TUANZ

Broadband investment fund - more information

Posted Tue 27 May 2008 @ 8:29 p.m. by Ernie

The government's policy on broadband investment was announced in the Budget last Thursday and covered in previous blog postings.On Thursday of this week, 29 May, Minister Cunliffe will be giving more details of the Fund as part of the launch of the new Digital Development Council.The Minister has this afternoon requested that TUANZ invite our members to take part in this 30-45 minute event, in Wellington at 11.45am Thursday, Details attached. RSVPs are requested, to the address given, but are...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy

Zero out of 18 for NCEA - dismal failure

Posted Tue 27 May 2008 @ 8:17 a.m. by Ernie

Every one of eighteen generic and ICT-related NCEA Technology Achievement Standards independently assessed by a panel of senior tertiary level academics under the auspices of the NZ Computer Society, has failed.Not one of the 18 met the criteria of appropriateness to prepare students for tertiary computer science study, nor for the assessment of end user computing. Not even one.What's more, the failure has been acknowledged by the Ministry of Education. "The knowledge and skills associated with Computer...

Categories: Education | Events | Innovation | TUANZ policy

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Charting the way to ubiquitous, high speed internet

Posted Mon 26 May 2008 @ 3:23 p.m. by Sarah

TUANZ has submitted its response to the Draft Digital Strategy 2.0 to the Ministry of Economic Development. In the submission we welcome the concept of an inspirational strategy that is ‘owned by New Zealand, not just the government’. However we question whether the Strategy in its present form will “chart a way forward to ubiquitous, high-speed internet for all New Zealanders.” According to the Economist Intelligence Unit – quoted on page 42 of the draft strategy – New Zealand could boost its...

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

The morning after the budget

Posted Fri 23 May 2008 @ 4:49 p.m. by Ernie

So I’ve slept on the Budget. Among the comments I made was the summary that I was “under whelmed” with the broadband investment plan. I guess when you use language like that its inevitable that the media pick the word for a headline, especially when they’re under heavy time pressure to compile the Budget issue. It got a bit more exposure than I’d bargained on when I wrote it on this blog. So this morning I mused whether “under whelmed” was a fair statement on reflection,...

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Labour announces broadband policy

Posted Thu 22 May 2008 @ 2:22 p.m. by Ernie

The government announced its policy on broadband within the Budget this afternoon. I had the unusual experience of sitting through the lockup for media and analysts. The highlight is expenditure of $325 million over five years in the framework of a Broadband Investment Fund based on contestable grants available to any legal entity including local government, power and phone companies, and community groups. A good deal of detail has been released. There will be quite a complex...

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Long road to Fibre

Posted Wed 21 May 2008 @ 1:16 p.m. by Sarah

Good to see that New Zealand has risen one place to 19 out of 30 in the all-important broadband penetration rankings for the OECD. We've still a long way to go until this country achieves the TUANZ target of being in the top ten in the OECD for communications technology but at least New Zealand is now in the top 20. Incidentally the top five countries for broadband penetration are, in order of first to fifth – Denmark, Netherlands, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. In...

Categories: Regulatory

A Cabinet deployed every 85 minutes

Posted Wed 21 May 2008 @ 12:44 p.m. by Sarah

Telecom’s cabinetisation programme is intended to connect 750,000 premises throughout New Zealand with broadband speeds of between 10Mbps and 20Mbps by 2012. What that means in practical terms is 3600 new cabinets built and deployed and 2,500kms of fibre laid (which Chorus’s publicity points out is greater than the distance from Cape Reinga to Bluff). Chorus Chief Executive Mark Ratcliffe explained these numbers to TUANZ members at the Christchurch After 5s yesterday evening. Earlier in...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs

Telepresence is just AMAZING!

Posted Wed 21 May 2008 @ 7:19 a.m. by Ernie

Wow! That's all I can say after experiencing a live telepresence session in a purpose-built venue at the opening of Cisco's new Auckland office yesterday.Cisco of course is not the only vendor in the telepresence space - there are others including high-profile Asnet who demonstrated the technology to great effect at the TUANZ "After 5s" a few weeks ago.But for me the difference in the Cisco demo was that for the first time I experienced telepresence in the full glory - in a purpose-built suite...

