UPDATED: End of free local calling?
On Thursday afternoon in Parliament Labour asked if Telecom’s Kiwishare obligation will be removed if a Supplementary Order Paper - introduced this week as part of the Telecommunications Amendment Bill - is passed.
In the explanatory notes in SOP No 247, which was introduced on Tuesday, it reads: "Makes changes to provisions relating to deemed TSO instruments and removes references to the KSO (Kiwi share obligation) (new clauses 6B, 7A, 7B, and 23HFA). These amendments are to reflect that the KSO will not be operative following the structural separation of Telecom."
The Kiwishare historically included the obligation by Telecom to provide a free local calling service to every resident at a standard monthly fee, regardless of whether they live in rural or urban areas. It also included restrictions around foreign ownership of Telecom, such as no single shareholder may own more than 10 percent of shares with government approval.
However, the provisions relating to free local calling and rural services were taken out of the Kiwishare obligation and transferred to the Telecommunication Service Obligation when the Telecommunications Act was passed in 2001.
When Labour raised the query ICT Minister Steven Joyce addressed ICT spokesperson Clare Curran's questions by pointing to a Q and A document posted on the MED website on May 24. It claims the following: