Download Weekly: Chorus makes copper deregulation case
Chorus says copper regulation is no longer needed
Reannz expands with New Zealand eScience Infrastructure
Utilities Disputes Tautohetohe Whaipainga find billing remains a pain for consumers
Cello starts procurement business
Was this email forwarded to you? You can subscribe here.
"Ditch copper rules as competition kicks in, user numbers decline"
In its latest response to the Commerce Commission investigation into deregulating copper services, Chorus argues that increased competition and the rapid decline in the number of people using the services make regulation unnecessary.
The network company shows data which reveals copper connections have dropped 33 percent since June 2023 when the draft report was published. Today, there are around 100k homes still on copper. Of these, 75k are in rural areas.
Chorus points out it doesn't make sense to use legislation to adapt the Copper Withdrawal Code for non-fibre areas as there are now numerous alternatives available for users.
At the same time Chorus says that given the rapid decline in copper user numbers and the speed of the legislative process, any law changes would be redundant by the time they are passed.
Chorus is anything but a lonely voice on this topic. There is strong and widespread support for deregulating a range of copper services. Among those agreeing with Chorus are Rural Women New Zealand, One NZ, Tuatahi First Fibre and Spark. The NZ Telecommunications Forum, which represents almost the entire remainder of the industry, is also in favour.
Reannz completes New Zealand eScience Infrastructure takeover
New Zealand eScience Infrastructure is now part of Reannz. The crown-owned business running the government-funded broadband network used by scientists and researchers, has absorbed an organisation that builds high-performance computing systems for research projects.
Reannz chief executive Amber McEwen says: 'Creating centralised eResearch infrastructure will decrease fragmentation and enable more equitable access to infrastructure and key specialist capabilities. Over time, it will create critical mass and enable us to offer a broader range of services.'
Billing remains sore point with consumers
This year's annual report from Utilities Disputes Tautohetohe Whaipainga notes there has been a 36 percent increase in complaints and queries across energy, water and telecommunications. The service handled 8356 complaints compared with 6997 in the previous year.
Billing remains the most common complaint to reach the service and at 48 percent, accounts for almost half the total.
As commissioner and CEO Neil Mallon notes in his message at the start of the report, disputes over billing are no surprise. He writes:
'This increase is a reflection of the difficult financial circumstances of many consumers as price increases place more pressure on the cost of living. It's reasonable to expect consumers will apply more scrutiny to their bills, and that they'll be more likely to raise a concern or complaint.'
Cello launches procurement business
Cello has formed an in-house procurement division which it says will 'Deliver strategic sourcing of telecommunications equipment and, over time, support a broader range of hardware, software and services.' Strategic in this context means being able to align equipment sourcing with business outcomes.
The new business will be headed by recent recruit Francis File, who spent 11 years working at Spark, most recently as GM of procurement.
File says his goal will be to bring clarity and expert advice to procurement decision-making: 'By blending sourcing expertise with vendor insights, we aim to help our clients make informed choices about their technology investments.'
In other news...
Building a resilient network — Telecommunications Forum
Government gets stick for its AI strategy — NZ Herald
The poms are good at fibre — Financial Times
Starlink is gathering momentum in NZ — Interest
Cows like wearables — Farmers Weekly
Three new folding phones from Samsung
Samsung has announced three new folding phones: the Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7 and Galaxy Z FlipFE. The first two are updates to existing models, the third, the FlipFE, is a cheaper folding phone.
The Fold7 is a thinner, lighter, conventional folding phone and the first to run Android 16 out of the box while the FlipFE is a lower cost entry point.
Folding phones remain something of a novelty. According to Statista, they accounted for just 0.5 percent of the total mobile phone market in 2021. They still represent less than two percent of the market.
This lack of consumer interest is easier to understand when you look at the price of these phones. Prices for Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold7 start at $3250 for a phone with 256GB of storage. A model with a terabyte of storage costs a nose-bleed $4100. Even the FlipFE, which Samsung describes as 'more affordable' costs $1700 for a version with 128GB of storage and $1820 for a model with 256GB.
ITU reports New Zealand telecommunications investment
The International Telecommunication Union has released worldwide industry investment figures for 2022. New Zealand is a relatively small player with an investment of US$991 million.
Download Weekly five years ago
Vodafone, 2degrees offer mobile experience polish: A report from Tutela gave plaudits to Vodafone and 2degrees.
Enjoy the Download Weekly? Feel free to pass this email on to your colleagues.
