TUANZ - Telecomunications Users Association Of New Zealand

Callplus/Slingshot dial up mobile deal

Posted Wed 29 April 2009 @ 10:25 a.m. by Louis

The wholesale mobile market is heating up, as CallPlus will soon launch mobile services over the Vodafone network. The company will launch its mobile offering under both its CallPlus and Slingshot brands from August. The announcement comes in the same week as Telecom confirmed the launch date of its new 3G network, while New Zealand Communications revealed it will announce its launch date on May 11. Meanwhile, Orcon has said it will launch its mobile offering over the Vodafone network in August...

Categories: ISPs | Vendors | Wireless carriers

Regional players form united fibre front

Posted Tue 28 April 2009 @ 2:34 p.m. by Louis

A collection of nine lines companies and local fibre companies have rallied into a single group to call for a nationally aligned, regionally based model for the Government’s proposed ultrafast broadband roll-out, based on transparent, open access principles. The New Zealand Regional Fibre Group has made a collective submission to the Government on its Broadband Investment Initiative, on behalf of its nine members. They include: Vector in Auckland, Dunedin’s Aurora Electricity, Northpower, Waikato-based...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | Regulatory | Vendors

Government's fibre paper - TUANZ submission lodged

Posted Tue 28 April 2009 @ 9:54 a.m. by Ernie

TUANZ has lodged our submission on the government's fibre paper. Our key points are: Strong support in principle Recent moves by other countries mean the targets (75% of population in 10 years) now look too soft; acceleration is needed Dark fibre is generally the right level at which to mandate open access but there may be exceptions where in low-volume areas layer 2 open access is preferable Local government should be required to notify the local fibre company of all streetworks Scheme...

T-Day (or is that XT-Day) set for May 13

Posted Mon 27 April 2009 @ 1:01 p.m. by Louis

Telecom has this morning announced that it will launch its new 3G mobile network, branded XT Mobile Network, ahead of schedule on May 13. The XT brand was unveiled last week with the launch of a teaser ad campaign featuring Top Gear star Richard Hammond, but today’s announcement is Telecom’s first official confirmation of the new brand. Telecom says XT Network will bring “world class” 3G mobile service to 97% of places where Kiwis live and work from launch date. The network was scheduled to launch...

Categories: Events | Vendors | Wireless carriers

Does cyberslacking make your blood Boyle?

Posted Fri 24 April 2009 @ 12:51 p.m. by Louis

Cyberslacking reportedly costs companies millions in lost productivity each year, but with a world wide web out there teeming with fun and exciting stuff to watch and listen to, is it any wonder people get lured into chewing up their employers bandwidth for their own personal entertainment? One of the top causes of cyberslacking in the past few weeks must be thanks to runaway success of one Susan Boyle – an unassuming Scottish woman, who has become a global internet sensation. Over 100 million...

Categories: Light relief | TUANZ policy

Qualcomm to host After 5s in May

Posted Thu 23 April 2009 @ 5:00 p.m. by Louis

After a couple of months’ break, the TUANZ After 5s will return in May. Hosted by Qualcomm, the May After 5s will take place on the following dates: Monday, 18 May – The Chateau on the Park, Christchurch Tuesday, 19 May – James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington Wednesday, 20 May – Ibis Hotel, Hamilton Thursday, 21 May – Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland More details of the programme will be available early next week, when registrations will also open. The After 5s provide great networking...

Categories: Events | Vendors

TUANZ and NorthPower invite TUANZ members on a fibre field trip

Posted Thu 23 April 2009 @ 4:32 p.m. by Ernie

TUANZ members are invited to take part in a field visit to NorthPower’s Fibre to the Business installation in Whangarei, on 28 and 29 May. Recent publicity around NorthPower – including this TUANZ blog - has attracted a great deal of interest. By using the overhead electricity line corridor, NorthPower has shown a lead in a deployment that offers a robust platform at low cost. It has attracted the attention of policy makers, other lines companies, local authorities and other telecommunications...

Telecom employs web wonders to push new mobile brand

Posted Thu 23 April 2009 @ 3:31 p.m. by Louis

How is this for a spooky coincidence? As I was reading this article on Stuff about how Telecom plans to respond to the Government's $1.5 billion fibre plan, what should pop-up, but a video ad for XT Network – Telecom’s new mobile network. The video was of the same TV commercial, featuring Top Gear star Richard Hammond, which debuted during prime time last night. Was this just a confidence or an example of really clever online marketing? I vote for clever marketing… Cursory research into the...

