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May 1999

• Xtra, the country’s largest ISP (Internet services provider), starts offering flat-rate access to the Internet for $39.95 a month after Clear announced that it intended to do the same. Ihug has been offering flat-rate access for several years.

• Telecom introduces ongoing $5 capped weekend calls to Australia and $10 capped weekend calls to the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and Canada.

• The Commerce Commission authorises the Number Administration Deed. The parties to the Deed had applied to the Commerce Commission for authorisation because it made access to numbering resources dependent on signing up to the Deed. The Commission concluded that the Deed did not have the effect of lessening competition, and that its public benefit meant that it should be allowed despite the exclusionary provision relating to access to numbers.

June 1999

• Vodafone announces it will spend $200 million over the next two years to upgrade its cellphone network to cope with increased demand.

• Telecom launches its JetStream fast Internet service. JetStream uses RADSL (Rate Adaptive Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology to allow large amounts of data to be sent down a normal telephone line at high speed, while still allowing the line to be used for normal telephone conversations. The cheapest JetStream service allows 600 Mb of data a month to be downloaded (equivalent to about 220 hours online) for $89 (including GST and ISP charges). Installation and modem costs are extra.

• Clear announces that a $5.5 million bank of computers, referred to as a switch, went live in Christchurch. The computers are the central switching point for the toll, data, and local traffic to and from all of CLEAR’s South Island customers. Previously, this traffic was switched through the company’s Wellington facility.

• BT increases its shareholding in CLEAR Communications to 100 per cent.

August 1999

• Saturn launches a high-speed Internet service for its residential customers. The new service allows a personal computer user Internet access over Saturn’s cable network through a cable-modem and an Ethernet card in the PC.

• Telecom announces plans to replace its mobile telephone network with new cdmaOne digital technology. The CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology will provide a high quality digital cellular service with high capacity, high-speed mobile data transmission. The new network will not be launched until 2001.

• Ihug launches calling cards allowing casual use of its cheap toll call service that runs voice traffic over data circuits using voice-over-internet protocol.

• The Government announces its intended changes to the telecommunications information disclosure regime. A key change is a requirement for Telecom to calculate and disclose the net economic cost of complying with Kiwi Share obligations. Another major change is a requirement for Telecom to publish six monthly financial statements that split Telecom’s operations into a local loop business and other telecommunications services. The changes are to take effect from 1 January 2000, with the first financial statements due on 30 September 2000.

September 1999

• The $2 billion Southern Cross cable, which is 50% owned by Telecom, lands on Takapuna beach in Auckland, completing its trans-Tasman stretch. Once it is entirely completed, the 29,000 km Southern Cross cable will be New Zealand’s and Australia’s highest capacity route to North America.

• The Government announces it is satisfied with Telecom’s 0867 Internet initiative so long as 0867 is not charged for and service quality is maintained. From 1 November, Telecom plan to introduce a 2c a minute Internet Dial- up Charge (IDC) for Internet 12 access for residential line customers after 10 hours of free use each month.1 The charge will not apply to Telecom customers who use 0867, 0873 IPNet, or 0800 toll free numbers to dial-up their ISP.

November 1999

• Elizabeth Longworth is appointed chair to the Number Administration Deed Management Committee.

 

Telecommunications Main

1998

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2001

 

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1. The introduction of the 2c a minute charge was delayed by at least a month for the customers of many ISPs. This was to allow all the ISPs to be connected to the new number range.

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