Commerce Commission news stories

The Commerce Commission has filed an appeal in the High Court against a $2.25 million fine imposed on Vodafone NZ for its offending under the Fair Trading Act.

The Commerce Commission is welcoming the creation of new marketing codes for the telecommunications industry.

The Commerce Commission says New Zealanders know what they want when it comes to telecommunications. They like new technology and the ability to use it flexibly.

The Commerce Commission has granted clearance to a transaction that would see the merger of the Vocus Group with 2degrees.

Copper cabinets are soon to be a thing of the past for many Kiwis, with Chorus announcing it will switch off its first copper cabinets in mid-March.

The Commerce Commission is inviting feedback on enhancements to its Measuring Broadband New Zealand programme.

The NZ Commerce Commission has now filed proceedings against digital government software company Objective Corporation Limited (Objective).

The Commerce Commission wants to see an improvement in the quality of retail services offered by the telecommunications industry.

The Commerce Commission wants to see improvements to the telecommunications dispute resolution scheme (TDRS) in order to deliver better results for consumers and the industry.

The number of complaints received by the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Scheme has grown on average by 14% year on year.

The Commerce Commission has filed proceedings at the High Court claiming Moola engaged in cartel conduct relating to online advertising on Google Ads.

The Commerce Commission urgently seeks views on proposed marketing principles to reduce consumer confusion about alternative technology. 

The estimated price-quality path for Chorus announced for consultation would cap Chorus revenues for three years from 1 January 2022 at $689 million in 2022, rising to $786 million in 2024.

The Commerce Commission has confirmed it will keep regulation in place for three wholesale telecommunications services to continue to promote competition and protect consumers.

Since receiving Chorus proposal, the Commission has identified the need to update the indicative process it set out in September 2020. 

In a ruling from the Auckland District Court last week, Vodafone NZ was guilty of being 'liable to mislead' consumers about the nature of its FibreX service.

"We hope this review process results in a strengthened TDR scheme that is able to help even more New Zealanders if they encounter issues with their telecommunications services."

The performance of Fibre Max plans has substantially improved, according to the Commerce Commission’s Measuring Broadband New Zealand report.

In its statement, the Commerce Commission outlined key competition issues that the watchdog considers vital to the decision of whether to grant HP NZ’s proposed resale price maintenance arrangements.

In September 2020, the Commission published an open letter to Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees asking them to share their plans for providing their customers with more meaningful product and service comparisons and to guard against overspending.

HP’s request, if granted, would allow the vendor to engage in resale price maintenance (RPM) in relation to its proposed arrangements for its HP online store and prospective HP online marketplace stores.

Despite increased demand, fixed line broadband pricing remains expensive tor all tiers compared to other countries in the OECD. 

Telecommunications company Plan B Group has been officially warned by the Commerce Commission over its failure to meet statutory obligations to provide information needed to calculate the 2019/20 Telecommunications Development Levy.

New Zealand's three main mobile operators have agreed to provide more information and tools to support consumer choice.