Categories: Vendors | Wireless carriers

Telecom launches into Top Gear for new network

Posted Thu 23 April 2009 @ 10:16 a.m. by Louis

Is it a car? Is it a mobile phone? These were some of the initial thoughts that raced through my mind halfway through a new TV ad last night featuring Top Gear star and motoring nut Richard Hammond. Then, near the end, it was all revealed – well kind of… the ad for was XT Network and directed you to a site called testdrive.co.nz. All that the ad hinted at is that this is New Zealand’s newest, fastest network – and the images of mobile phones made it clear Mr Hammond was talking about a mobile...

Categories: Vendors | Wireless carriers

Orcon means business with new unbundled deal

Posted Tue 21 April 2009 @ 4:47 p.m. by Louis

Orcon has become the first ISP to offer an unbundled internet plan for business, the NBR reports. The new deal is aimed at small business and gives them the option to add one or two extra phone lines for $25 a month excluding GST each if they sign up to an Orcon@Work Silver+ business plan. The NBR quotes Orcon chief executive Scott Bartlett as saying the deal will suit small business who need a second line for Eftpos or fax, but “resent having to pay Telecom full whack for it”. A second business...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Vendors

Learnings from APECTel

Posted Mon 20 April 2009 @ 11:24 a.m. by Ernie

The great thing about my 6-monthly catch up with the APECTel meetings is the diversity of the information I glean, along with new ways of thinking about and expressing the complex challenges and issues facing users in this dynamic sector. So despite the intrusion on routine work and the inevitable misery of jet lag, I look forward to these events. Singapore last week was no exception. There’s quite a fraternity of regular attendees. I was able to get quality time with my Australian counterpart...

Submissions sought on Telecom separation change

Posted Fri 17 April 2009 @ 12:31 p.m. by Louis

ICT Minister Steven Joyce has asked for feedback on a request by Telecom for the government to consider a proposed variation of its operational separation undertakings. Although the request relates to Telecom's ability to “facilitate more efficient delivery of services to its wholesale customers”, it is not linked to the government's recent announcement of its ultra-fast broadband investment proposal. The operational separation of Telecom, which saw it being split into three separate business...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Regulatory | Vendors

Snail's pace download speeds perplex gamers

Posted Thu 16 April 2009 @ 4:12 p.m. by Louis

Now here’s something that is a bit different from our usual focus – download speeds for online gaming services. Gaming website ButtonMasher reports that several gamers are experiencing excruciatingly slow download speeds through the Xbox Live service, accessed directly from the Xbox gaming console. For instance, one gamer reported it took over 16 hours to download a 328Mb map pack for Halo 3. That is slow by anyone’s standards! The problem does not seem to be isolated to any particular...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | TUANZ policy

More musings on mobile market…

Posted Wed 15 April 2009 @ 10:58 a.m. by Louis

Well the Germans are a chatty bunch – especially on their mobiles. New figures show that in 2008, Germans spent 150.2 billion minutes on their mobile phones. This is up from 136.5 billion in 2007. It means that a German citizen called 30.5 hours on average with their mobile phone, 10 percent more than in 2007. In comparison, mobile calling in New Zealand increased by 16 percent for the 2007/08 financial year according to the Commerce Commission’s latest annual telecommunications monitoring report. Even...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Vendors | Wireless carriers

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International roaming charges get APECTel fizzing

Posted Wed 15 April 2009 @ 9:24 a.m. by Ernie

I’m at the 6-monthly meeting of the APEC Telecommunications and IT Working Group here in Singapore for the week. These gatherings are a treasure trove of information, insights, and networking opportunities among policy makers, regulators, and a respectable handful of industry people and user representatives. By nature the gatherings are cordial and smooth-running. Government policy people are conservative and considered. Excitement is rare. But yesterday’s half day workshop on international mobile...

Categories: Education | Events | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

Power companies line up as fibre contenders

Posted Tue 14 April 2009 @ 4:37 p.m. by Louis

Another electricity lines company may throw its hat in the ring to become a partner with the Government in a Local Fibre company (LFC). According to a report in the Dominion Post yesterday, Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure, which owns lines company Wellington Electricity, will consider building a fibre access network in the city. Auckland’s Vector has previously clearly signalled its interest in becoming involved in the Government’s planned $1.5 billion investment in ultrafast broadband....

