NBN rollout providing opportunities to roll back regulation

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a discussion paper in early March 2018 as part of its public inquiry process to determine whether its declaration of the domestic transmission capacity service (DTCS) under Part XIC of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) remains appropriate in light of changing market conditions, including arising from the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout. If the ACCC determines not to continue the declaration beyond its current expiry of 31 March 2019, or limit the scope of the declaration, this will represent an example of where the NBN rollout, rather than resulting in increased regulation in the telecommunications sector, has assisted in reducing regulation.