I am posting this as a point of discussion, it is not intended to annoy people on these forums.
However, it is intended to express my own opinions & hope that others will also do so, in a "constructive manner".
Below is a copy of a letter that I sent to various people including David Cunliffe (Minister of Communications & IT), Commerce Commission (Douglas Webb), Ernie Newman (Chief Executive of TUANZ) Paul Brislen (Editor of Computerworld) & Colin Jackson President of Internet NZ;
As per the Commerce Commission website link; Telecom New Zealand “failed” to reach the required 83,000 Wholesale Broadband numbers, as per the Government & Commerce Commission recommendations.
Admittedly, they did acquire more than required for their “total broadband numbers”, but that was only part of the requirement asked of them, to avoid further regulation by the Commerce Commission/Government.
So I ask you, what is the Commerce Commission/Government intending on doing about this failure to reach the required 83,000 Wholesale Broadband customers, of which Telecom NZ only achieved 76.5% (or 63,495 customers)? Will Telecom NZ be regulated further & will New Zealand possibly see true competition at long last in New Zealand with Local Loop Unbundling (LLU)? Or will the New Zealand Government bow to another Teresa Gattung letter, threatening to destroy the New Zealand Share Market & Superannuation Fund? One must also remember of course that Telecom NZ is 75% owned by Foreign Investors, therefore New Zealand hardly benefit from Telecom profit anyway.
Also, with a painfully slow 128kbps upload speed on broadband connections with Telecom NZ, how can it really be called “Broadband” at all? Most overseas countries offer superior upload speed for their broadband customers, why does New Zealand have to be left out in the cold for even longer, by a Telco like Telecom NZ, who don’t really give a damn?
Come on, I urge you, please take some strong action against Telecom NZ now, as after they fight in the courts it will still take 2 years or more, before anything actually changes anyway. The Government wants New Zealand to be in the top 25% of the OECD for Broadband uptake by 2010 & with the price & speeds (particularly the painfully slow 128kbps upload) New Zealand won’t have a hope in hell. Looking at Australia who is currently being offered 24Mbit download & 1Mbit upload connections in certain parts, for the same price we pay here, you can see what benefits LLU can offer.
A further example of the “Broadband Lag” in this country is this; by the time Telecom NZ actually offer their fully implemented Next Generation Network by 2012; New Zealand will only be catching up to what some Australians are being offered “RIGHT NOW”, not in six years time!
Please, take some real action against Telecom, for the future economic benefit of the entire country, before future investors are scared off for good.
I would appreciate some feedback with regards to this letter, detailing any possible action that may or may not be taken against Telecom NZ.
Thanks for your time.
Also, this Internet NZ Media Release is along "similar" lines to what I stated above, however I read it after I sent my emails.
I am not expecting anything to eventuate from this email, of any significance, however at least I have expressed my points of view & at least attempted to do something about what I personally see as a major problem with "Broadband Internet" in this country. I also firmly believe that if people don't complain "in writing" & encourage others to do so, then the problem is never really adequately addressed if at all & is simply brushed under the carpet. Strength in numbers I say, hopefully some others in this forum will agree with me & also email the contacts below.
I am also acutely aware that there are many other problems that are far more significant than Broadband Internet in this country, however, that's another discussion, for another day.
*Contacts:
David Cunliffe:
New Lynn Office: [Moderator: remove email address to prevent spam bot harvesting]
Government Secretary: [Moderator: remove email address to prevent spam bot harvesting]
Commerce Commission:
Attention: Douglas Webb
[Moderator: remove email address to prevent spam bot harvesting]