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Slingshot offers to buy the ihug name off Vodafone

Posted Fri 31 August 2007 @ 9:44 a.m. by Sarah

How much is the ihug brand worth? Surprisingly, this is a question being asked by Slingshot GM Mark Callandar who told me yesterday that he would happily buy the ihug name off Vodafone. “We’ll buy the brand off them if they don’t want it. ihug were the original pioneers of internet in New Zealand and clearly Vodafone don’t want it.” Callandar was referring to the company’s new fixed-line free broadband offers that are being marketed under the Vodafone brand name. He says this is a clear signal...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs

Is the contact centre going the way of the IBM RAMAC 305?

Posted Thu 30 August 2007 @ 4:35 p.m. by Sarah

This photograph of an IBM RAMAC 305 portable disk drive was taken around 50 years ago. It contained 5 MB of memory - roughly the same as an iPod today. TUANZ After 5s speaker Pat Shafer used the photo in her presentation to illustrate that although technology is rapidly changing, the way a business connects with its customers is slower to evolve. She told the audience that while the customer used to walk in through the front door, now there are as many as ten customer “touchpoints”...

Categories: Events | Innovation | Vendors

Shipping lanes for ICT entrepreneurs

Posted Wed 29 August 2007 @ 8:06 p.m. by Sarah

Peter Jackson and Ian Taylor are high visibility trail blazers that get front page coverage* whatever they do. And good on them. But their achievements can make it appear as if there is credible international broadband infrastructure, when the reality for less well known ICT entrepreneurs is somewhat different. Ernie and I met with one such company today and heard about an ambitious project which, when it comes to fruition, will enable a significant group of professionals to work off shore without...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation

Telco sector needs a PR make over

Posted Sun 26 August 2007 @ 8:05 p.m. by Sarah

If there was ever an example for the telco sector of just how badly it has alienated the country, it can be found in today’s Sunday Star Times. The front page lead is a confused beat-up about Telecom’s NGN not working in a power cut and so making it impossible to dial 111. The third paragraph in the story mentions a revamp of the 111 system and a storm in Canterbury - I read it five times before I concluded that these two events had little to do with the NGN currently being rolled out at a glacial...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs

Is anti spam legislation anti business?

Posted Fri 24 August 2007 @ 9:09 a.m. by Sarah

The Anti-Spam Compliance Unit took to the road this week with a series of two-hour seminars on the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act. I went along to the second session held on the North Shore. It was attended by around 60 business people, many of whom concerned about how they can lawfully use their valuable databases after September 5. Manager of the Anti Spam Compliance Unit (part of the Department of Internal Affairs) Joe Stewart and senior policy advisor Lloyd Bezett were on hand to answer...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Regulatory | Wireless carriers

Bubble launch is flat, but product could fly

Posted Fri 24 August 2007 @ 8:10 a.m. by Sarah

The launch of the Yahoo!Xtra bubble yesterday was - perhaps unsurprisingly - a rather flat affair. The technical issues that have dogged the inception of Xtra’s Web 2.0 upgrade meant that the service had attracted too much of the wrong kind of publicity already. This point was acknowledged straight away by Telecom’s chief operating officer for consumer Kevin Kenrick, who began the presentation with a run down of exactly what went wrong. He said it wasn’t until users began to register for the new...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs

Compensation for Xtra Customers?

Posted Thu 23 August 2007 @ 8:05 a.m. by Sarah

I’m off to the media launch of Yahoo!Xtra Bubble today to find out whether all the fuss caused by the weekend upgrade to Xtra services will be worth it. Considering the bad press generated by a 24 hour shut-down that was followed by three days of technical issues, I’m expecting quite a shindig to spin that negative publicity into golden reviews. Ernie's just been on Radio New Zealand a couple of minutes ago along with Kevin Kenrick from Telecom. Kevin said that they could guarantee that...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs

Riposte to Vodafone in The Independent

Posted Wed 22 August 2007 @ 7:52 p.m. by Sarah

Vodafone's suggestion that it would be out of pocket by $250 million if mobile termination rates had been regulated earlier this year has cut no ice with TUANZ CEO Ernie Newman. In a letter to The Independent Financial Review he argues for effective regulation to ensure that a user calling someone on a mobile network other than their own isn't charged prohibitive rates."Termination rates are widely accepted as an area of market failure. Users can choose the network for their own phone but not that...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Kiwi Share Paper Disappoints

Posted Tue 21 August 2007 @ 8:10 a.m. by Ernie

It has to be said - the issues paper released yesterday setting out options for the Kiwi Share was an anti climax.That's not to say it isn't a good paper. It is - an excellent list of questions and options, accurately identified and well framed.But the issue is timing. Minister Cunliffe announced a review of the Kiwi Share (TSO) on "Mayday 2006." It has taken fifteen months for this issues paper, the next step in the process, to emerge. With that length of wait, would it not have been reasonable...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs | Regulatory | TUANZ policy

Isn't Xtra its Own Worst Enemy?

Posted Tue 21 August 2007 @ 7:49 a.m. by Ernie

I did a short clip last night on TV news about the Xtra outage last weekend. My comment was that Xtra consistently seem to miss one key point - that email and other data access has long ago become an essential service and users are entitled to expect continuity of access. Telecom to its credit has always recognised this point in respect of voice. But when it comes to data it seems to presume that its customers can be put off line for a while with no great inconvenience. Hence its extraordinary...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs

It's 11pm, do you know where your data is?

Posted Mon 20 August 2007 @ 5:11 p.m. by Sarah

When you consider that mobile phone penetration is over 100% in New Zealand it's scary to think how much data is being carried around in pockets, handbags and brief cases. And it’s not only addresses and phone numbers that are at risk in the mobile age - its emails, documents, spreadsheets – a whole slew of information that could put your business at risk if it fell into the wrong hands. Microsoft senior strategist Steve Riley was in town last week for the annual TechEd Conference where he...

Categories: Vendors

Conference on Overcoming Broadband Challenges

Posted Fri 17 August 2007 @ 9:38 a.m. by Ernie

I've been roped in next month to talk on broadband opportunities and challenges for small nations at a conference in Papeete. it's run by the Pacific Telecommunications Council in association with the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association.I've had a bit to do with both bodies in the past, and spoken at their respective conferences from time to time. I always enjoy meeting telecomms people from the Islands especially - they have this quaint old fashioned practice of letting engineers...

Categories: Events | Light relief

Mobile termination should be 6 cents - Telstra

Posted Fri 17 August 2007 @ 8:47 a.m. by Ernie

Telstra has called on the ACCC to halve its guideline mobile termination rate from 12c to 6c a minute, Aussie newsletter Communications Day reports.The ACCC has proposed a figure of 9c a minute through to the end of 2008. This is still too high for Telstra which points out, correctly, that the ACCC's own cost models show a an appropriate level of 5-6c and that the 9c figure is just a soft glide path. Fast backward to New Zealand, where our government over-ruled its regulator's recommendations...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Paul Reynolds' British TV exit interview

Posted Thu 16 August 2007 @ 10:40 a.m. by Sarah

Telecom’s new CEO Paul Reynolds has indicated in an interview with Telecom TV in Britain that when he starts the job next month his priority will be to settle the regulatory issues with the Government. “New Zealand are taking quite a progressive stance to it. I’ve got something to add to that discussion obviously from my experience here in the UK. The priority will be to get these issues settled and agreed so the organisation can look forward with absolute clarity and certainty and focus on its...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Wireless carriers

Fly your flag at the Digital Future Summit 2.0

Posted Thu 16 August 2007 @ 10:02 a.m. by Bernice

There are still some places available to sponsor the Digital Future Summit 2.0 to be held 28 and 29 November at the Auckland Hyatt Regency. This is your opportunity to join forces with your peers and support the shaping of New Zealand’s digital future. Log on to http://www.digitalsummit.org.nz/and download the Sponsorship Proposal, but jump on board quickly to ensure your company’s logo is included in the marketing campaign…

Categories: Events | Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Vendors | Wireless carriers

Great Live Demo of Apple TV

Posted Wed 15 August 2007 @ 9:34 a.m. by Ernie

If you're past Courtenay Place some time (and who isn't?) drop by TelstraClear's inaugural retail site opposite the Westpac St James theatre. There's a really interesting live demo of what Apple TV can do for you.It's quite an insight into today's real world for those lucky enough to have access to TelstraClear's cable network right now, and a tantalising glimpse of what we are missing for those of us in the rest of NZ.The display is set up to illustrate the difference in performance between dial-up,...

Categories: Education | Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs | Vendors

Ralph Chivers is New CEO for Carriers Forum

Posted Wed 15 August 2007 @ 9:16 a.m. by Ernie

Congratulations to Ralph Chivers who the Telecommunications Carriers Forum has this morning named as its first Chief Executive.Ralph is well known already to many members of TUANZ, having been in the telecommunications sector for 15 years. He has previously worked with Telecom NZ in the government relations field, Voco as a consultant, and is currently contracted to the Ministry of Economic Development.TUANZ works very closely with the TCF, with representation on its Board to ensure the voice of...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Vendors | Wireless carriers

TelstraClear's committment is increasingly vague

Posted Tue 14 August 2007 @ 10:23 a.m. by Sarah

Later this year business users with a 029 prefix will be asked to switch networks when TelstraClear launches its new mobile offering on Telecom’s CDMA technology. TelstraClear’s communication manager Mat Bolland says there are approximately 30,000 subscribers with a 029 prefix, mostly business users who’re attracted to the bundled deals the telco can offer with its fixed network (a suite of cable, fibre and DSL technology that is only rivaled by Telecom). But who ‘own’ the existing customers...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Wireless carriers

Unbundling spurs new deals in the market

Posted Mon 13 August 2007 @ 10:06 a.m. by Sarah

Two days after Vodafone/ihug and Orcon were handed the keys to an exchange they were touting cut-price bundled tolls and broadband deals in the Sunday newspapers. The kicker being that for both deals, users are locked into a 12 month contract. Orcon’s offer is open for just a week, or until they secure 5,000 customers. If successful, their broadband subscriber base will get a 20% boost from 25,000 to 30,000. According to Ovum, Vodafone/ihug currently has 34,000 broadband customers. Both companies...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Regulatory

Executive briefings for TUANZ members

Posted Fri 10 August 2007 @ 8:46 a.m. by Sarah

So they finally opened a couple of telephone exchanges to competition yesterday. Welcome to the age of unbundling. But what does installing brightly coloured boxes inside two suburban exchanges mean for a major business user? Rather a lot. The unbundling trials taking place in these exchanges is tangible evidence that the Telecommunications Amendment Act is producing results. But its just one of a raft of regulatory changes that is transforming the sector in both the fixed and mobile space. Meanwhile,...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Ponsonby and Glenfield Unbundled This Morning

Posted Thu 9 August 2007 @ 8:53 a.m. by Ernie

Telecom has announced the unbundling of two telephone exchanges this morning. Ihug and Orcon will be in them from day One.TUANZ is delighted. Lots of credit goes to lots of people. Telecom in particular - if it had not been for their leadership last June when they offered to implement the processes ahead of the regulatory timetable we would be months or years off this point.Big congratulations to all who have worked so hard thus far. Users, and New Zealand, have good cause to be happy on this milestone...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Who's Polluting Privacy?

Posted Wed 8 August 2007 @ 7:42 p.m. by Ernie

Hey - if you're a spammer, have I got a treat for you! Do you fancy a list of the email addresses of more than 100 senior Kiwis with a professional interest in Privacy and Technology in the 21st Century?"I've got one. It dropped into in my Inbox today.Where from? Get a load of this! It came from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, with an invitation to attend a seminar including a session on "Polluting Privacy" as part of Privacy Awareness Week. Right there...

Categories: Events | Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Light relief | Regulatory

New commissioner guest at TUANZ board

Posted Wed 8 August 2007 @ 5:04 p.m. by Sarah

Dr Ross Patterson, the new telecommunications commissioner popped in for a chat with the TUANZ board yesterday. TUANZ was the last on a very short list of industry stakeholders he has visited in the first month of his tenure.* Dr Patterson said the small number of significant players, and the tiny size of market share claimed by all but giants Telecom, TelstraClear and Vodafone initially surprised him. But he was upbeat about the potential of fledging telcos to change this imbalance in the new...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Who owns your phone number?

Posted Tue 7 August 2007 @ 11:01 a.m. by Sarah

Who owns your telephone number - if you think you do, then you’re wrong. It’s the phone company who first gave it to you. Even under number portability a telco can take it off you any time they choose, as a disgruntled user will discover this afternoon when Vodafone take away his number. This issue first arose last Thursday when the user bought a new cellphone from a Vodafone kiosk in a shopping mall. Before he could take ownership of his SIM card, he advised his contacts of his new number, but...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Wireless carriers

Ovum on Telecom

Posted Mon 6 August 2007 @ 12:22 p.m. by Sarah

Hot off the press and into my email inbox has arrived Ovum’s report on Telecom New Zealand. Actually it’s dated July 23, so I’m only a fortnight behind, but thought I’d share a few nuggets with Downstream readers nonetheless. Written by analyst David Kennedy, it provides a useful summary of the regulatory landscape in the past year. In the SWOT analysis, Telecom’s strengths are defined as its incumbent status, its move to a convergent business model, strategic flexibility and a...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Wireless carriers

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