Orcon slams Telecom naked DSL proposal

Internet service provider Orcon is describing Telecom's proposal for wholesale naked DSL as "window dressing" and claiming it is not a viable commercial product.

Orcon says Telecom appears to be protecting its line rental and calling revenue by putting limitations on the service, to stop people switching from traditional telephone to voice over IP.

However, Telecom says it has launched the service in consulation with Orcon and others and the restrictions will be lifted shortly, as soon as Telecom has tested the back-end systems needed to support the product.

Orcon says Telecom has capped the number of naked DSL connections — broadband connections delivered without paying a line rental — that can be delivered by all wholesale combined to 50 a week, with a maximum of "five to ten" per provider.

"What is the point of launching a product that we can only sign up one or two customers a day on?" Orcon retail manager Larrie Moore asks in a statement released today.

Telecom has also limited these connections to new broadband customers, Orcon says.

“The early adopters who are most likely to use this service already have broadband, and Telecom knows this. Not allowing existing broadband users to change to Naked DSL is going to severely restrict the attractiveness of any proposition that we take to market.”

However, Telecom spokeswoman Melanie Marshall says the demand from internet service providers was to get a service out fast. Telecom has done that, she says, but in that situation you have to be pragmatic about ensuring the service can be supported.

She says the restriction will be lifted within a month of launch and Orcon is aware of that. She says Telecom is on track to deliver phase two of the naked DSL launch, which will allow existing end-users to migrate in December.