TUANZ - Telecomunications Users Association Of New Zealand

TUANZ - Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand

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Posted Wed 31 December 2008 @ 9:03 p.m. by Ernie

It made my new year's eve to see that Paul Swain, former Minister of Communications, has scored a QSM in the New Year Honours.Politics aside, most people agree that telecommunications was one element of the economy that the previous government handled with great distinction. A lot of the kudos has gone to the more flamboyant David Cunliffe who finished the job, but we should not forget that it was Swain who started it.Swain was a quiet achiever. He did his homework, made the hard calls,...

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Another Telecom outage!

Posted Wed 17 December 2008 @ 8:46 a.m. by Ernie

Doug Wilson, CIO of the Automobile Association and TUANZ Board member, writes in frustration as follows:"Telecom had another brief outage yesterday around lunchtime. We and I presume others lost phones for three minutes – I know that doesn’t sound long but we run an emergency service - and we have bought every service that Telecom sells to give us total resilience but they still have failures like this and the broadband one the other day."Now Doug is a pretty tolerant guy and doesn't complain...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Vendors

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Conroy's sword drops on Telstra

Posted Tue 16 December 2008 @ 2:41 a.m. by Ernie

In a day of drama reminiscent of New Zealand's "Telecommunications Mayday" of 3 May 2006, Aussie Minister Stephen Conroy has booted Telstra out of contention for the building of Australia's National Broadband Network. Telstra had failed to comply with the RFP conditions in respect of SME participation. The Australian reports that A$6 billion was dumped off Telstra's value in a savage market response.This dramatic move will rock the Aussie telecommunications sector like never before.I'm picking that...

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Utilities the way forward for fibre - report

Posted Tue 16 December 2008 @ 2:23 a.m. by Ernie

A report on broadband strategy options for New Zealand, commissioned by InternetNZ and written by Network Strategies, was released yesterday. It will be one of the most valuable contributions to the telecommunications policy debate this year, and a timely addition to the reading list for our new Minister, Hon Steven Joyce.Essentially the conclusion is that the best way forward for broadband in New Zealand is to harness the existing utilities with their pre-existing networks of underground and overhead...

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Shoot the Statistician, cries Vodafone

Posted Sun 14 December 2008 @ 3:28 p.m. by Ernie

Another quarter, another Commerce Commission Quarterly Monitoring Report, and another angry statement from Vodafone!Once again the legitimacy of including the contentious Vodafone "Base Plans" in Commerce Commission/OECD/Telegen benchmarking statistics is under debate. The Commission has again chosen to exclude these from the range of plans it measures and Vodafone is crying foul. Without "Base" we are among the half dozen dearest countries in the OECD in which to run a cell phone; if they...

Categories: TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

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TUANZ calls for end of mobile duopoly

Posted Fri 12 December 2008 @ 2:16 p.m. by Louis

In a media statement issued today, TUANZ Chief Executive Ernie Newman has said New Zealand desperately needs a third mobile network to break the current duopoly of Telecom and Vodafone. This was in response to the Commerce Commission’s Key Statistics for Telecommunications for the September quarter report released this morning. “We are in the dearest half dozen OECD countries in terms of mobile phone pricing and this is costing the average Kiwi hundreds of dollars each year,” says Ernie. “New...

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

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Sharing is caring on Swiss FTTH network

Posted Thu 11 December 2008 @ 12:36 p.m. by Louis

The Swiss are getting fibre-to-the-home next year and whatsmore, Swisscom, the Swiss equivalent of our own Telecom, is playing nicely by laying enough cables at the same time for other providers to use too. Swisscom aims to connect 100,000 households to its new fibre network by the end of 2009 and has already started rolling out FTTH and FTTO (fibre-to-the-office) in Zurich, Basel and Geneva. Other cities will be added to the network during the course of next year and Swisscom will launch fibre-based...

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

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A historic day for telecommunications!

Posted Wed 10 December 2008 @ 1:23 p.m. by Ernie

This is a special blog. It is the first one I have ever posted over a Fibre to the Farm connection. Just maybe, it is the first blog ever posted across a FTTH connection in New Zealand? This farm’s connection is only a day or two old.Here today at Mangamaire, telecommunications history has been made with the official launch of fibre to Mangamaire School, together with a small but rapidly increasing number of homes and farms in the area.Mangamaire, for those who don’t know, is best described as an...

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Barack plans to boost broadband adoption

Posted Wed 10 December 2008 @ 11:29 a.m. by Louis

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is in good company believing that better broadband can be a stimulus for economic development. United States President-elect Barack Obama has included broadband roll-out as part of a massive economic recovery package he is proposing. Obama plans to push for the largest government-funded infrastructure programme the US has seen since the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s as a way to stimulate the struggling US economy. The programme...

