Competition and Regulatory Implications of a Vodafone-TelstraClear Merger: First Thoughts

Abstract

If the mooted takeover of TelstraClear (TCL) by Vodafone is to go ahead it will be the most significant non-regulatory structural change in the New Zealand telecommunications marketplace since the merger of TelstraSaturn and Clear Communications in December 2001. The merger is a game-changer because it would lead to the creation of a fully vertically integrated telecommunications company providing a complete range of fixed and mobile networks (at least in the areas where TCL's cable network exists) a matter of merely months after New Zealand's incumbent integrated operator Telecom New Zealand (TCNZ) was 'required' to structurally separate its fixed line network from its retail and mobile operations. The implications for both of the separated TCNZ firms (new) Telecom and Chorus are not trivial. There are also likely to be some significant challenges arising for both regulation and the Government's new Ultrafast Broadband (UFB) network from the presence of a strong integrated multi-infrastructure provider.