Consumer NZ has released the results of its latest survey on consumers’ experience with telcos and internet service providers, saying the two largest ISPs, Spark and Vodafone, trailed the field in customer satisfaction.
Kate McKenzie starts role in February 2017
The 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the South Island in the early hours of Monday morning created widespread disruption to communications services, including briefly disabling the national 111 service.
The Telecommunications Forum (TCF) – the body representing New Zealand telcos – has hit back at the Commerce Commission’s report of an increase in the number of complaints from consumers about their telecom services, claiming that the industry is delivering “world class” service.
Telecommunications along with domestic appliances was the most complained about industry in 2016, according to the Commerce Commission’s 2016 Consumer Issues Report, released on 27 September.
The Commerce Commission has decided that Spark’s resale voice services should be deregulated, saying there are now sufficient competitive alternatives available.
2degrees has won a contract to supply site connectivity and mobile telecommunications services to the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Vodafone has been awarded contracts for the delivery of telecommunications services to two government agencies – the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
NZX listed telco, TeamTalk (NZX: TTK) has engaged investment banking advisors, Cameron Partners, to work with both its board and incoming CEO, Andrew Miller, to assist with a review of its strategy and the evaluation of options.
Vodafone has launched a new prepaid mobile offering for the youth market, Vodafone Mates, claiming it gives customers more control and flexibility over how they use their smartphones than current offerings.
Chorus says it is struggling to recruit technicians and support staff needed to meet the demands it faces across its copper and fibre business, despite having added almost 2000 people to its workforce since 2011. It wants to add another 250 technicians and support staff by the end of the year.
Chorus has released figures for household data consumption saying it has doubled in 18 months to 100 gigabytes per household and is on track to reach 170 gigabytes by mid-2017.
As part of its review of the Telecommunications Act 2001, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released an options paper seeking feedback on its proposed ‘utility-style’ framework for regulating fixed line communications services provided on the ultra-fast broadband network and Chorus’ copper network after 2020.
South Korean carrier KT has said it wants to launch the first 5G network at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. On Thursday, KT announced a successful trial of one potential 5G technology in that mountain resort region.
Unisys survey reveals which organisations Kiwis don’t trust to protect their personal information.