Telecom breaks silence on HSPA+

Photo / Supplied

After dealing with XT troubles, Telecom has broken its silence on network development.

Yesterday Telecom outlined its HSPA+ technology that edges up average data speeds from around 3 megabits per second to 4 megabits per second.

Rival 2degrees this week launched its 3G offer with a data network offering average speeds of 800 to 1400 kilobits per second, on a par with Vodafone.

Vodafone spokesman Paul Brislen said the faster version would not be available until the "quality and reliability is there".

Telecom had originally planned to upgrade its network to HSPA+ late last year, but a series of major failures on the XT network that saw services cut to customers south of Taupo delayed the move.

Telecom has been rolling out the HSPA+ technology over the past few months.

Statistics New Zealand data last month showed more than half of all households with internet were using a laptop or handheld computer to access the internet at home, five times more than in 2006.

Away from home, a quarter of internet users were tapping mobile phones or wireless hotspots to access the internet - up 80 per cent on four years ago.

Telecom Retail chief executive Alan Gourdie said Telecom's mobile data volumes have doubled in the past year.

* Standard & Poor's has placed Telecom's A long-term credit rating on creditwatch and said it might be cut by one or two notches if the company separated its access network into a new standalone company.