ANZ Broadband: NBN reveals new SAU proposal; Auckland’s 5G is faster than Sydney’s; 2degrees reveals new board

NBN reveals new SAU proposal

A week after withdrawing its previous special access undertaking (SAU) variation proposal, NBN Co submitted a revised version to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The changes are:

• In addition to the previous commitment to remove connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) charging and introduce AVC-only pricing for the NBN Home Fast (100 Mbps) and above wholesale speed tiers by 1 July 2023, commitment to a firm timeframe for the complete removal of CVC charges and introduction of AVC-only pricing across the 12, 25, 50 Mbps wholesale speed tiers by 1 July 2026
• Significant wholesale price reductions to AVC-only pricing on key higher speed tiers by 1 July 2023
• Reduced wholesale bundle charges or additional data inclusions on 12, 25 and 50 Mbps wholesale speed tiers
• Introduction of a weighted average price cap (WAPC) that will initially cap NBN’s overall pricing on average at CPI
• Further limitations on drawdown of the initial cost recovery account (ICRA)
• Setting benchmark service standards for each regulatory period, with ACCC oversight
• Automatic expiration of SAU before 2040 if a future government relinquishes control of NBN.

Auckland’s 5G is faster than Sydney’s

Auckland registered 280.7Mbps 5G download speeds between 1 April and 29 June 2022, while Sydney reached 212.4Mpbs, according to data from Opensignal, which analysed 5G speeds across Asia-Pacific. Auckland also had faster 5G uploading speeds of 27.9Mbps while Sydney got to 17.3Mbps. Despite Auckland coming fourth place in the upload speeds tally, its speed was way below Kuala Lumpur, which topped the list with 52.8Mbps.

Given the still limited availability of 5G, the amount of time users were able to connect to the network vary considerably. In Sydney, users connected to 5G 19.8% of the time while in Auckland only 5.8% of the time.

2degrees appoints new board

2degrees has announced the members of its new board following its merger with Vocus New Zealand. Seasoned board member Liz Coutts has joined the newly formed board as chair and is joined by former boss of competitor Vodafone New Zealand, Russell Stanners and Kathy Meads as directors.

Coutts currently also chairs the Oceania Healthcare, Skellerup Holdings and EBOS Group boards, and has held governance roles at Yellow Pages, Sanford, Life Pharmacy, Air New Zealand, and Trust Bank.

Stanners helmed Vodafone New Zealand as CEO when 2degrees entered the market in 2009 challenging the duopoly held by Vodafone and then Telecom, now Spark. He stepped down from the role in 2018 after over 13 years.

Meads, meanwhile, is currently a director at Port Taranaki, Magic Memories and NZPM, and previously held directorships at Transpower and Enable Networks.

The board also includes non-executive directors Brett Jolly and Vic McClelland of Macquarie Asset Management.