TUANZ - Telecomunications Users Association Of New Zealand

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Mobile termination - Commission draft report predictable and welcome

Posted Tue 30 June 2009 @ 1:45 p.m. by Ernie

You don't need me to tell you that the Commerce Commission has issued a draft report this morning signalling that mobile termination rates should be more than halved - from around 15c to 7.2 cents a minute. Cents a minute always sound small so lets translate. Suppose you spend 10 minutes a day on calls to mobiles. At present you account for $1.50 a day, or $534 a year in MTRs which, one way or other, find their way back through the system onto your fixed and mobile bills. If the ComCom...

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Sky reaches its limit with data caps

Posted Tue 30 June 2009 @ 1:27 p.m. by Louis

Anyone who has ever asked what business benefits ultra-fast broadband can deliver should pose this question to Sky TV. In fact, ask any broadcaster. In a time when illegal downloading of music, movies and TV shows is rife, broadcasters have had to adapt by themselves offering free or low-cost download services to their audiences. And while this may cannibalise audiences for their broadcast services to some degree, it also reaches those people they will just not pin down in front of a TV screen...

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

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Why we're all feeling busy!

Posted Mon 29 June 2009 @ 3:31 p.m. by Ernie

Tom Pullar-Strecker of the DomPost has compiled this list of the regulatory issues facing Telecom which he calls "Telecom's Seven Struggles." Its quite a perceptive analysis.If Tom's predictions are right Telecom is in for something like one win and four losses, with two more too close to call. So what about users? How will they fare if Tom is right?RESALE - The Commission would be right to reject Telecom's request at this time especially with new entrants smarting at the setbacks...

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More essential reading on MTRs

Posted Mon 29 June 2009 @ 10:48 a.m. by Louis

As we wrote last week, today is D-day for the Commerce Commission’s ruling on mobile termination rates. We will of course share details of the ruling with our members as soon as they are available. But in the meantime, for those of you who missed the reporting from last week’s 10th annual Telecommunications and ICT Summit, check out this article by the NBR’s Chris Keall that provides great background on why this issue is critical for the future of competition in the mobile market. Chris writes...

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

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Summit hears calls for cross-sector thinking, a broadband vision and rural investment

Posted Fri 26 June 2009 @ 2:52 p.m. by Louis

Can New Zealand overcome sectoral silos to deliver a vision for broadband that also answers the demands on its primary sectors, such as rural communities? This question summarises some of the main points raised on day two of this week’s 10th Annual Telecommunications and ICT Summit (Telcon 10 for short). While Ernie has given a good overview of the day one's highlights, here now is an overview from the second day. At risk of coming across as being self-serving, I would say that TUANZ’s Ernie...

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Full steam ahead again - "TUANZ After 5s" are back

Posted Fri 26 June 2009 @ 12:30 p.m. by Ernie

WE'RE BACK!For all the time I've been around TUANZ the After 5s has rolled along month after month, with willing vendors keen to host our members and show off their wares. There's been the odd one-month gap, but rarely.Until the recession, that is. The first half of this year there's been a famine.But no longer. Hosts are coming back. Our old friends Asnet are hosting in July, we have another high-profile vendor signed for August, and then every month bar one committed for the rest of the year. it's...

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D day next week for mobile termination

Posted Fri 26 June 2009 @ 11:10 a.m. by Ernie

Monday next will be the day the long saga of pulling back New Zealand's obscene mobile termination charges takes an important step forward.Users understand the issues only too well, but lets recap:* High termination charges had their origin when mobile was first introduced, as a means to offset the high initial cost of handsets and so get some early critical mass* Since mobile became ubiquitous, they've become a huge industry slush fund. All mobile carriers with substantial market power are...

Categories: Wireless carriers

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Watch out! Pirates about

Posted Fri 26 June 2009 @ 10:11 a.m. by Louis

One issue which many speakers and delegates at this week’s ICT Summit bemoaned was the high cost of international bandwidth. And rightly so, high international bandwidth costs inflate the price of broadband access for Kiwis and is one of the reasons ISPs need to impose data caps. These factors are surely inhibiting users from getting the full potential from their broadband access.At issue is the fact that essentially we have just one undersea cable connecting us to the rest of the world. While...

