KEY POINTS:
New Zealand needs to move faster to improve broadband services, Communications Minister David Cunliffe said yesterday after releasing a report that again highlights the country's poor international ranking.
The report shows uptake of broadband in June last year was unchanged 22nd place out of 30 countries.
The report says our broadband market is focused on slower services and advanced packages for residents and small business users are not generally available.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Doug Sumner
This is just in response to Lars comments, why move to Australia? I have come over here after working with most of the major Telcos in NZ, and in the most honest truth it is worse here. The charges are tantamount to being daylight robbery, especially in the wireless arena of which Telstra only started late last year!. The speeds are shocking etc. At the end of it, I must admit I used to complain about NZ a lot, but now and seeing Telstras network etc...we are so fortunate to be ahead of the game (or getting there at least).The best one can do is bear with it, it will get better, and NZ is way ahead of Australia in so many areas of telco, I kid you not!
Trevor
I believe that the communications infrastructure should be owned and maintained by the either the government or the local city councils. Bulk bandwidth on this infrastructure should then be leased to the service providers like Telecom and Slingshot.This means that the data communications infrastructure is not controlled by companies like Telecom, who themselves compete with other service providers, and who are then likely to serve their own interests first. The Wellington city council seems to have got this right.
Paul Brown
The internet like most important things in the country obviously dont get the full focus of our leaders. Could the last intelligent person leaving the country turn out the light but remember where the key is hidden in case we get some leadership with a bit of backbone? Fraudband internet - its as good as dialup.
Glen
In Jan, Telecom sent me a "sorry' letter and 1 month credit saying tests showed that my DSL was now of such a a poor standard since unleashing and I should revert to Dial-up or consider dropping to a lower data-cap plan.Dial up! You have got to be joking? Why not offer a DSL plan that reflects the poor quality and priced at Dial-up rates? $15 a month for 5 gig data seems reasonable to me.
Bruce
The suggestions that we further involve the government is broadband fixing-up makes me want to scream. Sack the government. Sack Telecom. And bring in unlimited broadband for everyone at 4 dollars a month as they have in the States - a country where they get people with knowledge to implement technology.
Stuart Hayman
We have had ADSL ex Telecom in Remuera for a couple of years and find it reasonably fast. We also have a "country" place at Pukekawa. There we had unbelievably bad dial-up. Telecom have always said there were no plans for ADSL at Pukekawa. So we got satellite which was useless. In December Telecom said we would have ADSL by April 2007. In February they told us it was working. We joined up on Sunday and on Monday the techo was calling to say when could he come. In the end it was installed on Friday and works quicker than it does in Auckland in spite of our "terrible" line. Distance and new gear seems to be the key. So, well done Telecom this time. Satellite dish anyone?
Peter Breen
The speed of Broadband will only improve when we either have perfect competition to Telecom, which is highly unlikely with the present scenario, or the Government intervenes and forces Telecom to upgrade the networks to handle the increased load.
SF
What do you mean faster Broadband? What about normal broadband to everybody, including rural customers? In fact, how about a telephone cable that it younger than 68 years to those customers? And a continuous connection to an exchange, etc?
Joel
Its extremely interesting to hear people complain about the state of New Zealands internet speeds. People are naive to think that these upgrades can be done instantly when there is staff training, network upgrades/exchange upgrades that are required. There is so much time required to implement new system upgrades and if Telecom did just click their little switch without actually implementing a foolproof plan, we will see once again our network infrastructure tip over. Hold onto your horses inpatients and complaints really do not help the frontline staff with busybody people trying to complain there way to the top. We are years behind other countries for a reason- and that's because we are only now raising our concerns.. like that cheese ad on TV... Good Things take time... Oh and the Otago uni ad. Get over it.
Felix Five
Joe Public read a few quotes in the newspaper or see them on TV and draw the conclusion that Telecom is somehow not providing something they should. But that is not how capitalism works. It is supply and demand. Sure this paradigm can be altered as has been done in Korea where the government spend a couple of hundred US dollars per head of population on broadband infrastructure (this option works well) or through regulation (as NZ is doing, which generally doesn't work as well).Faster broadband will come as a result of demand. Real demand, not TUANZ / Voda-hug / Telstra pressuring the NZ government for the gain off shore companies. It will take time, but it will happen faster without regulation.
