Telecom New Zealand to be renamed Spark

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20141 posts

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#992945 23-Feb-2014 18:01

Buzz Bumble:

mattwnz: ... Who wants to watch a movie on a tablet, I certainly don't, and I doubt mum and dad users will either.

Me neither. Some commuters on buses and trains do watch video on tablets. You can also plug a tablet into a TV to watch on the "big screen" (although the quality may not be great) which is easier for many people than connecting their computer to the TV.

I don't want to watch video on my computer either ... but then video via a dial-up connection is rather attrocious. :-)

They wouldn't be able to do that with streaming services like telecom are wanting to offer. Not unless they have a good data plan, or telecom mobile data is zero rated for video (which I guess they are in a position to do)
I plug my tablet into the tv using hdmi, and the quality is full hd for youtube. But it is fiddly, and you can't use your remote to control it.

Bobdn

222 posts

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#992954 23-Feb-2014 18:20

mattwnz:
Bobdn: I'm up to my nuts in Telecom shares, so all I can say is "Gods speed Spark".

I'm also hopeful that ShowmeTV content will be so fantastic and of such high quality, and HD, that UFB will be an absolute must for every household, which will mean copper prices will be less important for CNU, which will mean my CNU shares might actually recover somewhat. It's all about me.

The decision to go into TV really makes me wonder about management and their long term thinking. I mean last year they were still selling the tivo, which would have been the perfect device for delivering their content. Not only via freeview, but via the Caspa system. Instead Quickflix have now got onto the tivo, by replacig caspa. I guess Telecom could get their app on the tivo too, but it would put them in direct competition on that device. They really need to get some business partnership with the manufacturers, like tvnz have done with samsung devices, although the video quality isn't great.
Telecoms customer base is the mum and dad user, who want simplicity. They don't want another set top box, it needs to be built into the TV, and from what I have read, this showmetv will only be initially available if watching on your PC and possibly some tablets. Who wants to watch a movie on a tablet, I certainly don't, and I doubt mum and dad users will either.

Yes, good points. I did wonder about the Tivo/Quickflix thing. I have a Tivo and love it, especially for the connectivity it offers to my PC. But why let Quickflix on it?

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#992963 23-Feb-2014 18:41

mattwnz:
Bobdn: I'm up to my nuts in Telecom shares, so all I can say is "Gods speed Spark".

I'm also hopeful that ShowmeTV content will be so fantastic and of such high quality, and HD, that UFB will be an absolute must for every household, which will mean copper prices will be less important for CNU, which will mean my CNU shares might actually recover somewhat. It's all about me.

The decision to go into TV really makes me wonder about management and their long term thinking. I mean last year they were still selling the tivo, which would have been the perfect device for delivering their content. Not only via freeview, but via the Caspa system. Instead Quickflix have now got onto the tivo, by replacig caspa. I guess Telecom could get their app on the tivo too, but it would put them in direct competition on that device. They really need to get some business partnership with the manufacturers, like tvnz have done with samsung devices, although the video quality isn't great.
Telecoms customer base is the mum and dad user, who want simplicity. They don't want another set top box, it needs to be built into the TV, and from what I have read, this showmetv will only be initially available if watching on your PC and possibly some tablets. Who wants to watch a movie on a tablet, I certainly don't, and I doubt mum and dad users will either.

I watch netflix on my ipad all the time. It's awesome. I watch it in bed while the wife is asleep, I sit in the toilet and watch it, I watch it in the bath. I even watch it in the lounge whilst my wife watches the block or some other crud. iPad is perfect for video streaming. Not to mention I can AirPlay BBC iplayer etc if I want to.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#992966 23-Feb-2014 18:43

Bobdn:
mattwnz:
Bobdn: I'm up to my nuts in Telecom shares, so all I can say is "Gods speed Spark".

I'm also hopeful that ShowmeTV content will be so fantastic and of such high quality, and HD, that UFB will be an absolute must for every household, which will mean copper prices will be less important for CNU, which will mean my CNU shares might actually recover somewhat. It's all about me.

