Drop the Rate, Mate! welcomes consumer-focused Commerce Commission decision.

The members of the Drop the Rate, Mate! campaign are thrilled with the draft report released today by the Commerce Commission, which recommends the Government regulate mobile termination rates.

Campaign spokesperson Suzanne Chetwin says that the decision is what the campaign has been fighting for over the last year. “More than 13,000 Kiwis have signed up to our campaign, and we are so pleased that they could soon see much better value, innovation and service in the mobile market.”

The Commerce Commission is planning on providing its final recommendation to the Minister in early June. The campaign says it is vital that this timeline is kept. “We have been stressing the urgency of regulation for some time, and now that we are at the final hurdle, the Commission mustn’t allow anything to delay its decision,” said Ms Chetwin.

If Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce decides to accept the Commerce Commission’s recommendation and regulate, he will be in good company – every other country in the OECD bar Mexico regulates these services. "It is clear, both from international experience, and from the recent actions of Vodafone, that competition will not be promoted without regulation,” said Ms Chetwin.

The Commission’s decision was made in the wake of Vodafone’s recently released call plan, which Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Ross Patterson said perpetuated the barrier to competition in the mobile market.

Drop the Rate, Mate! was founded in August 2009 by Airnet NZ Ltd, Consumer NZ, Federated Farmers, the Federation of Maori Authorities, the New Zealand Union of Students Associations, the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand, 2degrees and the Unite union.

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