Bidder calls foul in rural broadband project

Either Telecom/Vodafone or the OpenGate alliance are tipped to win the contracts. Photo / Filephoto

One of the leading bidders vying for rural broadband contracts claims "misinformation" has forced it to reveal part of its proposal less than a fortnight before a final deal is expected.

Within two weeks the Government will award contracts for the construction of a rural broadband network it is hoped will bring internet speeds of up to 100 megabits per second to 97 per cent of rural schools and hospitals, and 10 megabits per second to households and businesses.

The network will run alongside the city-based ultra-fast broadband scheme and is being negotiated in a separate deal.

The three groups tendering for the project are a pairing of Vodafone and Telecom, Maori-led initiative Torotoro Waea, and the OpenGate consortium made up of Kordia, Woosh and FX Networks.

Either Telecom/Vodafone or the OpenGate alliance are tipped to win the contracts.

Despite media speculation this week that the Telecom/Vodafone pairing would be awarded the tender, no formal announcement has been made.

This "impressive amount of public misinformation" around the process has led the OpenGate bidders to release more details about their proposal.

"[Vodafone and Telecom] took a number of actions to put information in the public domain supporting their bid. That information out there was not a complete, balanced story. For any member of the public trying to reach a conclusion on the differences between the two bids, it was necessary to hear our story as well," said Kordia's chief executive Geoff Hunt.

Vodafone's general manager of wholesale and new business Steve Rieger wrote about their broadband bid in a newspaper column and on Vodafone's forums on December 10 last year.

Hunt said that OpenGate consortium would have done the same, but understood the tenders were meant to be kept private.

The Economic Development Ministry confirmed that confidentiality was a "requirement of the tenders", however no legal agreements were signed.

Although wanting to keep quiet, given media speculation and the "high degree of public interest" in the bid it was best for OpenGate to put out a "definitive statement", Hunt said.

Vodafone denied Hunt's claims of divulging details that should be kept behind closed doors.

"We didn't reveal any details of a bid, the information [Hunt] is referring to is a letter, published on our website before Christmas. We're not interested in revealing any information we shouldn't be and we haven't done so," said Vodafone communications manager Michelle Baguley.

However, chief executive of industry lobby group TUANZ Paul Brislen said the more details the public get on the bids the better.

"We get to see these bids and see what's on offer, so the people of New Zealand who are going to be affected by any network build get to know what they're getting. It means you're not sitting there [when an announcement is made] wondering what that means for you," Brislen said.

The OpenGate release has been the first time the public has had a chance to look at both proposals and compare them, Brislen said.