The New Zealand ICT minister Amy Adams has commissioned an independent assessment of Chorus' financial position and its capability to deliver on its contractual commitments under the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) and Rural Broadband Initiatives (RBI). The review would assess the impact of the Commerce Commission's decisions on both the Unbundled Copper Local Loop and the Unbundled Bitstream Access prices on Chorus' ability to deliver on its contractual commitments for the UFB and RBI. Once the report is received and released, the government will consider its next steps.
The news comes as Chorus's credit rating has been placed on review by Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's. Meanwhile, communications provider CallPlus is taking the government to court over its pricing review. CallPlus Limited has filed proceedings in the High Court seeking a judicial review and declaratory judgment that the government's review of the Telecommunications Act 2001 does not comply with the Act and therefore cannot proceed. CallPlus argues that the discussion document only dealt with the pricing of Chorus's copper broadband and voice services network and failed to address any of the other matters mandated under the Act.
