Mobile Termination Rate Regulation 28.04.2011

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Biddle Corp

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Reply # 465895 5-May-2011 18:47
ajw: So New Zealand is a third world basket case in regards to mobile pricing and will continue to be so until prices are bought into line with other markets. Again, the commission's report picks up on this theme, noting: "Mobile voice traffic per subscriber in New Zealand still remains amongst the lowest in the world with New Zealanders making an average of 79 minutes of voice calls per month compared to 120 in Australia and 198 in the UK." Indeed, New Zealand is near the bottom of the heap, along with the impoverished nations of Tanzania, Lesotho and Azerbaijan - indicating that all thought they've got cheaper, voice plans are still too expensive, disuading Kiwis from calling on their mobiles as much as those in other developed countries. New Zealand is also one of a handful of countries that have free local calling inclused with a line rental, something that has been acknowledged as being a contributor to this. In Australia or the UK for example it can be cheaper to use your mobile to call your friend on a landline than to use your own landline phone. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

oxnsox

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Reply # 465896 5-May-2011 18:52
cisconz: I use over 2000 myself... Does your Brain hurt???? Seriously... 15-20min into a call I get the early signs of a headache. Still you're pushing the average up for the rest of us.

mthand

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Reply # 465969 5-May-2011 21:44
Apparently, NZ aren't the biggest drinkers in the world and, because there are major issues with the cost of alcohol for consumers, the ComCom are looking at regulating the wholesale prices in the hopes that bars will stop ripping off underage bingers

pauln

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Reply # 465975 5-May-2011 22:17
Can the ComCom now please take a look at the banks. From http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/4958215/ANZ-National-profit-rises-24pc "The country's biggest bank reported a tax-paid profit of $478 million for the half year to March, up 24 per cent on the same time last year." and that's just one of how many? I'd much rather see regulation around the rates for mortgages/loans/credit cards linked to x points above the OCR

cisconz

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Reply # 465983 5-May-2011 22:38
oxnsox: cisconz: I use over 2000 myself... Does your Brain hurt???? Seriously... 15-20min into a call I get the early signs of a headache. Still you're pushing the average up for the rest of us. It averages out to just over an hour a day, The company I was working for has no landlines, everything is done on TZZ+ Most of my calling is to other cell phones so my average cost is 7.5c per min, no way i could get it that cheap any other way. Hmmmm

freitasm

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Reply # 466151 6-May-2011 12:20
TelstraClear came out: TelstraClear Chief Executive Allan Freeth announced today that its residential mobile to mobile call rate has been slashed immediately by more than a third to just 19 cents a minute for new and existing customers. “I believe this will be the best rate in the market and underlies our commitment to consumers. We are providing the benefits of the new pricing issued by the Commerce Commission yesterday, even before we receive the benefit of lower costs ourselves, Dr Freeth said this morning. “Because the plans we offer are simple and cost-effective for customers, we’re able to move quickly and make substantial price adjustments to benefit our customers. A similar thing happened last year when we doubled internet data caps, at no additional charge, on many of our residential plans.” Dr Freeth says TelstraClear and its predecessors have been fighting against monopolistic rorts in the New Zealand telecommunications market for more than 20 years. “I have framed on my wall a copy of the first phone bill that wasn’t a Telecom one. It’s a reminder of the long and fraught battle to bring down a monopoly and give New Zealanders choice and fair prices. Yesterday’s decision by the Commerce Commission shows that the war isn’t over. TelstraClear is committed to continue fighting. “The decision on mobile termination rates reinforces the need to have the Commerce Commission involved in the Government’s planned ultra-fast broadband (UFB) roll-out. Perhaps now the Minister will see the light and agree, especially with this and Telecom’s $12 million fine for anti-competitive behaviour fresh in his mind. “Nevertheless, we are not resting on this matter. We are running a TV ad campaign to help raise awareness of the immense problems the Telecommunications Amendment Bill will cause, including restricting consumer choice and raising prices. We have a website (www.ultrafastnz.co.nz) to help people understand the issue. Yesterday’s decision by the Commission and our respect for it, dropping our prices as soon as the Commission has created the opportunity for us to do so, is testament to the need to have a referee in the game. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

Behodar

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Reply # 466155 6-May-2011 12:34
Time to remove the $30 "Call to Mobile 100" from my account since the new "casual" rate is cheaper! Edit: I'll ask whether the packages are going to be updated for the lower pricing.

