New Zealand's government isn't trying to undermine Telecom by bolstering rural broadband services, Communications Minister Steven Joyce says.

Telecom's stock price hit an all-time low yesterday after it told the market that its share of the Government's new rural broadband initiative would cost it $168 million over three years.

Plans for a new high-speed link are expected to lead to lower internet prices and unlimited downloads for home connections.

A proposed optic fibre cable linking NZ, Australia and the USA would unleash billions of dollars of economic potential by connecting NZ businesses to global markets by 2013.

Up to $50m of yearly government subsidies to Telecom could be up for review if this morning's 111 outage is found to amount to a substandard service.

Still reeling from the XT debacle, Telecom must woo back disgruntled customers and rebuild its image.

Telecom is investigating claims a customer received an abusive text from its call centre after complaining of delays in her cellphone service.

Telecom has announced a profit of $80 million in the December quarter, down 23.8 percent on the same period last year in what it called a 'solid result'.

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