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News

  • Private lobby group may form to push UFB demand

    In the face of government’s apparent unwillingness to canvass urban populations and spark discussion among them on productive and interesting uses of the Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) network, a private lobby group may be started to ensure this information is uncovered and initiatives begun.

  • Minister pours cold water on UFB regulatory alternative

    ICT Minister Steven Joyce appears to have rejected a suggestion by 11 telcos and industry groups that legislation to enact Ultra Fast Broadband be changed to enable regulatory oversight into pricing during the first decade of the build.

  • Industry coalition has alternative to UFB regulatory holiday

    Industry and consumer groups opposed to the regulatory forbearance period in the draft Telecommunications Amendment Bill, have suggested an alternative way to ensure there is price certainty for UFB partners without sacrificing Commerce Commission oversight on pricing.

  • Regulatory holiday, secrecy attacked on telecomms reforms

    The 10-year period of “regulatory forbearance” for Local Fibre Companies supplying the Ultra Fast Broadband network will be the prime target of submitters on the Telecommunications Amendment Bill, if they follow the advice of convenors of a joint InternetNZ/TUANZ seminar on the Bill held in Wellington this week.

  • Users price-sensitive about fibre services

    Crown Fibre Holdings and the Telecommunication Users Association (TUANZ) have collaborated on a study of what business users are seeking from the ultra fast broadband network (UFB).

  • Tuanz calls for greater cuts to MTRs

    The Telecommunications Users Association has called on the Commerce Commission to almost completely do away with mobile termination charges next year and to regulate again if carriers do not pass the savings on to customers.
    The uncompromising stance surprised Vodafone, which stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars from regulation and would rather see the charges lowered over several years.
    Last month, Tuanz announced that then-Vodafone spokesman Paul Brislen would become its next chief executive.
    The Government ordered the regulation of mobile termination charges in August after seven years of deliberations and the commission is now consulting on the details.
    The fees are charged by telcos, to telcos, to route calls and texts to mobile phones and are blamed for artificially inflating prices.
    The Commerce Commission has previously suggested fees for terminating calls could be cut from about 17 cents to 4c a minute, charged by the second. But Tuanz has backed a "hybrid bill-and-keep" system for both voice calls and texts that would mean no fees would be payable as long as there was roughly even traffic flow between networks.
    The approach is designed to cut fees to a minimum while mitigating against the risk of "text spam" and the danger that telcos might seek to put one another out of business by flooding rival networks with incoming calls.
    Vodafone public policy manager Hayden Glass said no form of bill-and-keep would work for fixed-to-mobile phone calls as, in his view, that was not a "reciprocal service".
    The commission is due to publish a draft report by Christmas before finalising the shape of regulation in March. Vodafone has not ruled out a judicial review.
    Tuanz chairman Pat O'Connell called on phone companies to pass on at least 90 per cent of whatever fee reductions eventuated to customers: "If rates drop by 10 cents a minute, we would expect to see the price for calls drop by at least 9c a minute.
    "If that level of pass-through is not seen ... Tuanz would support calls for the Commerce Commission to look into regulation of pass-through itself," he said.
    He saw no reason for a "glide path" to lower fees, given the "writing has been on the wall" for many years. Mr Glass said a glide path would be "standard regulatory practice".

  • Vodafone comms chief new Tuanz CEO

    Paul Brislen, Vodafone's corporate communications manager, is Tuanz's new chief executive, taking over from Ernie Newman, who stepped down at the end of September.

  • End of an era: Ernie Newman looks back

    “Having been on a plane most of today, I got off to see the Google Mail previews show me the subject lines of emails, including one from Clare Curran saying Labour pays tribute to Ernie Newman. I thought to myself – hell either Ernie is dead, or he has resigned.”

  • Opinion: Is it time for a Superuser group?

    In its latest round of membership consultation, InternetNZ received feedback that it should take a more active part in network issues, such as the Ultra-Fast Broadband initiative and mobile data roaming charges.

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