The TDL helps pay for uneconomic services such as the Rural Broadband Initiative
Internet service providers Voyager and MyRepublic will be liable for the Telecommunications Development Levy for the first time this year due to their growing revenue, the Commerce Commission is suggesting.
Research network operator REANNZ, however, will no longer be liable following a High Court decision that it operates a private, not a public, telecommunications network.
The Commerce Commission today released its draft determination on how much 17 telecommunications providers will each pay towards the Government’s $50 million Telecommunications Development Levy (TDL) for the 2018 financial year.
The levy is used to pay for telecommunications infrastructure and services which are not commercially viable, including the relay service for the deaf and hearing-impaired, broadband for rural areas, and improvements to the 111 emergency service.
The draft determination determines proposes that Spark, Vodafone, Chorus, and 2degrees will collectively pay more than 90 per cent of the levy (see chart below)
The levy, set at about one per cent of telco services revenue, is paid by providers earning more than $10 million a year from operating a telecommunications network.
Submissions are now being accepted on the draft before a final determination.
