Woosh set for phone service rollout

Broadband provider Woosh Wireless said today it has signed an interconnection agreement with Telecom, paving the way for a roll out of phone services.

Woosh's commercial and legal manager Nick Clarke said the agreement concluded several months of negotiation between the two companies.

The terms of the agreement are "commercially confidential", but will allow Woosh to offer local calling, mobile, national and international toll calls, Mr Clarke said.

He said Woosh was pleased to have reached an agreement without any regulatory intervention.

Interconnection is the means by which network operators pass calls to one another.

Woosh, founded by Rod Inglis in 1999, is privately owned by Todd Capital, Stephen Tindall, Craig Heatley and Mr Inglis.

It is touted to list on the sharemarket later this year in a $40 million float.

Woosh had 15,000 wireless broadband customers as at the end of July. It aims to provide cover for all the main cities and is currently rolling out its network in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Southland.

- NZPA