Ihug says job cuts last part of restructuring

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Ihug managing director Nick Wood describes 10 redundancies the internet service provider made yesterday as the last phase of restructuring that was planned last year.

Mr Wood confirmed that the total job losses since October were well below the maximum of 60 he had announced at that time.

Staff numbers had grown to over 300 last year but the company needed to trim itself before entering the next stage of its development.

This centred on an upgrade of its Ultra broadband internet service which would improve upload speeds by using a two-way wireless link.

Mr Wood said the revamped Ultra system would bypass Telecom's monopoly of the local loop and could be used for phone services as well as internet connections.

When the system became available in the middle of the year, ihug would be able to compete with Telecom and Telstra Saturn in urban centres, as well as offering a broadband service to rural clients.

Mr Wood said Ultra would appeal to between 200,000 and 300,000 thousand homes and business in New Zealand that were affected by poor copper quality, and 400,000 homes in Australia which had no internet service at all.