These companies include Vodafone Fiji, Digicel, Telecom Fiji, FINTEL and any other providers of telecommunications.
Interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum announced an immediate termination of a price control order for telecommunications services.
But the former chairman of the commerce commission, Charles Sweeney, described the decision as “a sad day for Fiji” warning that Fiji’s situation was “very different from effective competition.”
Sayed-Khaiyum said his decision was in line with a commerce commission recommendation that consumers would benefit from a liberalized market.
“What this basically means (is) that the price controls that have been put in place will no longer be in place, but the market itself will decide on the prices that are to be set,” he said.
“This as you know is a result of the government’s initiative from last year in terms of liberalizing the telecommunications market the cost of telecommunications in Fiji has substantially dropped, the services have greatly improved also.”
He said the companies themselves will decide what prices to charge, but “should there be any issue between individual companies in terms of pricing, the commerce commission will act as the arbiter.”
However, Sweeney warned there was limited competition in the telecommunications market –– which was an area of concern when allowing free rein to companies over the prices they charged.
“In the case of a revocation of a pricing order, the relevant test is whether competition in a telecommunications market is limited,” he said.
“This is the expression used in s32 of the Commerce Act, which is the section relating to the making of a pricing order.
“No one can suggest competition in telecommunications is anything other than limited.
“The fact that there are two mobile operators does not mean competition is not limited. It merely means there is a duopoly, which is different from effective competition,” Sweeney said.
Commission chairman Dr Mahendra Reddy said they would write to the stakeholders to see if they wanted to make additional submissions or withdrawals.
“Based on that we will sanction interconnection rates — interim rates,” he said. “Then I will want to set the path of an extensive and detailed industry review based on cost modeling.
“I think that’s the path that we need to take. I believe the industry has not been subject to a detailed cost modeling exercise so that every stakeholder has a detailed input into the process.”
Sayed-Khaiyum said the Government had not removed itself from regulating the market. “What we see is that the Commerce Commission will obviously oversee if there is any anti-competitive behavior that may exist in the market,” he said. “If there is any anti-competitive behavior it will obviously be regulated or individual companies or providers of telecommunications market will be pulled up.”
Sayed-Khaiyum said while they could put a price control order in place he did not believe in going down that path.
The review of the telecommunication price control order faced controversy over the past few weeks.
Telecom Fiji CEO Taito Tabaleka has been sent on leave over concerns of operational matters.
It is understood differences between the parties stemmed from the company’s application for a review of the telecommunication price control order.
