Swain to review telecoms statute

By RICHARD PAMATATAU

Communications Minister Paul Swain plans to review the Telecommunications Act later next year.

He said the act still needed time to settle but that he would look at how it was working and what might need some work.

"I am very happy with the telecommunications environment in New Zealand."

Swain was responding to criticism that little had been done to assist new players into the New Zealand telecommunications market.

People who criticised the telecommunications market had not recognised that there had been significant changes, over a relatively short time, said Swain.

He said the telecommunications commissioner, Douglas Webb, had done a "fabulous job" considering he had been working from a "zero base".

Vodafone and TelstraClear are talking about putting significant investment into the market to build 3G mobile networks, he said, and that would not happen if they did not consider it worthwhile.

He said the commissioner had made progress on interconnect agreements between Telecom and other carriers, though there was work still to be done.

Swain said wholesaling and the telecommunication service obligation were still vexed issues but reports were being done on both.

Though everybody talked about the importance of unbundling the local loop and see it as the "silver bullet for development", Swain said it had had a "mixed press" round the world when its success was measured.