TelstraClear firm on new mobile network

TelstraClear is adamant it's not bluffing on plans to build the country's third mobile phone network, but is staying tight-lipped on when it will be operational and how it will pay its way.

Allan Freeth, the new chief executive of TelstraClear, said the company's board was "halfway" through a strategic review of investment decisions with the building of a mobile network high on the agenda.

"Our intention is to build a mobile network. We have got a viable business case," he said.

Freeth brushed aside the concerns of market analysts that the construction of a third mobile network in New Zealand would be a financial disaster.