Technology news and Jobs 
Telecommunications Telecom NZ & TelstraClear settle their differences
Telecommunications Telecom NZ & TelstraClear settle their differences | Telecom NZ & TelstraClear settle their differences |
|
| by Stuart Corner | |
| Monday, 16 January 2006 | |
  
Under the agreement: - Telecom NZ will provide a wholesale discount of five percent for its Homeline service, an increase from two percent, and 18 percent for other wholesale services (currently 16 percent). - The interconnection rate will be reduced to $NZ0.01 per minute from $NZ0.0113). - Telecom NZ will supply TelstraClear with two UBS services with maximum possible download speeds of 256kbps and 3.5Mbps (upload 128 kbps) with prices of $NZ26 and $NZ30 respectively per month. The two plans will be available to both residential and business customers. The agreement puts in place key elements of the NZ Government trade watchdog, the Commerce Commission's UBS determination, including a common price for wholesale residential and business plans. Under the agreement Telecom will provide UBS services to TelstraClear via a commercial deal rather than via terms outlined in the Commission's December determination. It means that a number of pending regulatory applications can be withdrawn. Telecom's general manager wholesale service, Tim Lusk, said the agreement had been achieved because both parties had focused on settling outstanding issues and delivering wholesale UBS services as quickly as possible. He added that the wholesale market had been expanding rapidly and in the last reported quarter accounted for 45 percent of all new broadband connections. TelstraClear's head of wholesale, Raymond O'Brien, described the agreement as being "a pragmatic step that resolves a number of outstanding issues and allows us to focus on delivering services to our customers." O'Brien said TelstraClear had more than 100,000 ISP customers outside its Wellington and Christchurch network area that would benefit from the UBS agreement. "We're looking forward to joining the nationwide broadband market at last. We've reached a commercially viable agreement that retains the key features of the Commerce Commission's December decision and makes broadband available to our customers more quickly." However, he said the agreement had not changed his company's views on the wholesale market. "Unbundling and the development of a true wholesale market remain critical...The agreement is an achievement given the environment we operate in. Improving that environment is something we will continue to discuss with the government." |
Tags
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|