Behodar

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Reply # 466181 6-May-2011 13:22
Update to my previous post: As pointed out in the other thread (in the TCL forum), the press release is ambiguous. It's actually talking about calling from a TCL mobile, rather than from a TCL landline to a mobile. The Call to Mobile 100 landline package is still better value than the base rate.

SaltyNZ

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Reply # 466221 6-May-2011 14:36
cisconz: Most of my calling is to other cell phones so my average cost is 7.5c per min, no way i could get it that cheap any other way. Well, except on 2degrees, of course. 2degrees Pay Monthly $149 Plan iPad + iPhone 4S + 2degrees 3G data 4tw! These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

wongtop

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Reply # 466249 6-May-2011 15:46
SaltyNZ: cisconz: Most of my calling is to other cell phones so my average cost is 7.5c per min, no way i could get it that cheap any other way. Well, except on 2degrees, of course. 2degrees Pay Monthly $149 Plan He must be on something similar as 2000 minutes @ 7.5 c/min is $150.

cisconz

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Reply # 466271 6-May-2011 17:05
wongtop: SaltyNZ: cisconz: Most of my calling is to other cell phones so my average cost is 7.5c per min, no way i could get it that cheap any other way. Well, except on 2degrees, of course. 2degrees Pay Monthly $149 Plan He must be on something similar as 2000 minutes @ 7.5 c/min is $150. True, but I also have a local number that terminates on my cell, this means I don't need a home line. Hmmmm

ajw

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Reply # 466308 6-May-2011 19:32
sbiddle: ajw: So New Zealand is a third world basket case in regards to mobile pricing and will continue to be so until prices are bought into line with other markets. Again, the commission's report picks up on this theme, noting: "Mobile voice traffic per subscriber in New Zealand still remains amongst the lowest in the world with New Zealanders making an average of 79 minutes of voice calls per month compared to 120 in Australia and 198 in the UK." Indeed, New Zealand is near the bottom of the heap, along with the impoverished nations of Tanzania, Lesotho and Azerbaijan - indicating that all thought they've got cheaper, voice plans are still too expensive, disuading Kiwis from calling on their mobiles as much as those in other developed countries. New Zealand is also one of a handful of countries that have free local calling inclused with a line rental, something that has been acknowledged as being a contributor to this. In Australia or the UK for example it can be cheaper to use your mobile to call your friend on a landline than to use your own landline phone. Yes I saw this press release from Telecom. I say again, the main reason for low mobile usage is because the cost of calling is so expensive. Good on TelstraClear today announcing a reduction in mobile to mobile calling. http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=9222

Glee

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Reply # 467099 9-May-2011 13:06
I agree that free local calling makes a difference to mobile calling patterns but I think it's wrong to say that similar sceanrios don't exist abroad. In some EU countries, you buy (managed) VoIP with your fixed broadband, for a set monthly sum, and get unlimited local, national and international calls. That should make more of a difference to Euopeans' mobile use than free local calling makes to New Zealanders'.

wreck90

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Reply # 467113 9-May-2011 13:43
Its about time free local calling is retired. It is a relic from a very different environment. Politically, it probably won't happen soon. Imagine being the politician that caused an old lady to die because she couldn't afford a phone.

DjShadow

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Reply # 467141 9-May-2011 15:06
I personally think the idea of national toll calls should be dropped, all calls between NZ landlines free

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