Sounds promising, let's have the detail

June 27, 2006

Sounds promising, let's have the detail

Telecom's announcement that it will introduce operational separation of its wholesale and retail divisions could lead to improved competition - and TelstraClear is looking forward to the details.

But one thing is certain - legislation introduced yesterday to open the broadband market and allow Telecom's wholesale customers to compete equally remains as important as ever.

TelstraClear Chief Executive Dr Allan Freeth says operational separation, done well, will be good for customers because Telecom's retail division and wholesale customers such as TelstraClear would be treated equally.

"We welcome Telecom's announcement, but it is only happening because of the government's focus on a broken market. That's why it's so important that the legislation is passed into law so there is a strong set of rules to ensure promises become reality," he says.

"Today's announcement highlights key themes of equivalence, transparency and independence of Telecom's wholesale operation. We'll wait for the details before we get too excited - after all, we've been hearing for years that Telecom has a separate wholesale division."

Dr Freeth says no one should underestimate the size of the challenge Telecom faces.

"To move from fighting competitors to embracing them as wholesale customers is a huge cultural shift for any company," says Dr Freeth.

"As Telecom's largest customer we stand ready to buy more from them and deliver even greater choice to more New Zealanders."

"In the last few months we've been working hard to finalise plans for new services. We're not just talking about new broadband services via UBS - there will be more,"

"This is why regulation is so important to TelstraClear and our shareholder - they are looking at New Zealand investment with increasing interest and are encouraged by what we have in store," he says.

ENDS

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