KEY POINTS:
It's only the first hand in what could turn out to be a long session of mobile network poker.
But Vodafone's opening bid - putting a proposal on the table to try to gazump the regulators - at least signals that the game is on.
If we could entice one or two more serious players to join the action, we'd be on our way to the desired outcome: a more competitive mobile market.
New Zealand's mobile calling costs are unacceptably high and will fall only when a third provider arrives to shake up the Telecom/Vodafone duopoly.
To lure that elusive third provider we need a regulatory environment that will encourage significant investment in a new network. The hope is that changes ushered in by the Telecommunications Amendment Act last month will help achieve that.
Previously the incumbents have been able to derail regulation by schmoozing the Government on the eve of intervention, but they now have to lay their cards on the table before a review, which is what Vodafone did last week.
It gets tedious blaming Telecom for everything but its decision in the 80s to build a network on CDMA technology turned out to be the wrong one.
Just as VHS trumped Betamax, so Vodafone's technology choice, GSM, became the default global standard.
So anyone wanting to build a new network here will opt for GSM. That means a roaming arrangement with Vodafone - the current monopoly GSM provider - is unavoidable, at least while the newcomer builds its own network of cell sites.
Sensing it has little to offer, Telecom has already tossed in its hand - it didn't submit a proposal to counter Vodafone's.
Vodafone's offer is to charge competitors 21.5c a minute to use its network. That figure will be argued over as the game plays out and ultimately the Commerce Commission will decide if it is a fair and competition-stimulating price or not.
Who else could be tempted to join the game? TelstraClear, building a trial network in Tauranga, is a possibility but does it have enough chips to play? Australian parent Telstra is preoccupied with its problems at home and seems uninterested in a major New Zealand investment.
Econet has made a lot of noise but is not considered a serious contender.
Australian-listed Macquarie Telecom has sniffed around before and rising star CallPlus says it has secured a $US450 million ($647 million) war chest. Let's hope one of these potential players (or someone else) pulls up a chair soon.
