Dangers seen in spectrum action

By RICHARD BRADDELL

WELLINGTON - Gains to Maori and New Zealand from a head start in third-generation cellular technologies could be jeopardised by further Maori action to delay next month's mobile spectrum auction, says an academic who supported Maori claimants last year at the Waitangi Tribunal.

Professor Howard Frederick yesterday resigned in protest from the Maori Information Technology and Telecommunications Council, a body set up last year to further Maori involvement in third-generation cellular technologies.

Professor Frederick said yesterday that he had not resiled from his view expressed to the Waitangi Tribunal that the radio spectrum was a taonga, or treasure, that in part at least belonged to Maori.

He said the window of opportunity in which New Zealand could get a head start over the rest of the world was little more than six to 12 months, and any delay would see that advantage quickly eroded.

Instead, Maori interests should be preparing themselves for other spectrum opportunities that came up.

"I still support the taonga argument, frankly. But there will be other opportunities and I think that tactically at this time the benefit weighs on the side of the economic advantage," he said.

Maori were already allocated a quarter of the third-generation spectrum up for auction.