Orcon Expands Unbundled Network

News release double – 1

April 30, 2008

Orcon Expands Unbundled Network

Seven new exchanges more than double existing reach

Orcon’s unbundled high-speed internet and phone service will be available to double the number of Aucklanders by the end of May.

The Auckland-based internet service provider has announced that from today (April 30) its new service is available to subscribers in the Auckland CBD and Takapuna exchange areas.

The unbundling of the new exchanges means that next generation, high-speed broadband will be available to double the number of Aucklanders. The next exchanges to be unbundled are Blockhouse Bay, Manurewa, Howick, Mt Eden and Remuera.

Phone and broadband customers in the seven exchange areas will then be able to sign up for Orcon’s faster broadband and unlimited national calls - and no longer have to deal with Telecom.

Called Orcon@home+, the company’s unbundled telephone and ADSL2+ broadband network was initially launched to customers via five Auckland exchanges in March.

Orcon is the first telecommunications provider to introduce new phone and internet plans following the Government’s decision in late 2006 to ‘unbundle’ the local loop, the copper wires that link homes to their neighbourhood exchanges.

The seven new exchanges are the first of a further 10 in Auckland to be added by mid-2008, with major cities coming on stream in stages through 2008 and 2009.

CEO Scott Bartlett says customers on unbundled lines are seeing greatly enhanced speeds.

“We have been receiving a huge amount of feedback from people really impressed at the higher speeds. Customers are telling us that where they used to wait several minutes for a high definition movie trailer to load, it is now plays in under a minute.

“Their You Tube video watching has been revolutionised – no more waiting for the video to load and buffering during it. They feel like finally they can use the web the way it’s meant to be used'.

“We are committed to driving ahead with unbundling and I am extremely happy that we are set to double our reach.”

Mr Bartlett says the company can manage the entire process for customers including notifying their previous ISP of their move to Orcon.

Orcon’s new unbundled ADSL2+ service has the potential to deliver speeds of up to 24 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and up to 1 Mbps upstream[1], roughly tripling the downstream bandwidth capacity of standard ADSL. ADSL is the common existing broadband standard in New Zealand.

Orcon has three plans, all of which include “world class” broadband. The main plans offer unlimited toll calls in New Zealand, and the ultimate package includes unlimited overseas calls to one of 15 countries of the subscriber’s choice.

There is no minimum contract period with subscribers billed monthly and Orcon says its customers are capable of saving hundreds of dollars a year.

ENDS

About Orcon®

Orcon is New Zealand's fourth biggest ISP, and the third largest internet wholesaler in New Zealand. Orcon employs more than 100 people in New Zealand and provides services to more than 100,000 New Zealand businesses and homes. Orcon has been in the business for 10 years and in both 2006 and 2007 was voted Internet Service Provider of the Year by the telecom users group TUANZ.

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[1] Downstream means data downloaded onto a computer from the internet; upstream is data sent from a computer to the internet.

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