The decision to go into TV really makes me wonder about management and their long term thinking. I mean last year they were still selling the tivo, which would have been the perfect device for delivering their content. Not only via freeview, but via the Caspa system. Instead Quickflix have now got onto the tivo, by replacig caspa. I guess Telecom could get their app on the tivo too, but it would put them in direct competition on that device. They really need to get some business partnership with the manufacturers, like tvnz have done with samsung devices, although the video quality isn't great.
Telecoms customer base is the mum and dad user, who want simplicity. They don't want another set top box, it needs to be built into the TV, and from what I have read, this showmetv will only be initially available if watching on your PC and possibly some tablets. Who wants to watch a movie on a tablet, I certainly don't, and I doubt mum and dad users will either.

Yes, good points. I did wonder about the Tivo/Quickflix thing. I have a Tivo and love it, especially for the connectivity it offers to my PC. But why let Quickflix on it?

Telecom weren't a partner in the sense they had any control, they were just a distribution channel. I.e. They sold them.

freitasm

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#992983 23-Feb-2014 19:13

Buzz Bumble:

mattwnz: ... Who wants to watch a movie on a tablet, I certainly don't, and I doubt mum and dad users will either.

Me neither. Some commuters on buses and trains do watch video on tablets. You can also plug a tablet into a TV to watch on the "big screen" (although the quality may not be great) which is easier for many people than connecting their computer to the TV.

I don't want to watch video on my computer either ... but then video via a dial-up connection is rather attrocious. :-)

There are lots of set top boxes that use the Internet connection. There are also HTPC (Home Theatre PCs) which are specially adapted so you can play your media on a big screen. On a 10Mbps connection you can watch some movies and over this ou can easily watch HD movies. Not sure about your "dial-up" connection comment.

The reality is that New Zealand Internet speeds are mostly pretty good, good enough for video streaming.

old3eyes

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#992989 23-Feb-2014 19:26

kawaii: I'm happy with the change - Telecom NZ is changing internally to be a lot more nimble but the problem is that all the changes will be for naught if externally they've got a brand that has a tonne of negative baggage associated with it so it makes sense to rebrand so that the the face of the company resembles what is happening behind the scenes.

As for working at Telecom/Spark, I don't think they have much need for someone who has a Bachelors in Religious Studies and Philosophy unless they need someone to resolve an existential crisis a manager needs help working through.

I suspect the main people to be happy with the name change will be the printing industry printing new Spark letter heads and the paper recycle companies who will inherit the old letter head paper. Pallets of it..

Regards,

Old3eyes

PaulBags

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#993036 23-Feb-2014 22:15

kawaii: I'm happy with the change - Telecom NZ is changing internally to be a lot more nimble but the problem is that all the changes will be for naught if externally they've got a brand that has a tonne of negative baggage associated with it so it makes sense to rebrand so that the the face of the company resembles what is happening behind the scenes.

It would make sense if they had real changes to show at the same time, but as of now all they have is a vague promise of some type of digitised TV service at the same time as the name change goes live. Would love to see them show evidence of being more nimble when the change goes live, anything above "lump of concrete" would be an improvement.

old3eyes: I suspect the main people to be happy with the name change will be the printing industry printing new Spark letter heads and the paper recycle companies who will inherit the old letter head paper. Pallets of it..

Why would they have pellets of letterhead? They stopped sending out physical bills ages ago, and how many other letters do they really send? I suppose I shouldn't assume, but to me it would make more sense to print letterhead with the letter for the very few they do have to send.

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mattwnz

20141 posts

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#993063 23-Feb-2014 23:05

PaulBags:
Why would they have pellets of letterhead? They stopped sending out physical bills ages ago, and how many other letters do they really send? I suppose I shouldn't assume, but to me it would make more sense to print letterhead with the letter for the very few they do have to send.

I still get a mailed bill, so they must still be sending out huge amounts of them. But they may be printed on the fly, so may not use preprinted paper.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#993064 23-Feb-2014 23:08

old3eyes:
kawaii: I'm happy with the change - Telecom NZ is changing internally to be a lot more nimble but the problem is that all the changes will be for naught if externally they've got a brand that has a tonne of negative baggage associated with it so it makes sense to rebrand so that the the face of the company resembles what is happening behind the scenes.

