Response to Consultation and Final decision: A final decision further specifying the price control obligation in the market for wholesale terminating segment of leased lines. Submission to Consultation No. 11/32

The Equivalence work stream is required to ensure that Other Authiorised Operators (OAO’s) are able to compete on an equal footing with the SMP Operator’s own services or those of its subsidiaries or partners under equivalent conditions and of the same quality in equivalent circumstances where equivalent services are provided. The Equivalence work-stream reflects the current objectives of ComReg to ensure that competition is not distorted by any discrimination in the way that the SMP Operator provides services and information to its wholesale customers, relative to its own services or those of its subsidiaries or partners, to directly target competition problems, particularly non-price parameters such as withholding of information, delaying tactics, undue requirements, low or discriminatory quality, strategic design of product, and discriminatory use of information. This work-stream is predicated on the existence of a non discrimination obligation on the SMP Operator. This allows ComReg to monitor the SMP Operator’s actions, in relation to the provision of regulated wholesale products and services.

Work carried out by the equivalence team includes monitoring of existing processes and practices in order to identify possible equivalence issues and, where appropriate, working with ComReg’s Compliance team, to determine the follow up course of action.