Categories: ISPs | Light relief | Vendors

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Carriers - be more optimistic about fibre

Posted Wed 24 June 2009 @ 12:34 p.m. by Louis

TUANZ chief executive Ernie Newman has called on telecommunications carriers to be more optimistic about the demand for and benefits of a fibre network and the Government’s commitment to invest in ultra-fast broadband.Speaking at the 10th annual Telecommunications and ICT Summit today in Auckland, Ernie said telecommunications users – TUANZ members – have sent loud and sustained signals that they want much more telco products and much faster so they can lead better and richer lives.However, many...

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

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ComCom presentation to conference - Essential Reading

Posted Tue 23 June 2009 @ 3:23 p.m. by Ernie

So as promised in my earlier posting, here’s the link to Anita Mazzoleni’s speech today. In my view it was the richest and most thoughtful presentation of the day, and is well worth a read. Her comments about the mobile market were especially pertinent, and I quote in part: “The New Zealand mobile market is currently characterised by relatively high SMS usage, possibly reflecting much higher voice prices, and a significant disparity between on-net and off-net retail pricing, with on-net accounting,...

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From the Telecomms Summit on a Slow News Day

Posted Tue 23 June 2009 @ 1:16 p.m. by Ernie

I’m sitting in the Conferenz Telecommunications Summit, listening to speakers and getting my thinking together for my own presentation tomorrow. In summary, it’s been a quiet morning. Minister Steven Joyce was the only speaker to have said anything really new. He announced that there is a couple of months delay in the government’s process for its fibre initiative. This is disappointing. Its hard to see why. We were led to expect an announcement before the end of June. Sure as the Minister said...

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NZ gets another low broadband score

Posted Mon 22 June 2009 @ 4:36 p.m. by Louis

A new global study lists New Zealand 25th out of 58 nations for household broadband penetration. According to the study, conducted by US-based research firm Strategy Analytics, New Zealand has a household broadband penetration rate of just 57%. Topping the study is South Korea with a penetration rate of 97%. Our Aussie neighbours come in at 11th place with a rate of 72%, while the US is ranked 20th with a rate of 60%. New Zealand is ranked lower in this study than on the OECD’s broadband penetration...

Categories: Education | Innovation | Regulatory | TUANZ policy

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Kiwi Share conflict hots up again

Posted Mon 22 June 2009 @ 3:54 p.m. by Ernie

The debate about the Kiwi Share - review or not review - took another step this morning. TUANZ spelt out our Board's position in the Dominion Post. This was in response to a Comment by InfoTech Editor Tom Pullar Strecker last week in which he was highly critical about an earlier item on this blog.I'm unconvinced by Tom's rebuttal and sticking to my guns. This thing is an anachronism from way back. Its driven 99% by emotion and 1% by logic. A series of politicians for over a decade has backed off...

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Free connections to entice Singaporeans onto fibre early

Posted Thu 18 June 2009 @ 5:27 p.m. by Louis

Singaporeans will be given enticing offers to encourage uptake of fibre to the premise services early. According to a report in Australian telecommunications newsletter, Communications Day, Singaporeans will be offered incentives such as lower prices for connections to buildings and initial free connections for end-users as the country’s fibre to the premise network rolls out. Two companies are responsible for the fibre roll-out in Singapore – the Opennet consortium, headed by Axia Netmedia with...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Innovation | ISPs | Vendors

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Sub-loop decision flawed; prices rivals out of the game: Orcon

Posted Thu 18 June 2009 @ 1:58 p.m. by Louis

Telecom competitors have been priced “out of the game” by the Commerce Commission determination on sub-loop unbundling released today, says Orcon. In a statement, Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett says the Commission’s determination is flawed and provides a pricing structure for unbundled sub-loop services that will inevitably lead to market domination by one player. “The service is prohibitively expensive – we simply cannot see any one player having the necessary fixed-line market share to deploy new...

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

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ComCom opens Chorus cabinets, but at a price

Posted Thu 18 June 2009 @ 10:58 a.m. by Louis

The Commerce Commission has granted Telecom competitors access to its roadside cabinets, and has set price terms for access to sub-loop services. However, the Commission’s decision on sub-loop unbundling has confirmed that the cost of providing services from one of the roadside cabinets is significantly higher than doing so from the local exchange. In a statement released today, the Commerce Commission acknowledges that the combined cost per customer for the unbundled sub-loop services is about...

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

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Joyce gives OK to changes to Telecom separation

Posted Wed 17 June 2009 @ 11:39 a.m. by Louis

The Government has granted Telecom’s wish for changes to its operational separation undertakings. However, while the changes promise to enable Telecom to better service its wholesale customers, implementing them will delay the unbundling of lines and backhaul by six to 12 months. Announcing that he has approved the variation, which Telecom asked for earlier this year, Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce acknowledged that implementing the changes will cause delays to...