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | Vendors

Telco capex up, but mobile still lagging: ComCom report

Posted Tue 14 April 2009 @ 1:24 p.m. by Louis

New Zealanders still make fewer mobile calls than people in other comparable countries, even though the country boasts a mobile penetration rate of 108 percent. This is according to the Commerce Commission’s annual telecommunications monitoring report for 2008, which highlights many positive developments in the industry, as well as areas that need further improvement. The report states New Zealand’s mobile calling volumes as a percentage of total calling volumes remain low by international standards,...

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Fibre - look up to Whangarei!

Posted Thu 9 April 2009 @ 7:29 a.m. by Ernie

Next time you're in the north, look up! Northpower, take a big bow!While the debate rages about the technological, environmental, financial and engineering issues surrounding a fibre optic business and residential deployment, the Whangarei-based lines company has quietly gone ahead and done it. It’s Ethernet-based EPON. No expensive ducting, no frills, but absolutely no cut corners. With breathtaking simplicity along with engineering rigour, they’ve deployed fibre along the overhead power corridor...

Will unbundling cabinets be “commercially senseless” for Telecom rivals?

Posted Wed 8 April 2009 @ 11:46 a.m. by Louis

New questions have been raised on how Telecom’s cabinetisation plans will impact the future competitive landscape for fixed-line and broadband services. This NBR article argues that it may be “commercially senseless” for Telecom rivals such as Vodafone and Orcon to install their own equipment into cabinets in a “mini-me version” of unbundling that has already taken place in Auckland and Wellington exchanges. The story is based on an interview with Vodafone’s David Diprose who argues that physical...

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

Australia goes bold on FTTH plan

Posted Tue 7 April 2009 @ 3:13 p.m. by Louis

The Australian Government has borrowed the New Zealand Government’s fibre plan and supersized it. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced today that his government will build a A$43 billion fibre network that will deliver broadband speeds up to 100 megabits per second to 90% of Australian homes, businesses and schools. All other premises will get speeds of 12 megabits per second delivered through next generation wireless and satellite technologies. Like its local counterpart, the Australian...

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

TUANZ and IDC team up to host events

Posted Tue 7 April 2009 @ 2:12 p.m. by Louis

TUANZ has reached a partnership deal with research firm IDC New Zealand to jointly host several events, including the TUANZ Contact Centre Awards, Innovation Awards and Rural Broadband Conference.The TUANZ Contact Centre Awards will be the first event to be run under the new partnership and will be held on 18 August 2009. The Innovation Awards meanwhile are scheduled for 3 September. Events such as these are an important platform to inform, educate and discuss relevant topics, challenges and opportunities...

Categories: Events | TUANZ policy

Use your mobile on the plane - Wahoo????

Posted Sat 4 April 2009 @ 6:38 p.m. by Ernie

I hadn't noticed until now, but using our mobiles in flight is now a technical and commercial reality. In Europe in fact, it is here and now. Not on a great scale admittedly - if you fly in Europe tomorrow morning your odds of being on a mobile-equippped aircraft are about one in 200. Ryan Air, TAP Portugal, and BMI are the only three airlines on the game thus far.On one level its exciting. I'd love to be able to make the occasional call, or SMS exchange, on my regular milk run between Auckland and...

Categories: Innovation | Light relief | Wireless carriers

How New Zealand SMEs are using ICT

Posted Thu 2 April 2009 @ 11:24 a.m. by Ernie

Help please!I'm heading off to the 6-monthly meeting of APECTel, the telecomms and IT working group of APEC, the week after next.I've been roped in to give 2 or 3 presentations. One of these is to an Industry Roundtable session, where I have to do 10 minutes showcasing 3 or 4 small to medium businesses who are using ICT in genuinely innovative ways.I've got my usual repertoire of good news stories, but some of the material needs refreshing.If you know of a really good story about a SME revitalising...

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

Comcom - ongoing role for Rebstock

Posted Thu 2 April 2009 @ 9:30 a.m. by Ernie

Recently-resigned Commerce Commission chair Paula Rebstock is to stay on specifically to provide continuity in the large amount of telecommunications work still in progress, the Commission announced this morning.Chair Dr Mark Berry says that "pending the resolution of issues relating to the telecommunications commissioner role" Ms Rebstock will continue to sit as a Commissioner in relevant issues. Full details on the Commission site.Meanwhile it is understood that ministerial responsibility for the...

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