Telecom threat to block 0867 callers

By Richard Braddell

WELLINGTON - The row over 0867 internet access may come to a head on Monday when Telecom says it will refuse to either deliver or receive 0867 traffic with other networks unless they have signed an 0867 agreement.

Monday is the day Telecom's 0867 prefix comes into effect for residential customers accessing internet service providers who want to avoid paying Telecom what has been labelled an internet tax of 2c a minute for more than 10 hours' internet access a month.

But so far, no other network has signed the agreement presented by Telecom and spokesman Glen Sowry said Telecom would not deliver internet traffic to or from other networks that had not signed.

Clear Communications, which stands to lose tens of millions of dollars in interconnection revenue on the basis of Telecom's argument that 0867 is outside interconnection agreements, has decided to reimburse its Clear Net customers the 2c a minute they will be charged after 10 hours for standard local dial-ups.

But Telstra and Wellington's Saturn Communications are adamant that Telecom's 0867 contract is redundant because it is already covered by local service interconnection agreements.

Telstra's general counsel, Deanne Weir, said it would not be greatly affected because most of its customers were non-residential. But while she sympathised with Telecom's aim of managing internet traffic, she said it should be dealt with by renegotiating the interconnection agreements.

But Saturn Communications, which hosts Wellington's second largest internet provider, Paradise Net, as well as Voyager, stands to lose a considerable amount of interconnection revenue through 0867.

Saturn says it is technically ready to receive and deliver 0867 traffic, but will not sign the agreement.

Its chief executive, Jack Matthews, said it had offered to zero-rate internet calls at the time its interconnection agreement with Telecom was negotiated because it was afraid of the cost of delivering a large number of calls to Telecom's provider, Xtra.

Telecom refused, and so Saturn built its business around hosting providers to attract interconnect revenue the other way. But Saturn's position as host to Paradise in Wellington could be in danger if Telecom refuses to deliver 0867 traffic to Saturn.

Paradise's Shane Cole said it would be forced to move modems on to Telecom's network if that happened.

Paradise had several million dollars worth of infrastructure that it could not afford to keep exclusively at Saturn if there was no resolution with Telecom.