Graeme Samuels, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said the watchdog has been reluctant to regulate end-to-end wholesale services, but is close to finalizing an initial view on whether wholesale basic access should be subject to regulation.

Samuels said there are two key aspects in the debate surrounding ULL pricing and both, so far, have been overloaded with rhetoric.

"The first issue is the impact of the average ULL pricing on line rental parity, and the ACCC is due to report to government by the end of this month. The second aspect is the level of ULL pricing," Samuels said.

"With respect to pricing structure, the view of the ACCC is that as a general principle, prices should reflect costs otherwise efficient investment and competition are less likely to materialize.

"The competitive process is beginning to bear fruit, we have seen emerging competition in broadband and mobiles but in spite of the positive signals the ACCC remains concerned that threats to emerging, and future competition, still exist. Our concerns mainly involve the copper local excess network."