Stephen
Would you invest in a network that you are required to "give" to your competitors? I would not either. The National government sold Telecom to its current shareholders, and our current government is demanding that Telecom turn control of its lines over to its competitors, which is little more than legalized theft. If any other ISP was ready to properly invest in a competing network we would see speed increases, but with unbundling looming, there is no need to invest in cabled networks anymore. Woosh wireless, Vectors fibre network's and Vodafones 3G network where all potential competitors, but why would they invest in their network's now that they are going to be given a slice of Telecom's network for nothing? Our current government does not seem IT literate enough to comprehend that these are active, competing broadband networks, their existence should be enough to prove that Telecom is not the monopoly that we all like to accuse it of being. Had unbundling never been mentioned, these network providers would have had reason to expand, but now.
Gavin
A friend of mine moved to Manurewa a couple of years ago in a newly developed area. She called her ISP to get ADSL, who said, Yes, you can get it. So she ordered it. 2 weeks later she had heard nothing so called her ISP again, who then contacted Telecom to see what the hold up was, and got told "The local exchange is full, we sre sorting something out now". Another week went by and no word. I called her ISP (Im an ex-employee of the ISP so know the staff) and asked what was going on - ISP called Telecom again, and got told "No ADSL is available in that area and never will be - we only have fibre optic running in that area". So I asked what the plans were for that - "sorry, commercial use only". So, no ADSL available, f/optic WAY too expensive, Woosh signal was poor, and Wired Country was too expensive - whats a person to do in a "newly developed area" ? Go on dialup.NZ is really steaming ahead for internet technology isnt it....
Andy
The internet is for nerds and perves. Personally I can not be bothered with Pac-Man with surround sound or high definition intra-uterine videos! Bring back pidgeon post!
Christopher Miles
With my fully tweaked XP(HOME) / Google Broadband Accelerator / ORCON @256kpbs, then from Waihi, I am able to reach the Music Web,(GB) in under two seconds. Also, I shut-down any extraneous programmes from running. My advice to internet users, is firstly, give your computer a good service - defragging, and cleaning.
Sean Wilson
What is the point in arguing for high speed internet? As the data is capped, it just means that you hit your limit a lot faster. You then have a choice of not using the internet until the next monthly cycle, or pay exorbitant fees for additional bandwidth.
Andrew Atkin
The government should directly invest in broadband infrastructure to boost capacity. Why cant the state become a player in this growing market? What would they be risking? The critical point is that the infrastructure is worth far more to the nation than what can be represented in terms of direct telecomunications revenue, especially for an otherwise isolated country like New Zealand. And Telecom, by contrast, will only invest on the narrow bases of personal company gain. Hence, broadband development is grossly under-incentivised for an ultimate national objective. And in turn, that is why the government should consider active investment - the exclusive free-market model, in this circumstance, is failing. Also, the longer we delay the development of broadband, the longer it will take us to develop the complimentary infrastructure to exploit it. I think my idea is a no-brainer - the government should invest immediately because the far-reaching costs (in lost development) of doing otherwise are chronic and completely unnecessary. We could use some of the Cullen fund; it is hard to think of another development that would give us a greater bang for our buck.
Reece Palmer
Quite plainly Telecom have not delivered on their much hyped advertising campaign. They have yet to invest in significant infrastructure upgrades that will be needed to deliver adsl2+ and have dark fibre lying dormant on the network. They want to do as little as possible but still charge for the "service" that was advertised at full rates. I think the word I am looking for is cheat, or perhaps even fraud.
Aaron Smithson
Around most parts of Auckland there is a fibre network which was going to be used for Telecoms Bid into the cable TV market. Why cant Telecom open this up and allow Cable routers? This should help cut the load on the ADSL networks.