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

Capital injection for NZ Comms brings third network nearer

Posted Mon 19 May 2008 @ 12:37 p.m. by Ernie

US telecommunications investor Trilogy has this afternoon announced it has taken a 25% holding in NZ Communications, which has been soldiering along since 2000 building a third mobile network.Trilogy is a serious international player whose experience includes establishing Ireland's third network, Meteor, into an already full market.Hopefully this will give a new lease of life to NZ Communications and its irrepressible front man Tex Edwards who has been so tenacious and driven, against the odds,...

Categories: Innovation | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Doing God's Work

Posted Fri 16 May 2008 @ 12:07 p.m. by Sarah

It's not always easy to fight the good fight, but there is a kind of halo effect created when you're on the side of the User. This was undoubtably picked up by Graeme Hill on Radio Live this morning. His closing remarks in an interview with the TUANZ Chief Executive on the high price of mobile calls were: "Okay, Ernie Newman, you're doing God's work; good on you."

Categories: Light relief | TUANZ policy

Barrier to mobile entry removed

Posted Thu 15 May 2008 @ 2:58 p.m. by Sarah

A significant barrier to mobile competition has been removed with the announcement by Minister Cunliffe today that Telecom and Vodafone have sold cellular spectrum to NZ Communications. The 800 Mhz and 900 Mhz bands have better quality and longer reach, enabling a more cost effective deployment. They will also accommodate 4G services in the future. When these bands were first allocated by the government, it was only to the established network owners - effectively denying new entrants access to...

Categories: Regulatory | Wireless carriers

Lessons from Telecommunications Day

TUANZ in the top ten

Posted Wed 14 May 2008 @ 2:13 p.m. by Sarah

Was rather chuffed to see TUANZ make the top ten of technology sites for New Zealand users in the recent Neilsen Netratings survey. Obviously still hard at work on that other TUANZ goal – New Zealand reaching top ten in the OECD for communications technology.

Categories: TUANZ policy

Comments (1)

Posted Wed 14 May 2008 @ 10:18 a.m. by Sarah

As expected, the two most high-profile presentations on Telecommunications Day were those delivered by international keynote David Isenberg and Communications Minister David Cunliffe. Herald blogger Peter Griffin summed up both speeches rather nicely at the time, and he reported on National deputy leader Bill English’s presentation the next day. His colleague Adam Gifford also spoke to Isenberg, as did Dominion Post reporter Jon Hoyle.On the Telecommunications Day page of our website you can read...

Simon Moutter moving on

Posted Wed 14 May 2008 @ 9:29 a.m. by Ernie

Simon Moutter resigning from Telecom is an important moment in our telecommunications history.I first ran into Simon shortly after he started there around 2000 when we both spoke at an IPENZ conference late on a Saturday afternoon. He ran over time and cut me short - intruding into drinks time - so we had a bit of banter about it. And I've come across him off and on over the years since.Personally I've found Simon one of the nicest people in Telecom - personable, open and engaging,...

Categories: Fixed line carriers

Just 182 unhappy customers in four months

Posted Mon 12 May 2008 @ 5:19 p.m. by Sarah

So the first Quarterly Report from the Telecommunication Dispute Resolution scheme arrived in the mail today and I immediately had a look to see how many people complained. Given that TUANZ is often a port of call for desperate users, I was a little surprised to see that between December 2007 and March 2008 only 275 complaints had been received, and of these only 182 were relevant to telcos (what were the other 93 calling about?). Of these, just five complaints have progressed to the negotiation...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Wireless carriers

Mobile price benchmarking - "Commerce Commission fixated on...a preconceived conclusion" - Vodafone

Posted Sun 11 May 2008 @ 5:55 p.m. by Ernie

The contentious issue of which Vodafone plans should legitimately be included in the OECD and Commerce Commission price comparisons is back in the spotlight.A previous clash in this fractious debate seemed to have come to an amicable end just a week ago when TUANZ shouted after work drinks for some Vodafone staff to acknowledge that Vodafone appeared to have justified its claim that New Zealand prices had fallen in relative terms. But Amy Williams of the National Business...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

"You don't open your mouth at minus 20 degrees unless you've got something important to say"

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 4:43 p.m. by Ernie

Finland and New Zealand have a huge amount in common, so why is Finland a world leader while New Zealand languishes? “From agriculture to leading global economy in just 50 years” is the title of the final address at the Telecommunications Day today by Dr Stuart Corson. Finland, he notes, is an example of leading economy within a welfare state. It spends the 3rd highest percentage of GDP on R&D of any country. Many Finns still live in small villages but cellphone coverage is strong...