Have your say subscribers are able to comment on any newsletter or story on the website. Just scroll to the bottom of the page. Reader emails are also welcome.
The Download Weekly is supported by Chorus New Zealand.
Chorus makes copper deregulation case was first posted at billbennett.co.nz.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
06-08-2025
- NZ Herald
NZ sharemarket flat amid US slump, eyes on Trump's tariffs
'I think people are still holding their breath for the reporting season, which begins next week, and then it really gets going the following week,' Lister said. 'We're just in a bit of a holding pattern in terms of the stock-specific news. We don't really want to hear from any of these businesses because when you hear from a business this close to reporting season, it can often mean that it's going to be a profit downgrade they're obliged to tell us about. 'No news is probably good news at this point on the corporate front.' On the NZX, Lister pointed to Chorus and Gentrack Group, which had positive days. Chorus lifted 29c to $9.09 on turnover of $5.4m, while Gentrack rallied by 3.78% or 37c to $10.15. Infratil also continued its positive run, with Lister noting its share price had gained just over 4% during the week. Infratil lifted 1.26% or 15c to $12.05, on turnover worth $24.6m. As for the decliners, SkyCity was down 2.04% to $0.96, Restaurant Brands fell 1.72% to $2.85 on turnover of $3.57m, and Auckland Airport fell 1.18% to $7.55 on turnover of $7.6m. Elsewhere, Stats NZ released unemployment data for the June quarter, with the headline figure rising to 5.2%, slightly below economists' predictions of 5.3%. Lister said while it hadn't gone up as much as people were expecting, it was still at its highest levels since the pandemic. 'That's the last really important data point ahead of the Reserve Bank meeting in a fortnight's time. The balance of risks definitely suggests that another cut is required this month. 'You've got to remember that unemployment tends to be a lagging indicator, so it doesn't tell you a lot about what's coming.' Overnight, the Global Dairy Auction took place, with the second increase in a row following four consecutive declines. International news Wall Street stocks retreated on Tuesday local time as markets monitored ongoing trade talks ahead of new tariff increases set to take effect later this week. US stocks initially looked poised to extend Monday's rally but soon tumbled into negative territory. 'We're struggling for direction right now,' said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. 'After a big move up over the last few weeks, it's perfectly normal and healthy to see the market consolidate or go sideways a little bit.' The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.1% at 44,111.74. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 6299.19, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.7% to 20,916.55. US President Donald Trump told CNBC he plans fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. The statement comes before a separate set of tariff increases goes into force on dozens of economies later this week. Swiss officials travelled to Washington on Tuesday to try to strike a last-minute deal. – Additional reporting AFP Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
Scoop
03-08-2025
- Scoop
Download Weekly: One plans more MVNOs
Article – Bill Bennett In this edition: One NZ plans branded MVNOs – Chorus extends fibre network – Spark shuffles board One NZ turns to Fastter to kickstart MVNO business One New Zealand has a three-year deal with Australia's Fastter, a business packaging MVNOs for brands looking for quick entry into the mobile market. To customers, MVNOs or Mobile Virtual Network Operators look like telcos. They have their own billing and support systems, but behind the scenes they piggyback off existing networks and infrastructure. In many cases, MVNOs are able to innovate and offer plans that are distinct from those sold by traditional carriers. David Joss, CEO of Advantai Group, the company behind Fastter, says if the conditions are right, his business can launch a fully branded mobile offering in nine weeks. Usually the process takes more than nine months and requires significant investment. Removing the barriers He says Fastter removes the barriers to market entry: 'We're offering zero risks to entry via a revenue-share model. Time, cost and regulatory compliance are usually the key challenges for brands to launch their own mobile solutions, which we manage for our partners.' Businesses in the Advantai Group already support more than a dozen Australian MVNOs. Advantai's pitch is to sell mobile as a tool for established brands such as supermarkets or fuel companies to build greater customer loyalty. New Zealand MVNOs missing in action To date, MVNOs have not been as prominent in New Zealand as elsewhere in the world. Estimates suggest MVNOs account for between 17 and 19 percent of Australia's mobile market. Similarly, they represent around 17 percent of the UK market. In Denmark they are a third of the market. Generally they are nearer to 10 percent, yet in New Zealand they have steadfastly remained at less than 2 percent. One NZ general manager Murray Osborne says there is massive untapped potential for brands: 'This is the perfect way to ensure your brand is in your customers' pockets. Phones are now people's