As a requirement under the TRBR Act, a RIO is an offer document setting out matters relating to the price, and terms and conditions, under which a carrier will permit the interconnection of another carrier to its network.
A RIO aims to provide and facilitate new entrants with sufficient information about a dominant carrier’s or another carrier’s network to assist it in its decision-making processes, and to provide a baseline for negotiating an interconnection agreement.
Background of TVL & Digicel RIO Development
The Government of Vanuatu issued TVL and Digicel with their respective Telecommunications Licences in March 2008. TVL and Digicel were required, under their licences, to produce a RIO within 90 days of the dates of their respective licences. Both operators relied on their interim interconnection agreement as their RIO. The interim agreement however expired in June 2012.
In 2012, TRBR nominated both TVL and Digicel as a Nominated Service Provider (NSP) and required each of them to produce a RIO, which TRBR later consulted on with the NSPs including Interchange Ltd as an interested party. The NSP was finalised and released at the end of 2013.