Categories: Events | Innovation

New TUANZ Board

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 4:07 p.m. by Sarah

At the TUANZ Annual General Meeting it was announced we have a new Chairman and four newly elected board members. The full board is as follows: ChairmanChris O’Connell, Radar GuidanceBoard membersMerv AltmentsDavid Boyes, Westpac NZKevin Drinkwater, Mainfreight LtdMichael Foley, VocoDavid GatlandJane Hindle, Enterprise Northland TrustPeter Muggleston, ASB BankPat O’Connell, Carter Holt Harvey LtdBruce Turner, Connell Wagner LtdDoug Wilson, NZ Automobile Association

Categories: TUANZ policy

2014 or 2018

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 2:17 p.m. by Sarah

Minister David Cunliffe didn’t choose today to announce Labour’s broadband package but he did confirm there is one. He also said the goal was to bring Fibre to the Home in ten years time. It’s after lunch and Bill English has just left the stage, after an open invitation to the industry to contribute to National’s commitment to providing $1.5 billion for Fibre to the Home in five years - as David Farrar has noted on his blog. Looks like broadband is firmly on the election agenda.

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation

New roles at TUANZ

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 1:54 p.m. by Ernie

We've made a couple of key changes in our team here at TUANZ.Sarah Putt, previously Marketing Manager and Online Editor, is shifting to a new role as Policy and Communications Manager. In this role Sarah will focus on policy issues, including competition policy, digital strategy, fibre and the like. She will retain her responsibility for all elements of our communications including masterminding our blogs.Meanwhile Bernice Archer has re-joined our team as Key Relationships Manager, focusing on running...

Categories: Events

Line up

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 1:35 p.m. by Sarah

One of the highlights of every Telecommunications Day is the panel discussion with the top carrier Chief Executives. This year they were joined by TUANZ CEO Ernie Newman. Plenty of questions around open access, public private investment and the skills shortage but perhaps the most surprising aspect of the panel was that TelstraClear Chief Executive Allan Freeth wore t-shirt and jeans. The reason for his informal attire? The announcement of a new TelstraClear website targeted at the $100...

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

Government toughening up on mobile

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 11:41 a.m. by Ernie

The government has just announced its decision on the Commerce Commission's recommendations on mobile roaming.The Commission recently recommended new terms for the national mobile roaming service, but recommended that the price of roaming remain outside the scope of the regulation.The government has today accepted the new Terms, but reserved its position on pricing. This means that the prospect of a price-regulated roaming service is right back on the table.This will please the flamboyant Tex Edwards...

Number eight initiative

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 10:24 a.m. by Sarah

Fibre to every home, business, farm and marae is achievable if you harness that good ole Kiwi tradition – the number eight wire mentality. That was just one of several strong messages in TUANZ Chief Executive Ernie Newman’s speech this morning. “The solution to me is simple. Practically every farm and rural property in this country already has a line of poles going to it. Stringing fibre cable across the existing electricity or phone corridor, possibly using community labour such as groups of farmers...

NZ drops two places on e-readiness - loses 7 places against Australia

Posted Thu 8 May 2008 @ 10:23 a.m. by Ernie

This is really, really bad news especially coming on TUANZ Telecommunications Day.New Zealand has fallen from 14th to 16th on The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual e-readiness rankings.Meanwhile Australia has jumped from 9th to 4th.Given the focus the government has put on the Digital Strategy over the past several years this is not the news we want to hear.I'm at the Telecommunications Day but will study the figures in detail and blog more thoroughly later in the week.