Telco report of little value - InternetNZ

Telco report of little value - InternetNZ
Media Release
23 February 2009

InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) finds little to commend about the
incumbent telcos’ report “Getting the Most from High Speed Broadband in
New Zealand: Investing in Productivity Growth” but is not surprised
telcos are fighting the Government’s fibre rollout plan.

The document, while dated December last year, was not released to the
public until today. InternetNZ Executive Director Keith Davidson says
its key pitfall is the lack of vision in re-iterating tired arguments
about whether New Zealand needs fibre or not. Both National and Labour,
in pre-election pledges, elevated the debate from “whether or not we
need fibre to the home” to “how do we get fibre to the home”, and it
seems this report is seeking to take a backward step to the expectations
of New Zealanders and the Government.

This report also fails to take into account the information – including
detailed costing information – provided in the December release of the
InternetNZ-commissioned “Broadband Strategy Options for New Zealand”
report from consultancy Network Strategies.

“It is predictable that incumbent operators would put the interests of
their shareholders first in the debate about fibre. Their vested
interests should be front of mind when policymakers are considering this
report,” says Davidson.

“The independent Network Strategies report shows that incumbent telcos,
particularly Telecom, are under threat from power utilities, which can
roll out a fibre-to-the-home network for $2 billion less than the
telcos, and at a public cost close to the $1.5 billion that the National
Government campaigned on,” says Davidson.

The report talks about supporting the Government but in effect attacks
the Government’s position. John Key stated in campaigning that
“National's fibre-to-the-home goals are an essential part of our vision
for a step change in New Zealand. We believe that ultra high-speed
broadband, as afforded by fibre-to-the-home, can deliver dividends for
New Zealanders in all walks of life.”

InternetNZ agrees with Government’s vision and does not accept that
existing bandwidth is sufficient. “The Government has fully understood
that you cannot be talking about productivity without talking about
unconstrained broadband.”

“A fibre rollout is clearly a nation-building exercise, and as such
requires significant investment by the Government. The incumbents need
to focus on how they can work with Government to help deliver on the
vision, rather than trying to stand in the way,” concludes Davidson.

Network Strategies Report: http://bit.ly/yNkdA

ENDS

© Scoop Media