New Zealand's TelstraClear To Spend NZ$50 Million On Pilot 3G Network
WELLINGTON -(Dow Jones)- New Zealand-based telecommunications operator TelstraClear Ltd. said it will spend NZ$50 million developing a pilot high-speed wireless network.
The company, a unit of Australia's Telstra Corp., will begin building a 3G mobile network in the provincial town of Tauranga on New Zealand's North Island early next year, with an eye to rolling out a national network.
Tauranga's 100,000 residents will be offered a combined mobile and broadband package, allowing them to scrap their fixed-line connections and pay standard call rates from 3G mobile phones.
The move is an about-turn after Telstraclear last year abandoned plans to roll out a national mobile network.
Telstraclear Chief Executive Allan Freeth said in a statement the company had been emboldened by recent government moves to regulate the sector and stimulate competition.
"We've been delighted with the government's recent decisions on broadband and what they will mean in terms of an open market," Freeth said.
The Tauranga deal pits Telstraclear against the incumbent mobile operator, Vodafone subsidiary Vodafone New Zealand, which is gearing up to offer bundled mobile and broadband services from next year.
New Zealand's NZ$2 billion mobile market is dominated by Vodafone, which accounts for just over half of the country's 3.8 million subscribers. Telecom Corp. of New Zealand makes up the remainder, while Telstraclear currently resells Vodafone's services.
-By Rachel Pannett, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; rachel.pannett@dowjones.com
-Edited by Alastair Gale
(END) Dow Jones Newswires "
Posted to the site on 20th July 2006