Regulate Telecom And Vodafone Urges Peters

Rt Hon Winston Peters has called on the Government to regulate the telecommunication industry because of the rapacious pricing policies of the big-players.

“Telecom and Vodafone are making huge profits at the expense of New Zealanders. We have one of the highest determination costs of any OECD country, and there is nothing to stop these rates continually rising,” said Mr Peters.

“These companies are driven by pure greed, extorting money from consumers who have no say in how much they are forced to pay.

“It seems ridiculous that while Vodafone and Telecom sit on obscenely high profits, New Zealanders are being charged over double what people in other countries are paying to make mobile calls.

“Additionally, Telecom has been given the right of way to crush any would-be competitors in the DSL broadband marketplace, where the cost of internet connection and of making a call from a landline to a mobile is also exorbitant.

“The focus needs to be on reasonable standard rates in communications. Australian operators have already been ordered to lower termination rates by 50 percent before 2007.

“Regulation will ensure that these rip-off merchants are made to bring mobile and other charges into line with other OECD countries. That is only fair and grossly overdue,” Mr Peters said.

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