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Telecom to Launch New Mobile Broadband Network Early
(27 Apr 2009, BWCS Staff)Telecom New Zealand says it will launch its XT 3G mobile network earlier than expected on the 13th of next month. The company added that it is rolling out new retail stores to support sales of smart phones planned for the new network. The NZ operator will provide overseas roaming service with international roaming to more than 206 destinations for voice calling and SMS to at least 110 destinations for mobile data. The company is pouring NZ$574 million (US$328.3 million) into its new network over the next two years. The majority of this investment is going on the core network, as well as new retail outlets and services, plus extensive investment in fibre-optic for the backhaul.
In April 2007 Australian operator TelstraClear said it was canceling its planned US$50 million high-speed mobile network in New Zealand. The company claimed the project - which it had dubbed "Unplugged" - would no longer have been viable after its rival Vodafone made a last-minute change to the roaming agreement drawn up between the two.
The so-called Unplugged network was designed to deliver mobile phone and broadband internet services, initially to the Tauranga region. The plan had been to extend the network to the rest of New Zealand after a successful launch.
However, a last minute change to the agreement with Vodafone, which Telstra said would effectively prevent its customers from using local Tauranga telephone numbers, forced TelstraClear to halt construction. The Australian company said it was forced to choose between delaying the launch and going to court or pushing on with a less attractive and less competitive service. In the end the company chose neither option and simply shut down work on the network.
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