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

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Frustration rife over mobile pricing

Posted Tue 16 June 2009 @ 10:18 a.m. by Louis

Reader comments in response to an online NBR article yesterday show just how frustrated New Zealanders are getting at the high cost of operating a mobile phone in this country. The article covered 2 Degrees responding to Commerce Commission criticism on its slow progress in taking advantage of co-location rights, but most of the comments to the story were based on the cost of mobile phone usage and included a few interesting figures. For instance one reader, using the screen name Rhys, provided...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Vendors | Wireless carriers

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Update TSO urgently - Baycity

Posted Fri 12 June 2009 @ 1:37 p.m. by Louis

Satellite broadband provider Baycity Communications has joined in the latest calls for the Telecommunications Service Obligations (TSO) to be reviewed urgently. In a media statement released today, Baycity managing director Tony Baird says under the current TSO agreement there is no real flexibility to allow alternative means of telecommunications to be supported. Therefore the TSO needs updating urgently to take into account the completely different commercial telecommunications environment that...

Categories: ISPs | Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Vendors | Wireless carriers

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Rural broadband to get speed boost

Posted Thu 11 June 2009 @ 4:01 p.m. by Louis

Rural users will have access to faster broadband speeds from next month thanks to satellite broadband provider Farmside. The company is doubling download speeds on its Rocket Broadband plans from July. The upgrade is free and will be automatically applied to all its customers. At the same time, Farmside will remove the speed cap on its top broadband plan, Rocket Broadband Pioneer, saying this will enable its users to connect to the internet at speeds up to 4Mbps. The company claims in many rural...

Categories: Events | Innovation | ISPs | TUANZ policy | Vendors

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Bell Labs gurus share their genius

Posted Thu 11 June 2009 @ 11:11 a.m. by Louis

Smart sensor networks that can detect a patient’s condition and alert healthcare professionals in real time of any alarming changes before they become critical, is one application that telecommunication network are likely to support in future. This is the view of Rod Alferness, chief scientist of Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent. Alferness was one of several leading Bell Labs researchers who presented at the Bell Labs Innovations Symposium hosted by Alcatel-Lucent and Telecom...

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Fire fighting to go mobile

Posted Wed 10 June 2009 @ 2:58 p.m. by Louis

The NZ Fire Service is to swap its pagers for mobile phones. Technology channel publication Reseller News is reporting that the Fire Service is looking to switch to a cellular network as its paging system is not reaching all fire-fighters and does not offer full coverage. According to its tender documents, the Fire Service’s use of mobile voice services is currently limited to ad-hoc calls for management and administration. This makes me wonder how many organisations still rely on paging systems...

Categories: Innovation

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Kiwi share review - premature criticism

Posted Mon 8 June 2009 @ 2:10 p.m. by Ernie

Criticism of the government's decision to include the Kiwi Share in its regulatory review programme seems to me to be premature at the very least. Labour's Clare Curran has blogged savagely about it, while according to the DomPost Mark Weldon of NZX has been equally damning.Guys - this isn't a decision or even a general statement of direction, Its just an intention to conduct a review. To quote the relevant extract from the Cabinet paper: ("The) Review is likely to focus on the Telecommunications...

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2 Degrees leaves the TCF

Posted Mon 8 June 2009 @ 1:41 p.m. by Ernie

Mobile aspirant 2 Degrees has today announced it has resigned from the Telecommunications Carriers' Forum.2 Degrees, under its previous identities of Econet Wireless and NZ Communications, has been a long standing and strident critic of the TCF.In TUANZ's view the TCF has been highly effective in dealing with fixed line issues including local loop unbundling, operational separation, and wholesale. It's also done a great job in number portability - a facility that includes mobile and, I suspect, has made...

Categories: Regulatory | TUANZ policy | Wireless carriers

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Most XT connections not wins from Vodafone - source

Posted Fri 5 June 2009 @ 5:21 p.m. by Louis

Industry sources have been quick to point that the majority of the 25,000 new connections to Telecom’s XT mobile network, launched last week, were not won from its rival Vodafone. Telecom announced yesterday that connections to XT exceeded its most optimistic expectations, with 25,000 sales in the first five days since the launch a week ago. However, data supplied to TUANZ shows that most of these connections do not appear to be switches from Vodafone. The data shows the total of completed “ports”...

Categories: Vendors | Wireless carriers

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