One of the Authority's key functions is to promote and maintain fair and efficient market conduct and effective competition in Brunei Darussalam's telecommunications sector.
To support this objective, the Authority conducted a comprehensive Market Review Exercise in 2021/2022, covering both the retail and wholesale telecommunications markets. This exercise formed the basis for the Authority’s analysis and regulatory decisions regarding market structure, competition levels, and the presence of dominance or significant market power (SMP) within the sector.
Following the Market Review, the Authority issued a set of regulatory instruments 20 February 2023 with the aimed to facilitate effective competition, ensure fair and non-discriminatory market conduct, and mitigate the risk of monopolistic and/or dominant behaviors:
Telecommunications Code
Competition Law Code
General Duties Code
On the same date, the Authority concluded the following based on its market review findings:
- Retail telecommunications market:
No Market Players were found to hold Significant Market Power (“SMP”) or to be dominant. Barriers to entry were assessed as low, with minimal need for ex-ante regulation.
- Wholesale telecommunications market:
Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (“UNN”) was found to hold SMP, being the sole supplier of wholesale infrastructure and services.
The detailed analysis underpinning these findings can be found in the report below:
Review of the Retail and Wholesale Telecommunications Markets in Brunei (Market Review Report)
Following this review, to ensure continued regulatory effectiveness and to support compliance with the Competition Law Code, the Authority undertook a preliminary Determination of Dominance (DoD) Exercise. This initiative aimed to strengthen regulatory certainty and enhance competition in the retail markets.
As one of the key outcomes of this exercise, the Authority developed the Competition Law Code Guidelines, providing clarity to Market Players on how the Competition Law Code will be applied, particularly in identifying anti-competitive conduct and assessing abuse of dominance within Brunei Darussalam’s telecommunications markets.
Competition Law Code Guidelines
Recognising the dynamic nature of the telecommunications environment, the Authority will continue to monitor and review market developments and revise regulatory instruments as needed, guided by the following: