TUANZ - Telecomunications Users Association Of New Zealand

TUANZ - Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand

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Posted Mon 31 March 2008 @ 9:34 a.m. by Ernie

At 9.15 this morning Minister Cunliffe announced he has signed off the Separation undertakings with Telecom, clearing the last hurdle to Separation today.The Minister's statement indicates that the following drafting changes have been made since the final round of consultation - reflecting very closely the submission made by TUANZ as well as others:- Reducing the level of group based incentives for Wholesale Division Managers to no more than 30 per cent of their total income- Enhancing the milestones...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | TUANZ policy

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Rural connectivity - APECTel shows how far behind NZ is falling

Posted Mon 31 March 2008 @ 3:53 a.m. by Ernie

I've spent the week at the APECTel meeting here in Tokyo - my 6-monthly university update on telecomms policy issues across the APEC region. Japan is of course a world leader in the telecomms space - so apologies to those who have had trouble phoning me on my mobile. It rings at my end but before I can answer the caller has got a whole lot of "dit-dit-dit" noises or a message saying I no longer exist, and has hung up! (Vodafone - are you listening?)Most of the week has been spent in working...

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Separation Day is Here!

Posted Mon 31 March 2008 @ 3:45 a.m. by Ernie

It's Separation Day!Minister Cunliffe has called a media conference for 9.15 this morning. No prizes for guessing what that's about.This is a watershed day for telecommunications users, for Telecom's wholesale and access network customers, for Telecom itself, and of course for the new ANS unit Chorus.Many customers are already reaping the benefits. As Peter Griffin notes in his Herald blog, there are substantial cost savings from switching to Naked DSL with an alternative service provider.I...

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

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Next Generation Networks - TUANZ Comments on Commission's Terms of Reference

Posted Fri 28 March 2008 @ 1:42 p.m. by Ernie

The Commerce Commission is to hold an investigation into next generation networks. TUANZ has today replied to the Commissions invitation to comment on the Terms of Reference. Here is the Commissions draft ToR and the TUANZ response.Key to our reply is the concept is that the investigation should be framed around the concept of "New Zealand's NGN of which Telecom comprises a major part" rather than "Telecom's NGN."This will be a ground-breaking investigation. Many of the Commission's projects...

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

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International connectivity – time for Cabinet to consider the options?

Posted Wed 26 March 2008 @ 12:15 p.m. by Sarah

The announcement today from AT&T about its plan to join a consortium to build a submarine cable network between South East Asia and the US reminded me once again about New Zealand’s situation – on the edge of the Pacific with just the Southern Cross Cable connecting us to the rest of the world. In his speech at the Digital Future Summit late last year Minister David Cunliffe told delegates that the average customer pays about $9 a month for international connectivity, a “significant...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation

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Convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications regulation

Posted Tue 25 March 2008 @ 7:49 p.m. by Ernie

As many know, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage has released a discussion paper on the future of broadcasting regulation. It raises the prospect of telecommunications and broadcasting regulation being combined under a single regulator - as is the trend internationally.I'm at the 6-monthly meeting of APECTel in Tokyo this week, where these issues are being debated by regulators, policy setters and user representatives from around the region. Such convergence is a well-established path, with leading...

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NZ Herald polls readers on Telecom

Posted Tue 25 March 2008 @ 1:26 p.m. by Sarah

As part of their coverage of the TUANZ Manifesto, the NZ Herald is continuing its online readers’ poll on the question ‘Do you think Telecom can deliver its broadband promise?’. The poll has already drawn a large number of responses and it will be interesting to see if the Manifesto coverage widens this online debate. Of course the Manifesto concerns itself with the broader telecommunications sector - looking beyond the copper network to a fibre future. It’s a call to political parties to make broadband...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | TUANZ policy

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WiMax - is it "a miserable failure?"

Posted Mon 24 March 2008 @ 9:11 a.m. by Ernie

Yes, according to one of the world's first serious operators, Garth Freeman of Buzz Broadband in Queensland.After an upbeat presentation to TUANZ sister organisation ATUG less than a year ago Buzz seems to have turned up its toes - telling an international WiMax conference the technology is a "miserable failure." It has, literally, shut up shop.This is not a good sign. The history of wireless technologies is riddled with over-promises and under-deliveries, usually after...

Categories: Innovation | Wireless carriers

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Fibre to the Farm – can it really become a reality?

Posted Thu 20 March 2008 @ 8:14 a.m. by Sarah

Talk about extending fibre to every farm house in New Zealand and it seems like pie-in-the-sky, fantasy stuff. The cost would be billions of dollars and despite the fact that it’s those farmers who create a large share of the wealth in this country it’s just not economically viable. Or is it? In the past week I’ve spoken to two people, from opposite sides of the world, who are immersed in rolling out fibre to rural homes and farms. They are not billionaires, they do not head up large corporations,...

Categories: Events | Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs

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Carriers block porting of number blocks

Posted Wed 19 March 2008 @ 9:17 p.m. by Ernie

Its an affront to users, its anti-competitive, and it must stop! Large corporates, through their carriers, commonly reserve blocks of numbers to give flexibility in managing their DDI number plans. Sometimes these include similar fixed and mobile number ranges to ensure an intelligent linkage between mobile and fixed numbering. Recently, several of these corporates - core members of TUANZ - have been taking advantage of number portability to...

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TUANZ Manifesto - Towards leading-edge connectivity

Posted Wed 19 March 2008 @ 7:49 a.m. by Sarah

Lightning-fast fibre-optic must go to every home, business, farm and marae. That’s the challenge TUANZ has issued to all political parties this afternoon with the release of its Manifesto for the 2008 election. TUANZ chairman Merv Altments, vice chairman Chris O'Connell and chief executive Ernie Newman have held a press conference and lifted embargo on the 8-page document, which you can read here.Among the specific policy initiatives that TUANZ urges in the Manifesto are: That replacing 20th...

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World's regulators agree on infrastructure sharing

Posted Fri 14 March 2008 @ 8:28 a.m. by Ernie

I reckon this is a breakthrough. The world's regulators have just announced agreement that infrastructure sharing is to be encouraged and facilitated.This opens up real hope that the telecommunications industry and policy-setters going forward will take a pragmatic approach to shared, open access infrastructure, and focus on competition for services. The Regulators have concluded that such sharing will stimulate investment and growth. Absolutely. And nowhere more than in a small market...

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Cell phones while driving - what do you think?

Posted Fri 14 March 2008 @ 6:36 a.m. by Ernie

Vodafone and Telecom have called for legislation to ban texting and voice calls on hand-held phones while driving, the Herald reports today.Texting while driving is utter stupidity. Voice calls are in a more murky area. Let's not forget the enormous productivity gains of being in contact whilst on the move - and truckies and taxi drivers have been using RT for ever.Is specific legislation warranted or are existing laws dealing with dangerous driving adequate? If so what should it outlaw? Just...

Categories: TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

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Orcon unbundles with "Orcon @ Home"

Posted Fri 14 March 2008 @ 5:48 a.m. by Ernie

With the infectious enthusiasm that always seems to surround this go-ahead ISP, Kordia-owned Orcon Internet has announced a new unbundled voice and ADSL2+ available to subscribers in five Auckland exchanges from the week after next. More exchanges will be added progressively.Orcon's announcement marks another important step along the long road to competitive telecommunications.Chief Executive Scott Bartlett tells me they have had a couple of hundred new subscribers in the first few hours!

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs

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Australian regulator enforces competitive model

Posted Thu 13 March 2008 @ 12:43 p.m. by Sarah

There are 19 broadband providers with their own equipment in Australian exchanges and four mobile network operators investing in 3G network upgrades that will bring high speed mobile broadband to up to 99% of the population. In the opening address on day two of the ATUG Conference, Graeme Samuel, Chairman of the Australian regulator (ACCC) hammered home his point that competition breeds better services. Samuel is something of a vindicated man, after an Australian High Court decision last week unanimously...

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

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Progress on both sides of the Tasman

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 7:00 p.m. by Sarah

End of day one at the ATUG Conference and the final panel discussion of the day neatly sums up where Australia is ahead of New Zealand and where it falls behind. Yesterday the Australian Labor Government announced a panel of six experts to assess the proposals for building the $4.7 billion National Broadband Network aimed at delivering 12Mbps to 98% of the population. So it’s making good on one of its main election policies – which Minister Conroy said this morning was the second largest policy...

