Telstra takes on BNZ's technology

By Richard Braddell

WELLINGTON - Telstra is to broaden its New Zealand beachhead with a multi-million dollar deal to manage nearly all the Bank of New Zealand's telecommunications needs.

The agreement, set to be announced next week, involves management of telecommunications throughout the bank's 195-branch network and is on a scale likely to rival a similar $20 million deal with Fletcher Challenge that was sealed late last year.

The Bank of New Zealand's business technology manager, Glenn Patrick, confirmed the agreement existed but declined to provide details since they would be announced at a press conference next week.

However, the arrangement, which will exclude mobile services in the short-term, is likely to result in more Telstra staff joining the two already working at the BNZ.

Telstra, which attacked the New Zealand market in earnest less than three years ago, has built its NZ business around its total management service package which relies heavily on using other carriers' services to knit together a comprehensive integrated service.

In signing the deal, Telstra appears to be taking a punt on the outcome of a rebilling dispute with Telecom arising from the latter's refusal to continue redirecting billing information on its customers to Telstra. Although far from fatal to the contract, the absence of rebilling will make administration more complex.
* Telecom and Bell South New Zealand have settled legal action launched by Bell South in 1997 against what they claimed was anti-competitive behaviour by Telecom. Bell South has since sold the business to Vodafone.