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Key confirms commitment to ultra-fast broadband network

Posted Tue 9 December 2008 @ 4:01 p.m. by Louis

Rolling out an ultra-fast broadband network is still very high on the new National-led Government’s agenda, John Key confirmed in his first speech to Parliament as Prime Minister. Accelerating the roll-of an ultra-fast national broadband network was named in the speech among a number of infrastructure projects through which Key’s government aims to stimulate the economy. In the speech, read in Parliament by Governor General Anand Satyanand, Key said a “step-up” in infrastructure investment, along...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | TUANZ policy

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Better broadband experience the focus for Telecom Retail

Posted Mon 8 December 2008 @ 4:28 p.m. by Louis

Telecom Retail today gave a gathering of journalists and analysts an update over lunch on some of its recent developments and a preview of upcoming initiatives. Home & Broadband Director Ralph Brayham said Telecom’s approach to the retail market has transformed greatly under the influence of Paul Reynolds, who became group CEO last year. Brayham acknowledged things are bit more complicated for Telecom since local loop unbundling and its operational separation, saying people in the company...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Vendors | Wireless carriers

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Five hundred Whispers closer to faster broadband

Posted Fri 5 December 2008 @ 11:25 a.m. by Louis

Telecom’s network business, Chorus, has already made 500 of its new Whisper roadside cabinets, which are central to the company’s plan to deliver faster broadband. The “milestone” 500th cabinet rolled off the production line in Christchurch earlier this week. The cabinets are part of Telecom’s fibre to the node project to upgrade its broadband infrastructure. The project will see Chorus install and upgrade about 3,600 Whisper cabinets, as well as connect a further 2,500kms of fibre optic cable...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs | Vendors

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EC takes aim at German MTRs

Posted Fri 5 December 2008 @ 9:32 a.m. by Louis

The European Commission has asked Germany to provide details of the country's mobile termination rates or face legal action. In a letter to German regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), the commission requested it be notified of all German mobile operators' termination rates. The EC says MTRs are relatively high in Germany compared to several other member states. It aims to ensure “more coherent and transparent termination rates across Europe, thereby avoiding distortions of competition between...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Vendors | Wireless carriers

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No luck from Telecom for spotty SH3 coverage

Posted Thu 4 December 2008 @ 12:18 p.m. by Louis

Telecom is unlikely to come to the aid of travellers along a long and winding stretch of State Highway 3, where mobile phone coverage is almost non-existent. Instead, the company says its ‘total focus” is on getting its new Wideband CDMA network up and running. As reported yesterday, New Plymouth resident Chris O'Connor has started a petition over less than adequate cell phone coverage along a treacherous stretch of SH3 between Urenui in Taranaki to Piopio in Waikato, and has taken the matter...

Categories: TUANZ policy | Vendors | Wireless carriers

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The long and winding road to cell phone coverage

Posted Wed 3 December 2008 @ 4:59 p.m. by Louis

A petition for improved mobile phone coverage along a treacherous piece of State Highway 3 is gaining momentum. The petition, organised by New Plymouth resident Chris O'Connor, aims to increase awareness to the shortfalls in cell phone coverage from Urenui in Taranaki to Piopio in Waikato. “This is a hilly and twisty terrain where there is little or no cell phone coverage for about one-and-a-half hours of drive time,” says Chris. “This is a real safety concern for the people in the area and support...

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

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New body to give ‘frustrated’ Aussie telco users a ‘voice’

Posted Wed 3 December 2008 @ 12:34 p.m. by Louis

The Australian Government has announced a $700,000 grant that it says will advance consumer representation in the telecommunications sector. The grant will be used to establish a new peak representative body, the Australian Communications Consumers Action Network (ACCAN) by July 2009. Announcing the grant, Australia’s Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy said: "Consumers are frustrated that their needs and complaints are not adequately recognised by telecommunications...

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

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Maori Technology Hui - Inspired Timing!

Posted Wed 3 December 2008 @ 12:17 p.m. by Ernie

I've spent the morning giving the opening presentation at a Maori Technology Hui here in Wellington, organised by the Te Huarahi Tika Trust. There was a great crowd - I'd guess around 80 people, standing room only, with an excellent programme. It occurred to me that despite having given oodles of presentations over the years this was the first time I had ever presented to a specifically Maori audience. Slightly daunting.The organisers had asked me to set the scene, so my presentation covered off...

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Europe to get cheaper roaming

Posted Tue 2 December 2008 @ 10:49 a.m. by Louis

Europeans can look forward to dramatically lower texting and mobile data roaming cost from next July. European Union ministers have endorsed a proposal by the European Commission (EC) to dramatically cut the cost of texting and mobile data across member states. The changes, due to take effect from July 2009, will see roamers pay no more than €0.11 (NZ$0.24) per text – down from a current average of €0.29 (NZ$0.64). A €1 (NZ$ 2.20) per megabyte safeguard limit for wholesale data roaming fees...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | TUANZ policy

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