Telecom boosts broadband numbers by 38 per cent

Telecom said today broadband internet subscriptions are booming, with 47,132 new connections in the March quarter.

Telecom said it had 169,937 residential broadband customers as at March 31, up 38 per cent on the previous quarter.

Among the new broadband connections, 23 per cent signed up to Telecom's competitors under Unbundled Bitstream Services (UBS) and wholesale broadband plans.

Telecom has a target of 250,000 broadband connections by the end of this year. Of this, the Telecommunications Commissioner has said a third need to be through other providers who buy wholesale bitstream service. Failure to comply could bring further regulation.

Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung said in a statement Telecom had launched faster UBS plans in the quarter, as requested by their competitors.

"We're now seeing increasing growth in he rate of new wholesale connections, and we will be making wholesale a priority in coming months," Ms Gattung said.

Telecom's progress is being monitored by the Commerce Commission, which released its quarterly report today.

The commission said 152,004 of Telecom's connections were residential retail, while 17,933 were residential wholesale connections.

The commission said Telecom had achieved 68 per cent of its total broadband connection target and 21.6 per cent of its wholesale broadband target.

- NZPA