Telecom eyes pioneer phone

Telecom is keen to develop technology that would allow customers to use a single handset in their homes and out and about.

Chief executive Theresa Gattung said after yesterday's annual meeting in Christchurch that fixed-mobile packages were the latest industry hot topic and were a growth sector overseas.

"It's a real trend in Europe. BT have been world-leading," she told Business Day.

In June, British company BT Group launched a pioneering handset which operates as a cordless phone indoors and a mobile when the user goes outside.

The Fixed Mobile Convergence Alliance -- a group of member telco firms set up last year to integrate mobile and landline telephone services -- will meet in New Zealand next year to discuss the technology.

Ms Gattung said some of Telecom's interest was driven by a desire to personalise the fixed-line market, one of its traditional and largest businesses.

"We also feel that in the mobile market we have developed technologies with individuals but in the fixed market, it's just a phone," she said.

"We want to find ways that we can individualise the household."

Telecom's heavy broadband advertising in recent weeks had generated many new connections but Ms Gattung would not be drawn on numbers until the company officially informed the market next month.

"Momentum is strong," she said.

"Of course we are advertising but a lot of our competitors are advertising as well."

It was too early to gauge the impact of Vodafone's entering the 3G market early this year, she said, but Telecom's third generation business was enjoying strong growth.

Telecom has publicly committed to having 250,000 broadband customers by the end of this calendar year, a target that was well within its sights, with 147,000 connections gained during the last financial year.

Ms Gattung cautioned, however, that broadband would not financially deliver overnight, even though the service attracted a premium over traditional dial-up connections.

"Broadband isn't a sure thing goldmine," she said.

"It is investment in a capability which supplies potential new services but there's still a way to go to find out what they will pay for."

There were no fireworks at the annual meeting. The only slightly contentious question came from the Shareholders Association's Canterbury representative, Ritchie Mein, who sought clarification from chairman Roderick Deane on the amount Telecom gave to political parties.

The company last year donated $150,000, which included equal amounts to National and Labour and a proportional amount to smaller parties.

In an interview with BusinessDay, Ms Gattung expressed regret over the overcharging of 11,000 cellphone customers.

Telecom was ordered by the Commerce Commission this week to repay the customers a total of $54,000 -- double the amount it initially overcharged.

Ms Gattung said the company's call centres dealt with 33,000 calls a day and it was inevitable that some would be problematic.

At the meeting, Dr Deane was re-elected chairman and shareholders voted to keep directors Paul Baines and Patsy Reddy on the board for another term.

Shares in Telecom closed yesterday at $5.92, down 2c, against a broader market down one per cent.

- NZPA