life remotes, and no one in New Zealand is offering this sort of out-of-the-box solution yet.' Chorus completes fibre expansion Last week saw the completion of the civil engineering stage of a $40 million project to expand the Chorus fibre network further into rural and regional areas. Chorus says 59 communities will soon have access to fibre after the largest network expansion since the end of the government supported UFB programme three years ago. The expansion passes 9000 premises. Chorus says more than half of the 4500 premises that are ready for service have indicated interest in being connected. Rotorua was a focus, with 10 communities and over 1800 premises connected. Good response Chorus CEO Mark Aue says there has already been a good response in the newly connected areas and that he expects numbers to grow now that the construction work is complete. 'At a time where core infrastructure is increasingly being lost in regional New Zealand, we're trying to do the opposite and rebuild through digital capability.' The next step for Chorus' network expansion is to turn a proposal that was included in the draft National Infrastructure Plan into reality. Aue says the company is committed to partnering with government and industry to explore innovative funding models that draw on both public and private capital to extend fibre coverage even further. 'We're not stopping here. The next 8 percent of fibre coverage equates to around 160,000 premises across 1,000 communities. For an expected cost of $2.7 billion, extending fibre to 95 percent of the country is projected to deliver over $17 billion in economic benefits over the next decade.' Spark shuffle board, prepares to announce data centre partner Spark is describing a change of board members as a 'strategic renewal'. There are three new directors: Lindsay Wright, Vince Hawksworth and Tarek Robbiati. Gordon MacLeod and Sheridan Broadbent are stepping down. Spark chair Justine Smyth is also stepping down. For now, there is no indication of her replacement. Meanwhile, a report in the Australian Financial Review says Spark's recent board meeting discussed which one of four bidders will take a substantial stake in the company's data centre business. InternetNZ defeats external challenge InternetNZ, the administrator of New Zealand's .NZ country code top-level domain, appears to have weathered the storm at last night's AGM. A series of ten motions advocated by the Free Speech Union and its allies were all defeated by a healthy margin. The motions were designed, among other things, to distance the organisation from its previous commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi. For now details are sketchy. We'll have more on this story in a future report. Meanwhile, here is the background to the challenge. Tuatahi hires Cleaver as CFO Tuatahi First Fibre chief financial officer Anna Cleaver.c Anna Cleaver is Tuatahi First Fibre's new chief financial officer. She joins Tuatahi from Kingfisher and has previously worked for Chorus in New Zealand and Telstra in Australia. Cleaver has competed as a professional triathlete. She replaces Joel Bettley who spent six years with the central North Island fibre wholesale company. International MVNO expands coverage Customers of US-based international MVNO Fonus can now have local phone numbers in the UK, Mexico, Hong Kong, Sweden and Chile. Previously customers had to use either US or Canadian numbers. It's the latest step for a business aimed at travellers and remote workers. Fonus uses the Spark network in New Zealand. In other news… New Zealand's new ground-based space infrastructure law —Newsroom India now ships more phones than China —The Register A tech career can take you all the way to the top —ITP Techblog This week's NZ satellite broadband market analysis has moved to its own page. Download Weekly five years ago Spark announced plans to start its main 5G mobile roll-out in Palmerston North. This low key approach was eight months after rival Vodafone had entered the 5G market with a bang. Spark had to wait for suitable spectrum to become available while Vodafone had its own spectrum ready to go. Enjoy the Download Weekly? Feel free to pass this email on to your colleagues. The Download Weekly is supported by Chorus New Zealand. One NZ plans more MVNOs was first posted at
Scoop
03-08-2025
- Scoop
Download Weekly: One plans more MVNOs
Sunday, 3 August 2025, 11:51 am Article: Bill Bennett One NZ turns to Fastter to kickstart MVNO business Kieran Byrne, One NZ chief technology officer and David Joss, Advantai Group CEO. One New Zealand has a three-year deal with Australia's Fastter, a business packaging MVNOs for brands looking for quick entry into the mobile market. To customers, MVNOs or Mobile Virtual Network Operators look like telcos. They have their own billing and support systems, but behind the scenes they piggyback off existing networks and infrastructure. In many cases, MVNOs are able to innovate and offer plans that are distinct from those sold by traditional carriers. David Joss, CEO of Advantai Group, the company behind Fastter, says if the conditions are right, his business can launch a fully branded mobile offering in nine weeks. Usually the process takes more than nine months and requires significant investment. Removing the barriers He says Fastter removes the barriers to market entry: 'We're offering zero risks to entry