Shares of Spark New Zealand (ASX:SPK, NZE:SPK) rose over 1%, while those of Vital (NZE:VTL) were flat, and those of Chorus (ASX:CNU, NZE:CNU) inched up 0.1% after the New Zealand government opened the telecommunications sector review for public consultation.
The review is focused on key regulatory issues raised by the sector, including the administration and collection of the Telecommunications Development Levy, which stakeholders said was "expensive, inefficient and overly burdensome," the country's Minister for Regulation, David Seymour, said.
The draft proposals from the review include the introduction of a binding consumer code enforced by the Commerce Commission to better protect consumers, and the replacement or phasing out of the existing telecommunications service obligations framework so that infrastructure obligations better align with today's broadband and connectivity requirements.
It also includes the removal of obsolete rules, such as those on managing copper networks.
The consultation is open until Sept. 25.