Categories: Events | Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Regulatory

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Panel debates FTTH in Oz

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 5:26 p.m. by Ernie

What’s the way forward for Fibre to the Home in Australia? That’s the question a panel is debating here at the ATUG conference in Sydney. Already the country has at least 14 live FTTH developments, mainly initiated by property developers, and another 65 under way. Panelist Tony Malligeorgos of Ericsson said its all about business productivity. Digital TV is high profile but it’s the productivity benefits that are most economically compelling, in turn reflecting in increased jobs and welfare. The...

Categories: Events | Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs

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Is Operational Separation the silver bullet?

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 4:27 p.m. by Sarah

With 19 days to go before New Zealand celebrates Separation Day (assuming the Communications Minister and Telecom are able to meet to the March 31 deadline), it's been interesting to hear these varying perspectives on an ATUG panel discussion. On the panel are BT head of Global Interconnection Grant Forsyth, OECD telecommunications analyst Taylor Reynolds and TUANZ CEO Ernie Newman on the benefits – or otherwise - of operational separation: BT: Measures such as operational separation gain their...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory

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Taylor Reynolds and Ugly Betty

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 2:01 p.m. by Ernie

The OECD's Dr Taylor (Tad) Reynolds was one of the most memorable speakers at the TUANZ Telecommunications Day in Wellington in 2006, so it has been good to catch up with him again here at the ATUG conference in Sydney. Tad is a fan for the TV series "Ugly Betty." Because he lives in Paris he can only watch it live in French. So he downloads it on I-Tunes.Illustrating the enormous cost of data caps, he pointed out that in Australia downloading a single episode of Ugly Betty at...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Wireless carriers

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No Conflict Networks

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 1:05 p.m. by Sarah

The key to creating ubiquitous international broadband and voice services to rural, regional and metro users is an open access no-conflict fibre grid. That’s what Axia NetMedia Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Art Price has just told the ATUG audience. His company builds fibre networks around the world and he says that a fibre grid that connects every community in Australia would cost just $2.1 billion. This fibre backbone would then solve backhaul issues for wireless operators in the rural...

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NZ Institute Right on the Money

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 12:37 p.m. by Ernie

Another very timely and well-placed shot this morning in its report on broadband. Check for details under "User News" above.

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Aussie crusade against international data roaming prices

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 @ 12:10 p.m. by Ernie

I’m at the annual conference of ATUG, the Australian Telecommunications Users Group, from where Sarah and I will be blogging today and tomorrow. ATUG Managing Director Rosemary Sinclair in opening the Conference has just announced ATUG’s crusade for the year, which it always launches at the Annual Conference. Last year it was PACT – Protect Australia’s Competitive Telecommunications. This year it will be the Roam Fair Campaign, designed to deal with the exorbitant charges for international...

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ICT Skills crisis -a good initiative to help

Posted Fri 7 March 2008 @ 1:42 a.m. by Ernie

The shortage of ICT skills has reached new prominence in the last few months, becoming clearly one of the key barriers to New Zealand reaching the TUANZ objective of “Top Ten in the OECD for Communications Technology.” It is underlined almost every time I talk to our larger members, and the attendance by more than 70 very senior people from among the TUANZ membership at our “Skills Crisis” event last November illustrated the concern.As a result of the high profile of the issue I’ve been tracking...

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300,000-plus users now connected to ADSL2+ - Telecom Wholesale

Posted Thu 6 March 2008 @ 1:32 p.m. by Sarah

Telecom Wholesale has installed ADSL2+ DSLAMs (called ISLAMs) into 102 exchanges, connecting in excess of 300,000 end-users. This means that those living 1.5km to 2.0km from these exchange can now obtain peak speeds of up to 20Mbps, regardless of the ISP they are with. However Telecom Wholesale marketing manager Steve Pettigrew says that the speeds a user achieves depends on many factors – end-user’s modem, house-wiring, service provider allocated international capacity and backhaul, time of day...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs

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TCF floats code on disconnection

Posted Tue 4 March 2008 @ 5:54 a.m. by Ernie

The Telecommunications Carriers Forum has released for public comment its draft Code on Customer Disconnection. This project has been strongly supported by TUANZ as a means to establish fairness and uniformity around the disconnection of residential and SME customers, predominantly for non-payment of bills.Any TUANZ member wishing to express a view on the draft for inclusion in the TUANZ submission is invited to contact the TUANZ office on info@tuanz.org.nzPublic comments should go directly to the...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Wireless carriers

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