Spark rails against big rise in price

Spark has started a lobbying campaign aimed at members of the Commerce Commission. Photo / NZME.

Firm believes Commerce Commission has made mistake, taken too little account of consumers.

Spark has started a new lobbying campaign in an effort to stop the Commerce Commission setting a big wholesale price rise that will raise copper broadband prices for internet providers.

The campaign is lobbying members of the Commerce Commission rather than politicians.

Called becounted.org.nz it is the second public relations campaign by the company on the issue and is collecting views from the public over a Commerce Commission draft proposal that will mean big price rises for the wholesale charges.

Spark spokesman Conor Roberts said that after a draft pricing decision for copper broadband the Commerce Commission will be deciding on the price this month.

The campaign will help the public find out more information about what makes up the price of broadband, and advise how to send a submission to the Commerce Commission asking them not to increase the Chorus charges.

Spark still believed the commission has erred in law and taken too little account of consumers.

IDC telecommunications analyst Peter Wise said the lobbying effort was logical considering the huge sum that was at stake.

In 2013 Spark was part of a joint "Ax the Copper Tax" campaign which lobbied the Government against getting involved in determining the price for copper broadband, which resulted in the determination being handed to the commission.

In that case Spark was acting alongside other telcos and community groups, but this time it is acting alone.

An industry source said Spark had acted on its own this time around, largely because of the time it would take to devise a joint campaign.

Internet NZ spokesman David Cormack said the organisation backed the Spark initiative but was not formally involved in that campaign, the way it had been in Ax the Copper Tax.

"We [do] believe that the current price as proposed by the Commerce Commission is too high and we're concerned that the ComCom continues to push the price up at every stage of this process," Cormack said.

Spark New Zealand managing director Simon Moutter said: "The proposed Chorus charges are almost 80 per cent higher per line than the median charge of comparable countries - that is up to $180 more per year.

"Chorus charges should actually be reduced."