Xtra blocks pop3 and upsets Vodafone NZ

Xtra, the largest New Zealand ISP is blocking access to its pop3 servers from computers outside its network. This causes some problems for mobile and handheld users.

It's worth noting that Xtra belongs to Telecom New Zealand, incumbent in the mobile and fixed line market. It's also associated with Microsoft, bringing its XtraMSN portal to more than 500,000 kiwi users.

Since last December Xtra inforced one of its TOS, and block access to its pop3 servers to outsiders. This caused major problems for people using competitor's Vodafone NZ GPRS network to access e-mail remotely. Users connecting throug Telecom's own CDMA network have no complains.

Some ISP block access to pop3 servers, but waive this if the user agrees to pay a monthly fee. Apparently Vodafone NZ didn't like the terms very much.

There's a full article on this on NZ Herald.