Telecom letter angers competitors

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Telecom letter angers competitors

charris1955

50 posts

Geek

#5943 10-Dec-2005 11:49

Telecom letter angers competitors

The publication of a letter to the government from Telecom New Zealand's chief executive Theresa Gattung has angered executives at rival telcos. The letter, sent by Gattung in May 2004, has been obtained by local newspaper The Dominion Post. It calls for the government to halt plans to force Telecom to open up its local networks to rivals, a process known as local loop unbundling (LLU). Gattung threatened to curb Telecom’s investment in new infrastructure if the scheme went ahead and said that Telecom’s share price would plummet and New Zealand’s stock market would be adversely affected. Later the same month the government announced that it was shelving its plan for full LLU, opting instead to follow Telecom’s suggested path of allowing access via wholesale agreements. Rival telcos such as TelstraClear are now angry that the government gave in to what they see as bullying tactics.

bernardgbailey

150 posts

Master Geek

#24615 12-Dec-2005 09:25

I was bemused on Saturday when I read this article. Here was yet again an example of how Government can be lead around by business.

It is no use b itching (*) if you are a competitor in the market, if you don't have enough clout to decide the terms of engagement. Telecom did have and did so.

In this "pc" world we often feel aggrieved if someone gets a step ahead because they have more "marbles" than our pet player.

It is time for us to grow up and realise this is what "free enterprise" is all about. It has nothing to do with being "pc". Would you like to go back to the days of state control and the P&T section of the Post Office, where it took government budget dollars to get anything going.

The game is still the same today, only at arms length now.

I can distinctly remember the vitriole dished out by BellSouth when they came into the country and now with Vodafone we have none of that. It is refreshing to see how Vodafone market their products.

If you want some real stuff on how business can get away with "murder", then read Edwin Black's book on "IBM and the Holocaust". I found it very interesting from a technology point of view as well as a head in the sand view from the US Government and IBM.

(* this post did not allow the correct spelling)

Merry Christmas.

charris1955

50 posts

Geek

#24657 13-Dec-2005 08:54

ComCom throws TelstraClear a bone

New Zealand’s Commerce Commission (ComCom) has ruled that Telecom New Zealand must provide rival operator TelstraClear with regulated access to some of its broadband retail services for businesses. The ruling is a victory for TelstraClear, the country’s second largest fixed line phone company, which sought intervention from the regulator over a year ago, arguing that the former monopoly was denying it access to its business data networks. In a statement today, ComCom determined that Telecom faced only limited competition in segments of the business services markets and ruled that it must provide its rival with services ‘to the same standard as it supplies . . . to its own internal retail sales and customer support groups’. The watchdog also set the prices for the services, saying the wholesale discount provided to TelstraClear would be 16%.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#24662 13-Dec-2005 11:01

What is c[***] is the government attitute towards the regulatory environment in NZ.

The government becomes friendly with Telecom and agrees with Telecom when they tell them that nobody else should have access to their network.

Vodafone come and build their own network and now the government is going to force them to offer wholesale access and possibly force co-siting of gear by Econet all while Telecom laugh all the way to the bank. This is just c[***]...

[Moderator edit: language]

Jama

1420 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#24666 13-Dec-2005 12:38

It is to do with the technology chosen by Econet. If they had chosen CDMA2000 Telecom would be forced to wholesale, co-locate, etc.

Its not a case of the government being 'friendly' with Telecom.

charris1955

50 posts

Geek

#24672 13-Dec-2005 15:10

This not about the Wireless Network/ Mobile Network at all.

This is about the incumbant provider (TNZ) to unbundle their services and provide access to compitition of their access network mainly.

In future we might see sggergation of Wholesale, retail and mobile business to make it more effective.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#24673 13-Dec-2005 15:12

Jama: It is to do with the technology chosen by Econet. If they had chosen CDMA2000 Telecom would be forced to wholesale, co-locate, etc.

Its not a case of the government being 'friendly' with Telecom.

It is precisely a case of the government being friendly with Telecom. Had Econet chosen a CDMA2000 platform then the irony would have been Telecom being forced to offer wholesale access to their mobile infastructure when the government is happily siding with Telecom when it says they don't want to open their copper to competitors.

This issue has nothing to do with mobile, it's all about Telecom operating in a country where the government is doing all it can to protect the imcumbent operator from market forces.

Jama

1420 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#24677 13-Dec-2005 15:38

Market forces? I think you will find there is more at stake than that.

There are multiple last mile wireless technologies that could be used to provide internet to homes. Instead all the ISP's do is bleat that it's 'unfair'.

Economics 101. This article makes a very good point:

read it here

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#24682 13-Dec-2005 17:39

Therein lies the problem. Vodafone *have* built a new network and the government is forcing them to offer a service to Econet.