TUANZ

Search website

Home > Blogs > Downstream

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,...

Comments (1)

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...

Comments (0)

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...

Comments (0)

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

Comments (3)

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

Comments (5)

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...

Comments (4)

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

Comments (0)

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

Comments (6)

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

Comments (4)

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

Comments (1)

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

Comments (0)

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...

Comments (2)

Steven Joyce and TUANZ have a history

Posted Tue 25 November 2008 @ 8:06 a.m. by Ernie

Do I feel stupid?A day or two ago I wrote to our new Minister, Hon Steven Joyce. I included the obligatory paragraph introducing TUANZ.Now I realise that a year ago he spoke at a TUANZ event. Sarah Putt, who wrote this blog post, reminded me.He was rated as the best speaker of the Conference. Some delegates even suggested he should have been the keynote.So when TUANZ gets to meet him, at least he will have prior knowledge of us, hopefully in a positive context.

Comments (1)

INTUG advocates fibre for next generation access networks

Posted Mon 24 November 2008 @ 11:20 a.m. by Louis

Ubiquitously available and competitively supplied fibre-based services are vital for economic growth, productivity and jobs, and for universal social inclusion, according to the International Telecommunications Users Group (INTUG). In a submission to a European Commission consultation on regulated access to Next Generation Access (NGA) networks, INTUG is advocating that the direction of fibre services should be towards FTTH (fibre to the home) and FTTB (fibre to the business). However, it states...

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

Comments (0)

Chorus sings 50 year veteran’s praises

Posted Thu 20 November 2008 @ 3:32 p.m. by Louis

A great deal has changed in the telecommunications industry over the past 50 years, but one thing that has remained constant is Chorus’ network property manager Craig Bonnington. In an age of quick fixes and instant gratification, Craig celebrated 50 years with Telecom this month. Of course it wasn’t Telecom back in 1958 when he first joined the organisation after arriving in Palmerston North from Scotland. Back then telephone services were still provided by the Post Office and Craig signed on...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | Light relief | Vendors | Wireless carriers

Comments (0)

Vo-damn! A tale of ‘roaming robbery’

Posted Wed 19 November 2008 @ 3:11 p.m. by Louis

The cost of using mobile broadband overseas has one TUANZ member calling 'roaming robbery'.The Auckland businessman, who wishes not to be named, discovered recently that Vodafone data costs 100 times the price it does locally when roaming just across the Tasman.This is his story:“Last week I was working in Australia. I needed to access my e-mail, so decided to try my Vodafone Vodem. With the new high speed mobile broadband network, the service worked extremely well – downloading my 20 e-mails in...

Comments (6)

New Zealand broadband build-out among the “most ambitious” in the world - Reynolds

Posted Wed 19 November 2008 @ 9:52 a.m. by Louis

Telecom CEO, Paul Reynolds, is claiming that New Zealand's current broadband build-out is “one of the most ambitious broadband programmes in the world”. According Computerworld.co.nz, Reynolds is making the claims in an interview with Television Hawke's Bay that airs tonight. In the interview, Reynolds reportedly says New Zealand has overtaken the UK in broadband and that services here are now the sixth cheapest in the world. He also claims that Telecom's own broadband services have improved...

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

Comments (1)

Digital Dipton will make life easier for Bill English

Posted Tue 18 November 2008 @ 2:17 p.m. by Ernie

Bill English is to use Skype to stay in touch with the electorate, the Southland Times reports.Great! The more senior MPs who rely on broadband, the more awareness of the need to improve the reach and speeds.Bill will be able to use the SSC's Fibre Map to check out how his electorate is faring in the fibre race, and his constituents' can test their actual speeds on this speed test. I'm sure the politically-astute telcos will have mapped his home and made sure it is well served, but the...

Comments (3)

“We value your ongoing custom…but it will cost you”

Posted Mon 17 November 2008 @ 4:31 p.m. by Louis

Shifting home – no one loves it, right? With all the packing and loading boxes and furniture onto a truck just to unload it all again a few kilometres down the road, it is just a hassle. Even getting movers in only serves to slightly reduce the hard labour part of the exercise. With all this physical activity going on, when it comes to the more virtual tasks of changing over power, insurance and – yeah, you guessed it – phone and internet accounts, most movers would expect this to be a relatively...

Categories: Fixed line carriers | ISPs | Vendors | Wireless carriers

Comments (4)

Joyce is new Comms and IT Minister

Posted Mon 17 November 2008 @ 3:34 p.m. by Ernie

Stephen Joyce has been named this afternoon as the new Minister of Communications and IT.His history suggests he'll bring a pragmatic, business-focused view to the role. His knowledge of electronic media, gained through a career as a highly successful broadcasting entrepreneur, will give him a head start. And the fact that he is also to be Minister of Transport will give him an interesting crossover to other forms of infrastructure.TUANZ welcomes him to the role and looks forward to a constructive...

Comments (1)

Fibre - what's next?

Posted Fri 14 November 2008 @ 10:00 a.m. by Ernie

It's the $1.5 billion dollar, plus leverage, question. When do we start and what's the process?As National has acknowledged, they haven't put a lot of detail behind their proposals. This should surprise nobody - they've been in opposition and without access to the range of official advice their predecessors enjoyed.But the plans, concepts and intellectual grunt to make this happen, quickly and efficiently, are all out there scattered around the community.So in the event that I got a phone call inviting...

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

Comments (0)

TUANZ - what's up?

Posted Fri 14 November 2008 @ 9:17 a.m. by Ernie

Lots happening here - some good, some sad!You might have read in the media that TUANZ and Internet NZ have entered into a formal collaborative discovery process to explore opportunities for closer organisational alignment. Here's the full statement signed off by our Chairman Chris O'Connell and Internet NZ President Pete Macaulay.It's convergence-driven and makes heaps of good sense in my personal view!On an unrelated and sadder note, with the international financial meltdown the forecast...

Comments (0)

Thanks, David Cunliffe

Posted Mon 10 November 2008 @ 2:42 p.m. by Ernie

So the Labour-led government has gone - and with it for the moment at least, David Cunliffe as Minister of Communications. Cunliffe will be missed. Seriously.Like any business organisation TUANZ membership embraces a range of political colours. Yet through all the frenetic action and controversy of these last few years it has been hard to find anyone with a serious criticism of Cunliffe as Minister. No matter how blue their tie or yellow their jacket, I've found TUANZ members have regarded him with...

Comments (5)

Ultra Fast Broadband is on the way!

Posted Mon 10 November 2008 @ 1:52 p.m. by Ernie

Quote:"There's one modern technology that stands out in terms of its ability to:- draw us closer to our trading partners- put kiwis at the forefront of technological innovation- greatly enhance the way we do business and the way we communicateThat thing is ultra-fast broadband for all New Zealanders."Those words were John Key's. They led to an announcement of the very first economic commitment made by the National Party for this year's General Election - $1.5 billion for fibre. They come from...

Comments (2)

Blog help is on the way!

Posted Fri 7 November 2008 @ 8:18 a.m. by Ernie

Next Monday will be a really important day for New Zealand in two ways.First, there'll be a new government in some shape or form.Second, at long last I'll have a new Blogging Buddy. As my loyal reader may have spotted, I've been largely on my own here since Sarah left a month ago.I'm about to be joined by Louis van Wyk, who joins the staff of TUANZ on Monday. Louis is well known within the industry from his former role with Fairfax Business Media, where he is Editor of Reseller News, the sister...

Comments (0)

		278 Records Found, Viewing Page 1 of 12