via a revenue-share model. Time, cost and regulatory compliance are usually the key challenges for brands to launch their own mobile solutions, which we manage for our partners.' Businesses in the Advantai Group already support more than a dozen Australian MVNOs. Advantai's pitch is to sell mobile as a tool for established brands such as supermarkets or fuel companies to build greater customer loyalty. New Zealand MVNOs missing in action To date, MVNOs have not been as prominent in New Zealand as elsewhere in the world. Estimates suggest MVNOs account for between 17 and 19 percent of Australia's mobile market. Similarly, they represent around 17 percent of the UK market. In Denmark they are a third of the market. Generally they are nearer to 10 percent, yet in New Zealand they have steadfastly remained at less than 2 percent. One NZ general manager Murray Osborne says there is massive untapped potential for brands: 'This is the perfect way to ensure your brand is in your customers' pockets. Phones are now people's life remotes, and no one in New Zealand is offering this sort of out-of-the-box solution yet.' Chorus completes fibre expansion Last week saw the completion of the civil engineering stage of a $40 million project to expand the Chorus fibre network further into rural and regional areas. Chorus says 59 communities will soon have access to fibre after the largest network expansion since the end of the government supported UFB programme three years ago. The expansion passes 9000 premises. Chorus says more than half of the 4500 premises that are ready for service have indicated interest in being connected. Rotorua was a focus, with 10 communities and over 1800 premises connected. Good response Chorus CEO Mark Aue says there has already been a good response in the newly connected areas and that he expects numbers to grow now that the construction work is complete. 'At a time where core infrastructure is increasingly being lost in regional New Zealand, we're trying to do the opposite and rebuild through digital capability.' The next step for Chorus' network expansion is to turn a proposal that was included in the draft National Infrastructure Plan into reality. Aue says the company is committed to partnering with government and industry to explore innovative funding models that draw on both public and private capital to extend fibre coverage even further. 'We're not stopping here. The next 8 percent of fibre coverage equates to around 160,000 premises across 1,000 communities. For an expected cost of $2.7 billion, extending fibre to 95 percent of the country is projected to deliver over $17 billion in economic benefits over the next decade.' Spark shuffle board, prepares to announce data centre partner Spark is describing a change of board members as a 'strategic renewal'. There are three new directors: Lindsay Wright, Vince Hawksworth and Tarek Robbiati. Gordon MacLeod and Sheridan Broadbent are stepping down. Spark chair Justine Smyth is also stepping down. For now, there is no indication of her replacement. Meanwhile, a report in the Australian Financial Review says Spark's recent board meeting discussed which one of four bidders will take a substantial stake in the company's data centre business. InternetNZ defeats external challenge InternetNZ, the administrator of New Zealand's .NZ country code top-level domain, appears to have weathered the storm at last night's AGM. A series of ten motions advocated by the Free Speech Union and its allies were all defeated by a healthy margin. The motions were designed, among other things, to distance the organisation from its previous commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi. For now details are sketchy. We'll have more on this story in a future report. Meanwhile,here is the background to the challenge. Tuatahi hires Cleaver as CFO Tuatahi First Fibre chief financial officer Anna Cleaver. Tuatahi First Fibre chief financial officer Anna Cleaver.c Anna Cleaver is Tuatahi First Fibre's new chief financial officer. She joins Tuatahi from Kingfisher and has previously worked for Chorus in New Zealand and Telstra in Australia. Cleaver has competed as a professional triathlete. She replaces Joel Bettley who spent six years with the central North Island fibre wholesale company. International MVNO expands coverage Customers of US-based international MVNO Fonus can now have local phone numbers in the UK, Mexico, Hong Kong, Sweden and Chile. Previously customers had to use either US or Canadian numbers. It's the latest step for a business aimed at travellers and remote workers. Fonus uses the Spark network in New Zealand. In other news... This week's NZ satellite broadband market analysis has moved to its own page. Download Weekly five years ago Spark announced plans to start its main 5G mobile roll-out in Palmerston North. This low key approach was eight months after rival Vodafone had entered the 5G market with a bang. Spark had to wait for suitable spectrum to become available while Vodafone had its own spectrum ready to go. Enjoy the Download Weekly? Feel free to pass this email on to your colleagues. Have your say. subscribers are able to comment on any newsletter or story on the website. Just scroll to the bottom of the page. Reader emails are also welcome. The Download Weekly is supported by Chorus New Zealand. One NZ plans more MVNOs was first posted at © Scoop Media
