Telecom wins Tourism Holdings deal

By PETER GRIFFIN

Telecom has won the Australian business of Tourism Holdings in a deal that links the company's transtasman operations across the telco's fledgling next-generation network.

The $1.5 million, three-year data deal is small but significant for two reasons: the Australian business was taken from second-ranked operator Optus and Tourism Holdings becomes one of the first companies to link multiple sites over the transtasman IP network, which across the Tasman is managed by Telecom subsidiary AAPT.

A third of the business will be done in Australia, the rest locally.

"There haven't been a lot of customers linking data networks this way," said Telecom's general manager of corporate sales, Mark O'Donnell.


Telecom was courting another two large transtasman corporates looking to follow the same path of Tourism Holdings, which stands to save $500,000 in communications costs over the term of the deal.

Tourism Holdings general manager Anthony Ku said saving money was a "secondary consideration" to having a stable and fast network.

Thirty sites such as Kelly Tarlton's in Auckland, the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves and the Milford Sound Red Boat Cruises would be on the network, connecting over various capacity links starting with DSL.

O'Donnell said the advantage was that the same access to Tourism Holdings' network could be provided in both countries.

"Work anywhere you want to work and be recognised as being on your own local area network."

While networking has allowed that to be done for some time, the next-generation network gives a one-standard service level, more efficient cost structure and flexibility to run IP-based services.

O'Donnell said Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) was not in Tourism Holdings' "short-term plans".

The company is considering live video feeds over the network so that visitors to its Auckland office can watch activity at Kelly Tarlton's or Milford Sound.