2 February 2025
Sam Brown
[email address]
Kia ora Sam
Official Information Act request 25.158
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA) request of 6 January 2026 for
information in relation to predatory pricing in the satellite internet market. We note the context
of your request is your
concern that current market trajectory suggests rural
telecommunications may be transitioning from multi-provider competition to effective single-
provider dominance and you are
seeking to understand whether competition and consumer
protection frameworks adequately address risks of market concentration, subsequent price
increases, and irreversible loss of alternative infrastructure.
We have responded to your questions in the order they were asked below.
1. Any complaints, inquiries, or analysis regarding whether satellite internet providers'
pricing in rural markets constitutes predatory pricing designed to eliminate terrestrial
competitors, including any assessment under Commerce Act provisions relating to use
of market power or anti-competitive conduct.
Yes, the Commission has received one concern from a regional telecommunications provider
concerned about promotional pricing by a satellite internet provider are compliant or in breach
of the Commerce Act. The matter is still being considered by the Commission at this time.
2. Any assessment of whether current satellite internet pricing is sustainable long-term or
represents below-cost pricing designed to achieve market dominance, particularly
analysis of whether prices are likely to rise substantially once terrestrial alternatives
have been eliminated from rural markets.
As no such assessment has been conducted, the Commission is refusing this portion of your
request under section 18(e) of the OIA.
3. Any correspondence with telecommunications industry participants raising concerns
about unsustainable competitive pricing dynamics in rural connectivity markets.
No such correspondence between the Commission with telecommunications industry
participants exists; therefore, we must also refuse this portion of your request under section
18(e) of the OIA.
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4. Any advice to Ministers or internal analysis regarding:
•
Whether elimination of terrestrial rural ISPs creates consumer protection
concerns if satellite providers subsequently exercise pricing power none
•
What regulatory mechanisms exist to constrain pricing or ensure service quality
if a provider achieves effective monopoly in rural areas - none
•
Whether customers will have effective and secure alternatives or switching
options if terrestrial infrastructure is abandoned and satellite becomes the sole
viable option none
•
Whether infrastructure, once economically abandoned, can be feasibly rebuilt if
satellite pricing later becomes unaffordable for rural consumers
No advice internally or between the Commission and Ministers exists in relation to these
matters. Again, we must therefore refuse this portion of your request under section 18(e) of the
OIA.
5.
Any assessment of whether government funding decisions or policy settings have
influenced competitive dynamics in ways that accelerate market concentration or
elimination of terrestrial alternatives, and whether these impacts were considered in
policy development.
6. Any analysis of whether satellite providers' standard terms (which typically reserve
unilateral right to modify pricing) combined with elimination of alternatives creates
consumer protection risks that existing regulatory frameworks do not adequately
address.
7. Any consideration of international precedents where dominant telecommunications
providers achieved market control through subsidised pricing and subsequently
exercised pricing power, and applicability to New Zealand rural connectivity markets.
The Commission is refusing Questions 5, 6 and 7 of your request under section 18(e) of the OIA
as the information requested does not exist.
Further information
If you have any questions about this response, please do not hesitate to contact us at
[Commerce Commission request email].
If you are unhappy with our response, you have the right to complain to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Finally, confirming the Commission may publish this response on our website as part of our
proactive release process. All personal information will be redacted prior to publication.
Ngā mihi nui
Adam McFerran
Senior Advisor | OIA & Information
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