Tiger
The government take ownership of the network and invest in upgrading it. The network has failed because of the incumbent not investing, but returning dividends to shareholders. Its time for a change in how it is managed, stop applying bandaids and update it.
Ian Urch
There is little that can be done with a copperwire network like that installed in NZ and Australia. It wont run at better than 1-2 Mbps at current usage and Australian reports suggest that it will totally collapse when 60% of the lines are using broadband. A complete replacement with glass fiber is required (thus all new software as well) at a cost of 1-2 billion dollars. What banker or company in its right mind would get involved in such an investment when the Govt and the commerce commission will either try to steal it from them or try to stop them making a profit (cf. Vector a few months back) or as in the case of the ACCC (Australia) make them provide the service to other providers at below cost. If NZ wants a new network then the Govt (and commerce commission) have to get out of telecommunications altogether. This would let Telecom invest with the prospect of making a profit. The likes of Slingshot, Telstraclear will have to stop being parasites and have to think about investment in a network and not just sitting back and waiting for the Govt to give them parts of the Telecom network for nothing.
Lars
The answer to your question How do we get quicker Internet? The answer is simple. Move to Australia or any other 1st world country.
David
After watching news on Sundays report into why it is taking so long for Telecom to invest in new technnoligy of broadband e.g fibre or ADSL 2+, It made me annoyed that we pay so much for broadband and a company of Telecoms size is not willing to invest in upgrading our connection to the rest of the world. I worked for Telecom 2 years the international nodes we connect to cannot handle the amount of users that connect to it, which slows broadband down. Its a matter of investment, Telecom needs to act now, You have to spend money to make money and Telecom is making money and not spending it.
Steve Sutcliffe
Fast Net? Try Living just beyond the reach of Telecom ADSL, where we have internet provided by State owned enterprise KORDIA (was BCL, part of TVNZ) subsidised by the Government through PROBE, and still we pay $99.00 for 256 K. Thanks for this goes to the nincompoops in the gummint...Swain, Mallard, Anderton. Unbundle the BCL Network!
Jai
The government needs to take control. Telecom should never have been given the cabling and it should be given back to the government for starters. I live in a street that is close the exchange but the copper hasn't been maintained as a result have had Telecom out changing us over to another line, stops our phone being full of static but still leaves us with only 20% of max broadband speed. On top of that I still have to pay the same as other who get full speed. The next step is for the government to build fibre throughout the entire country and invest in links to the rest of the world.One of New Zealands biggest areas of opportunity is in IT where physical location has nothing to do with it.
Leonard Lee
Broadband in New Zealand is in the same state as our motorways. Capacity hasnt increased to match usage, and we are getting bandwidth gridlock. Telecom is stalling - they are in business for profit (for themselves and the shareholders) - not for the well being of New Zealand. Everything that is needed can be done now. It is just a question of Telecom and the government throwing enough dollars at it. Oh wait, that is our health system too. Looks like we are screwed across the board. The billions of dollars in surplus need to be used now to fix all the issues. Stop hoarding our money, and start spending it fixing up the nations problems.
Dejan Nakarada-Kordic
In my opinion two things need to be done: 1. Naked DSL (DSL without Telecom phone line subscription) needs to be introduced ASAP to reduce overall telecommunications costs and open up VoIP market. Currently cost of broadband is not that bad (around $30-40 p.m.), but when you factor in $42 we have to pay to Telecom for a fixed line, the real cost is $72 per month or more, which is unacceptable. 2. Provider imposed data caps and speed limits should be removed.
Ike
Telecom companies should invest in fibre optic infrastructure. Also look at sub stations in local areas. What this means that a core fibre cable is run from the main exchange to a local sub exchange and then branch out from the sub station into the residential areas. In this way we will future proof the infrastructure. Fibre optic cabling is lighter and less bulky but can manage more bandwith for its size. But before any of this can be considered, the main exchanges need to be upgraded from the old electromechanical exchange to the more up to date digital exchanges.
H Moore
The government needs to take action and do it themselves, just like Swedens government did in 2000 and Australias is now. Telecom will mess around forever and the other ISPs have not the money and are not much different from Telecom.
