Public Inquiry Into Potential Retail Service Determination In relation To Voice And Data

The National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) wishes to inform all industry stakeholders, relevant government agencies, ICT users and the general public about Public Inquiry into potential Retail Service Determination (RSD) in relation to voice and data services. A RSD is an option available to NICTA to establish any form of market failure that warrants for possible retail service determination. A retail service determination is a regulation that is made by the Minister, based on a recommendation from NICTA, which can specify the retail pricing, service standards or pricing principles in relation to the supply of a particular retail service.

Under section 157 of the National Information Communications Technology Act 2009 (NICT Act), NICTA may hold a public inquiry into whether or not a recommendation should be made to the Minister that a retail service should be subject to RSD in respect of a particular operator licensee. Such inquiry may be initiated by NICTA on its own initiative or in response to a written request for any person asking NICTA to hold such inquiry. NICTA has received a request from the Minister ICT to hold such public inquiry to examine the retail pricing of voice and internet.

The terms of reference of the inquiry are to consider:

1. whether or not a recommendation should be made to the Minister under section 159 of the National Information and Communications Technology Act 2009 (the Act) that:

(a) national voice services supplied by Digicel;

(b) mobile data services supplied by Digicel; and

(c) fixed data services supplied by Telikom; should be subject to retail service determinations to control price levels, and, in the case of (a) to prohibit price discrimination between on-net and off-net calls; and, if so;

2. the appropriate terms of such a retail service determination; and

3. the extent to which those terms would meet the retail regulation criteria in section 158 of the Act.

A discussion paper for the purposes of section 232 of the Act will be available on NICTA’s website (www.nicta.gov.pg) from 18 March 2022. The public inquiry shall commence from that date and end in July 2022, unless further extended. Up to date information on the inquiry shall be available from NICTA’s website. Enquiries in relation to this matter can be directed to Manager Economic Regulation, Mr Polume Lume on email: plume@nicta.gov.pg or contacted on phone number 303 3272.

This notice fulfils the requirements of section 231 of the Act.

Authorised by Kila Gulo Vui
Chief Executive Officer

Public consultation into whether a recommendation should be made to the Minister for a retail service determination for voice and data services

Public Inquiry: Public Inquiry Into Potential Retail Service Determination In relation To Voice And Data