(e) relevantly requires an access provider to ensure the access seeker receives, in relation to the interconnection, fault detection, handling and rectification of a technical and operational quality and timing that is equivalent to that which the access provider provides to itself.

The Commission believes that there is quite clearly a legislative and ACIF code obligation upon access providers to provide faults rectification and maintenance to the same service level as that which it provides to itself. The spirit and intent of the legislation is concerned with achieving non-discriminatory outcomes as between an access provider and an access seeker, as opposed to the provision of non-discriminatory levels of service by an access provider between different access seekers. The Commission believes that such non- discriminatory behaviour is necessary to facilitate competition in contestable downstream markets and that this interpretation accords with the overall objective of promoting the LTIE as stipulated under Part XIC of the Act.

Accordingly, the Commission adopts these SAO requirements as part of its model terms and conditions for faults and maintenance standards.

(Also refer to the Commission's discussion in the next section on Ordering and Provisioning)

In relation to fault symptom and fault clearance codes, the Commission notes that ACIF C513:2003 appears to exclude fault management issues pertaining to the provision of LCS services. Although ACIF C513:2003 does not specifically apply to the LCS, the Commission adopts as model terms, the principles and requirements in relation to fault symptoms and fault clearance codes in respect of the LCS. Accordingly, whatever code provisions apply in respect of fault symptoms and clearance codes to the interconnection services, they also apply (to the extent relevant) to the LCS by virtue of being adopted as model terms.

In relation to progressive fault management reporting, the Commission understands that apart from an obligation to meet CSG timeframes and informing an end-user that a fault has been rectified, an access provider does not provide a fault management update and progress