As for working at Telecom/Spark, I don't think they have much need for someone who has a Bachelors in Religious Studies and Philosophy unless they need someone to resolve an existential crisis a manager needs help working through.

I suspect the main people to be happy with the name change will be the printing industry printing new Spark letter heads and the paper recycle companies who will inherit the old letter head paper. Pallets of it..

Surely no serious business uses letterheaded paper anymore.
Logos etc just get printed at the same time as the letter itself.

Buzz Bumble

332 posts

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#993130 24-Feb-2014 09:15

old3eyes:I suspect the main people to be happy with the name change will be the printing industry printing new Spark letter heads and the paper recycle companies who will inherit the old letter head paper.

Plus all the other stationery with the logo and name on it - business cards, cardboard folders, notepads, pens, etc. Then there's the sign printing companies who will have to replace signage on all the vehicles, on / in / around all the buldings and stores, flags / banners, etc. It's a ridiculous expense to achieve absolutely nothing useful.

mattwnz:
I still get a mailed bill, so they must still be sending out huge amounts of them. But they may be printed on the fly, so may not use preprinted paper.

Yep, we still get the Telecom NZ phone bill in the post each month ... in fact not long ago they changed the name of the newslleter it comes with the from "InTouch" to "The Spark".

NonprayingMantis:
Surely no serious business uses letterheaded paper anymore. Logos etc just get printed at the same time as the letter itself.

Only a companies with more money than sense. It's still far cheaper and more efficient to get letterheads properly printed than to print them using an office colour laser printer. The pre-printed letterheads can be over-printed through the mono laser printer or photocopier, and you still have a good looking, but cheaper to produce, document.

MikeB4

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#993132 24-Feb-2014 09:20

Buzz Bumble:
old3eyes:I suspect the main people to be happy with the name change will be the printing industry printing new Spark letter heads and the paper recycle companies who will inherit the old letter head paper.

Plus all the other stationery with the logo and name on it - business cards, cardboard folders, notepads, pens, etc. Then there's the sign printing companies who will have to replace signage on all the vehicles, on / in / around all the buldings and stores, flags / banners, etc. It's a ridiculous expense to achieve absolutely nothing useful.

mattwnz:
I still get a mailed bill, so they must still be sending out huge amounts of them. But they may be printed on the fly, so may not use preprinted paper.

Yep, we still get the Telecom NZ phone bill in the post each month ... in fact not long ago they changed the name of the newslleter it comes with the from "InTouch" to "The Spark".

NonprayingMantis:
Surely no serious business uses letterheaded paper anymore. Logos etc just get printed at the same time as the letter itself.

Only a companies with more money than sense. It's still far cheaper and more efficient to get letterheads properly printed than to print them using an office colour laser printer. The pre-printed letterheads can be over-printed through the mono laser printer or photocopier, and you still have a good looking, but cheaper to produce, document.

out of curiosity, you seem a tad heated about the cost, are you a shareholder of the group?

Bung

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#993142 24-Feb-2014 09:32

AFAIK Telecom is likd many other companies and has a 3rd party print and send bills and probably other bulk mail. It would up to them to manage the logistics.

Buzz Bumble

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#993304 24-Feb-2014 13:24

KiwiNZ:
out of curiosity, you seem a tad heated about the cost, are you a shareholder of the group?

Nope, but at the end of the day the likelihood is that Telecom will use it (and paying the twi who made the decision a big fat bonus) as an excuse to raise prices again - it's always the customer who ends up paying.

And on the topic of the costs involved, in the letterbox today we got a pointless, full colour, glossy postcard telling us that Telecom NZ will be changing their name mid-year, but "nothing will change" (plans, etc. all stay the same).

They're also going to have to redo the signage on all their "free" wif-fi hotspots.

Better start collecting "Telecom NZ" labelled bits and pieces to sell on TradeMe in 15 years time. ;-)

ahmad

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#993309 24-Feb-2014 13:33

Why didn't they just rebrand themselves as *?

Bung

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#993312 24-Feb-2014 13:39

How would you pronounce it without sounding like that PBX company?

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