On the 6th March 2013, the MCA published a decision notice titled ‘Market 4 – Wholesale Unbundled Infrastructure Access Market’, wherein GO was designated as having SMP in the relevant market in question. As a result of this designation a number of remedies were identified as being incumbent on GO. One of these remedies stipulated that GO should publish a reference offer for fibre-based wholesale products by the end of the current year. Furthermore, the remedy required that in the interim, GO would be obliged to negotiate with any potential access seeker on commercial terms.
Given the complexity involved in developing this VULA offer, GO have requested an extension to the deadline by which the reference offer is to be submitted to the MCA. The MCA is appreciative of such complexities and is hereby extending the deadline for GO to submit the reference offer until the 30th June 2014. The MCA maintains that, during this period, and until the regulated offer is published, GO shall continue to negotiate any requests from access seekers.
This extension is also being made in the context of two important considerations. Firstly, no requests for access have been forthcoming from the market, and secondly GO’s FTTH network deployment is still ramping up.
Going forward, the MCA has already embarked on a two-pronged approach to the adoption of the regulated VULA offer. One work-stream will deal with the pricing aspects of the VULA offer and effectively deal with the economic replicability elements, whilst the other will address the technical replicability aspects of the VULA offer.
In carrying out these work-streams the MCA will take utmost account of the Commission Recommendation on consistent non-discrimination obligations and costing methodologies to promote competition and enhance the broadband investment environment, BEREC best practice and any other regulatory developments at an EU level.