The telco troika’s report arguing against the planned $1.5 billion Government investment on a fibre-to-the-home broadband network, has come under more fire today.
In the New Zealand Herald today, technology columnist Simon Hendery refers to the Castalia report commission by Telecom, Vodafone and TelstraClear as a “cardigan crew's report” that has the “whiff of bad old days”.
He adds the report is “unquestionably self-serving” to the three telco heavyweights, saying he is not surprised the big three are “perturbed” that a new government-subsidised network could eat into their return.
He goes onto to say the attitude of the report’s backers “reeks of an arrogant attitude that should have been left behind when the Government moved to strip Telecom of its local loop monopoly in 2006.”
While less overtly, critical business columnist warns Brian Fallow that New Zealand could miss the broadband train. He says New Zealand has a history of being “penny-wise, pound foolish” in its infrastructure investment.
The country is “paying a stiff price” for neglecting investment in the national grid, says Fallow, adding Auckland would be a better-functioning city today if it had invested in light rail or completed its highway network decades ago.
Fallow also makes the point that although the report states that current broadband infrastructure would meet consumers’ needs, this does not take into account future requirements. He says: “The power boards of [the early] days could scarcely have imagined the range of goods today's households use electricity for. In the case of telecommunications the pace of progress is much faster.”
He quotes TUANZ chief executive Ernie Newman saying the exponential growth in demand for bandwidth should not be underestimated.
If technologies such as telecommunications provide opportunities to offset New Zealand’s tyranny of distance, they “should surely be embraced”, says Fallow.
He refers to refrigerated shipping and jet travel, as previous technologies that achieved this.
Meanwhile Helen Twose suggests ICT minister may reveal plans of the $1.5 billion broadband investment at the Commerce Commission’s Broadband at a Crossroads conference in Auckland today.
We are at the event and will keep you posted of any details as they emerge.